Hi,
I've just bought a 306, my first petrol Peugeot so I need some advice.
Normal driving, the temp sits about 75-80°C, when idling the temperature will creep close to but not exceed 100°C. Is this normal or is something up with the thermostat and/or the temperature sender? The manual basically says anything not in the red is fine!
It's nice to have a proper gauge for a change, one that changes instead of modern equivalents which are basically on/off lights.
Stewart
Hi Stewart. The thermostat is meant to open at 83 degrees so normal operating temperature is 85 degrees-ish. The fans kick in on low speed at 97 degrees on a model with AC. (They'll run at high speed at 107 degrees but mine rarely gets that hot, even in the height of summer).
I am pretty sure the 1.8 has the same set up as the XSi (which is what I have). If it has AC there will 3 thermostatic switches/sensors screwed in to the thermostat housing. The blue one provides a feed to the gauge on the dash and nothing else. The green one provides a temperature reading for the ECU. The brown one is linked to the AC control unit and the fans.
It's possible for the blue sensor / dash gauge to be out while the car runs completely normally. Alternatively, the thermostat is stuck slightly open or could be opening too early. Hard to tell which without a way to check the true coolant temp.
Mine ran at a similar temp to yours (according to dash gauge). Changed the thermostat and …..no difference!! Has been like that for about 2 years now!!
Thanks for the reply, really useful and has set my mind to rest!
Our convertible with 1.8 16v has the same characteristics. Think it is fine and nothing to worrie about.
Hi. I had a 1.8 for ages and tracked it with jenvey throttlebodies etc. It did get hot and I had electric fans fitted that kicked in at 100. So I would agree that standard running is 75-80 and then it will slowly keep moving up when not moving until the fans kick in. Then itll just loop in getting hot, fans on etc like most cars.