Quote:
Originally Posted by Perfectlap
How hot does it have to get to move the needle into warning territory?
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We never tried to find out after testing three different cars, side by side, all hooked up to Durametric systems to monitor the real temp. When the software said they were all at 180F, two dash gauges read lower, the other slightly higher than the first two, but none showed anywhere near the actual temps. When all three dash displays said "180", all three cars were actually running north of 205F, but none read the same actual temp. When I discussed this with two other shops, they concurred with what we had seen.
The dash gauge is simply not to be trusted for temperature accuracy, it should only be considered a "general indication" of how hot the engine is. As for when is the warning light supposed to flash, as you would expect of Porsche, the answer is complicated. From their literature on the subject:
Four functions of the coolant warning light:
1. Engine coolant level too low
— light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz)
2. Engine compartment temperature too high
— light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz) (engine compartment blower might be faulty)
3. Engine coolant temperature too high
— light is lit; pointer on the right
4. Temperature sensor at water outlet faulty
— light flashes rapidly (1 Hz); pointer on the right
Note
The temperature warning in point three is indicated if the conditions "engine coolant temperature too high" and "engine coolant level too low" are present simultaneously
(1Hz = 1 flash per second. 0.5Hz = 2 seconds per flash)