Engine Heat Gauge

[canadian_ti]

Hey,.. i was just wondering where your heat gauge needle is when you're driving normally. Mine seems to be changing all the time. I was driving around yesterday and it was almost at the halfway mark and tonight it was hardly past the blue part of the dial. Is this normal or do I have a faulty gauge?

Thanks,

[1996 328ti]

Could be a stuck thermostat.

[barische]

when i drive at cold weather around 20-30 f it is little bit below midway then i would play around bit give gas a bit more then it comes to middle,

[aceyx]

mine stays over the centerline give or take a mm in either direction.


before i swapped the thermostat, it was all over the left.

[canadian_ti]

How much does a new thermostat cost?

[1996 328ti]

How much does a new thermostat cost?
In the US, anywhere from ~$18 to ~$32

[canadian_ti]

Could anything else cause my gauge to malfunction? and also,. do thermostats usually stop working?

[1996 328ti]

I suppose you can have a bad sending unit.
Could be a bad instrument cluster.
The most likely suspect is a bad t-stat.
Thermostats get stuck so yes, they can stop working.

[m-technik_ti]

open, or partially open thermostat.

[mickd]

open, or partially open thermostat.
I believe the most common failure in our thermostats is that they open too early, the coolant temperature never reaches normal operating temp, and too late, opening when the coolant temp is over normal operating causing the engine to overheat. You can test the thermostat in a pot of water on your stove with a meat thermometer.