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A few questions Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Mon, 3 Apr 2006 14:12:26 In Reply to: Running Warm, Devon, Mon, 3 Apr 2006 08:19:36 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Did you mean a '98? They didn't have a CSE that I knew of in '89. This isn't just a 'Ha Ha they didn't have that paint color in March of 1990' gotcha - there are marked differences in how temperature is displayed between '89 and '98.
If by in traffic you mean stop and go driving, where the car is moving slowly, it's normal for the temp gauge to creep up. There is no air flowing over the radiator, so things get hotter. Once the radiator temperature gets hot enough, the cooling fan kicks on, and the temperature drops. This is normal. You could always install a lower temperature (82C) thermostat and fan thermoswitch, if your car is so equipped. That will run it a little cooler.
Year to year differences - in the earlier years, like pre'95, there was a thermo switch on the radiator. When the radiator got hot, the fan kicked on. Since the temp gauge reads the coolant temperature at the head, you'll see higher temps on the gauge until the fan kicks in. Normal. You don't want it in the red, but going up a bit is OK. It's normal to see temperature swings on the gauge, although it can be a little disconcerting.
From about '95 on, Saab changed things. The fan is controlled by the ECU, and it uses head coolant temperature. So it moderates the temp somewhat. Also, the the temp gauge reading is modified by the EDU. Basically, it lies. It adjust the temperature reading to account for road speed and the like. Bottom line - it reads pretty cool (typically around 8:00 position) in almost all conditions, smoothing out the swings you see on earlier cars. It's not that the car is running cooler - it's just that the gauge keeps that worrysome information from you. If the car does get hot, the gauge will go up.
If the car is just getting warm in stop and go traffic, you can always find ways to kick the cooling fan on sooner. Probably not required as long as the car seems to run cool at speed.
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