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deedub

E30 325i: cooling/temp gauge issue

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Took the E30 out for a drive on the highway out towards Taupo. Temp gauge was sitting in the middle. Hit a bump (recently resealed dodgy part of the road that came up just after bend).

Temp gauge suddenly shot up past 3/4 mark. Stayed there for a bit. Got to a safe place and pulled over (turned heater to full). No movement on the gauge. Turned around and decided to drive for a bit and see what happens (I know, risky if it's legit starting to overheat but the sudden jump after hitting a bump in the road made me think it was the dash playing up).

Dial went back down to around mid for a bit. A couple blocks before I got home it shot up close to red again. Parked up and haven't moved it since. Didn't have a thermometer handy. Had a look under the bonnet. Couldn't see anything going on. Let the car cool and checked coolant level and leaks - nothing obvious.

So I'm going to run some tests on sensors and take a look for loose nut on back of dash (hopefully this weekend). Going to get a infra red thermometer as well while I'm looking into things. I have a new temp sensor and temp sender that I could put on. Full set of new cooling system hoses, new expansion tank as well if I decide to go all the way (will see how things go). 

If dash seems fine then I'll probably take a look at the thermostat. I got the work shop to do the fluids when I first got the car. Green coolant. If I end up draining the coolant should I go for the BMW coolant? Or get the HOAT penrite stuff. Hear conflicting opinions on it so wondering what y'all think. Also if I end up just changing the sensors should I bleed the system after doing that?

Any ideas/tips on what I should consider while digging into things much appreciated. 

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Forgot to mention. The fuel gauge also jumped to full around the same time as well (was around 3/4 before that which was another reason I suspected the dash). Eventually went back down before I got home.

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Yep check the grounding nut and solder joints on the back of the instrument cluster first. You can resistance test the sensors and circuit easy enough on these cars.

Nothing wrong with Penrite green HOAT (or most other equivalent brand products).The Penrite stuff is fully licensed and a warranty approved G48 coolant. Some people are just clueless to specs, or just see green and equate it to the old IAT\OAT type green coolant.  

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