Engine temp while idle/not moving??

[TheRealDefman]

Starting to get warm around here (Austin, TX) and this is my first Spring with the car.

My car runs around 190-192 degrees just cruising down the road but when I'm stuck at a light or in very slow moving traffic is gets up in the ~215 range pretty quickly. It drops back down quickly once I start moving again. Normal, not normal?

 

[johns]

that's what i see
normally 187
stopped on a hot day - 217

 

[NCZ13]

when you idle, your not getting as much airflow through the radiator... thus it will warm up a bit when stationary...

 

[DreSEL]

Starting to get warm around here (Austin, TX) and this is my first Spring with the car.

My car runs around 190-192 degrees just cruising down the road but when I'm stuck at a light or in very slow moving traffic is gets up in the ~215 range pretty quickly. It drops back down quickly once I start moving again. Normal, not normal?

Most car companies set the ECU to turn the radiator fans on and off based on vehicle speed and whether or not the AC compressor is on.

The Factory Service Manual for my Nissan says the ECU will operate the rad fans as necessary to maintain water temps between 190 and 203 *F when the vehicle speed is above 15 mph, and between 203 and 212 *F when the vehicle speed is below 15 mph. And between 190 and 203 *F when the AC is on regardless of vehicle speed. I have confirmed this with my Nissdatascan tool.

I use a Dashhawk to monitor water temp in my MS3, and I've noticed that the temp doesn't go above 203 *F when driving. When at idle, it goes up to 220 *F before the rad fan turns on. The cooling system in the MS3 runs at 20psi ( I believe), so 220 *F should be ok.

 

[TheRealDefman]

when you idle, your not getting as much airflow through the radiator... thus it will warm up a bit when stationary...

Although the wording of my post may indicate otherwise, I do understand how it works. My question was more directed towards the numbers being normal.

Thanks though.

 

[dizzin9]

Although the wording of my post may indicate otherwise, I do understand how it works. My question was more directed towards the numbers being normal.

Thanks though.

translation: i am NOT a noob. asswipe!