Temp guage acting weird

theplasticbling · 11-01-2018, 05:06 PM

My temp gauge is acting funny.. I just did an oil change earlier today and it's been acting like this ever since.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CCxs7DrEBXSsGLE16

It'll bounce up and sometimes down. Very weird. Was even happening slightly as I was driving. I parked the car at 210 for a bit in the driveway and let it sit. Came back 15 minutes later and turned the power on, guage said about 200. Then I turned the car on and it bounced down another like 20 degrees maybe in steps. I wasn't having this issue before my oil change. I am using 5w-40, not sure what was in here before but I assume 5w-30. I live in FL and it gets hot AF so I figured I'd use thicker oil.

I'd also like to talk about heat up and cool down times while I'm here. After this new oil change, the car takes about 20 minutes it seems to reach 210. Seemed quicker with the old oil. I'll do an actual time test later tonight after the car cools down fully. Also, I've noticed that my car always cools down extremely quick, old oil and new oil. After like 30 45 minutes it seems it's almost fully cooled down. Again, I'll time test that. Is this normal?

theplasticbling · 11-01-2018, 07:56 PM

Update: So it seems like this new oil is warming up excessively slow. It took around 20 minutes just to get to 210, and that was from ~160 degrees. Is this normal? Again I live in FL so I would imagine the car would warm up quicker than other places. I'm thinking of switching to 5W-30. Also, in the post above I was wrong about the car cooling down really quickly, after two hours it was at around 160.

sspade · 11-01-2018, 09:36 PM

What are you using to monitor these temps?

Im using 5w40 currently and 0w40 previously without issue. Oil change every 5k.

theplasticbling · 11-02-2018, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sspade

What are you using to monitor these temps?

Im using 5w40 currently and 0w40 previously without issue. Oil change every 5k.

Just the temp gauge on the dash. How long is your car taking to warm up? I'm not sure if you have the diesel though? Diesel has always taken longer to warm up for me, used to have a VW TDI as well. But that heated up waay quicker than my BMW does.

Enabled · 11-02-2018, 12:47 PM

Correct, nothing applies from the gas 328i to the diesel.

The temp gauge on your BMW reports oil temp, as you noticed, while VW reports coolant temp.
Coolant temps always warm up faster than oil, so you must read coolant temps if you want to compare. You will see that they warm up very similarly, 328d and TDI.

The engine/oil cooler+oil cooler thermostat was designed with the diesel LL-04 5w-30 in mind, especially for the life of your dpf. Thicker viscosities will change warmup temps for sure.

Fun fact, the 328d has an electric heating element in the HVAC, so you can get near instant cabin heat.

theplasticbling · 11-02-2018, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enabled

Correct, nothing applies from the gas 328i to the diesel.

The temp gauge on your BMW reports oil temp, as you noticed, while VW reports coolant temp.
Coolant temps always warm up faster than oil, so you must read coolant temps if you want to compare. You will see that they warm up very similarly, 328d and TDI.

The engine/oil cooler+oil cooler thermostat was designed with the diesel LL-04 5w-30 in mind, especially for the life of your dpf. Thicker viscosities will change warmup temps for sure.

Fun fact, the 328d has an electric heating element in the HVAC, so you can get near instant cabin heat.

I wasn't aware that the dubs gauge was based on coolant! Good to know. Do you think it'd be wise to switch to 5w-30 after I'm out of 40? I just figured since I live where it's 90+ most of the year the engine would run more efficiently with a thicker oil.

Enabled · 11-02-2018, 06:29 PM

Is it a diesel specific oil that you are using?

theplasticbling · 11-03-2018, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enabled

Is it a diesel specific oil that you are using?

Correct. Rotella T6. It honestly seems to be fine now. I think I was just monitoring the temp like a madman and bugging

The car is running fine. I might be getting a little worse mileage at highway speeds with this new oil though? Not to sure. Thoughts from anyone else running 5W-40?

11-01-2018, 05:06 PM	#1
theplasticbling New Member 2 Rep 18 Posts Drives: 328d xdrive Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: florida iTrader: (0)	Temp guage acting weird My temp gauge is acting funny.. I just did an oil change earlier today and it's been acting like this ever since. https://photos.app.goo.gl/CCxs7DrEBXSsGLE16 It'll bounce up and sometimes down. Very weird. Was even happening slightly as I was driving. I parked the car at 210 for a bit in the driveway and let it sit. Came back 15 minutes later and turned the power on, guage said about 200. Then I turned the car on and it bounced down another like 20 degrees maybe in steps. I wasn't having this issue before my oil change. I am using 5w-40, not sure what was in here before but I assume 5w-30. I live in FL and it gets hot AF so I figured I'd use thicker oil. I'd also like to talk about heat up and cool down times while I'm here. After this new oil change, the car takes about 20 minutes it seems to reach 210. Seemed quicker with the old oil. I'll do an actual time test later tonight after the car cools down fully. Also, I've noticed that my car always cools down extremely quick, old oil and new oil. After like 30 45 minutes it seems it's almost fully cooled down. Again, I'll time test that. Is this normal?
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11-01-2018, 07:56 PM	#2
theplasticbling New Member 2 Rep 18 Posts Drives: 328d xdrive Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: florida iTrader: (0)	Update: So it seems like this new oil is warming up excessively slow. It took around 20 minutes just to get to 210, and that was from ~160 degrees. Is this normal? Again I live in FL so I would imagine the car would warm up quicker than other places. I'm thinking of switching to 5W-30. Also, in the post above I was wrong about the car cooling down really quickly, after two hours it was at around 160.
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11-01-2018, 09:36 PM	#3
sspade Major General 2465 Rep 5,457 Posts Drives: F30 Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Stevenson, WA iTrader: (3) Garage List 2016 BMW 320i [7.87] 2014 BMW 328i [6.83]	What are you using to monitor these temps? Im using 5w40 currently and 0w40 previously without issue. Oil change every 5k.
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11-02-2018, 12:47 PM	#5
Enabled Lieutenant Colonel 1407 Rep 1,800 Posts Drives: 328xd Wagon, M2 Competition Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Houston iTrader: (0)	Correct, nothing applies from the gas 328i to the diesel. The temp gauge on your BMW reports oil temp, as you noticed, while VW reports coolant temp. Coolant temps always warm up faster than oil, so you must read coolant temps if you want to compare. You will see that they warm up very similarly, 328d and TDI. The engine/oil cooler+oil cooler thermostat was designed with the diesel LL-04 5w-30 in mind, especially for the life of your dpf. Thicker viscosities will change warmup temps for sure. Fun fact, the 328d has an electric heating element in the HVAC, so you can get near instant cabin heat. __________________ -2014 328d Wagon, 8HP. Self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs. -2019 M2 Competition MT, Alpine White. Self-tuned 560hp -2016 Mini Cooper S, MT. Many plans. Others: -E36 328is. 2000 Z3 Roady. 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual. Estoril Z3M Coupe.
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11-02-2018, 06:29 PM	#7
Enabled Lieutenant Colonel 1407 Rep 1,800 Posts Drives: 328xd Wagon, M2 Competition Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Houston iTrader: (0)	Is it a diesel specific oil that you are using? __________________ -2014 328d Wagon, 8HP. Self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs. -2019 M2 Competition MT, Alpine White. Self-tuned 560hp -2016 Mini Cooper S, MT. Many plans. Others: -E36 328is. 2000 Z3 Roady. 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual. Estoril Z3M Coupe.
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