Is my '99 996 running hot?

My 996 is running with the needle covering the right hand side of the "0" in 180. I seem to remember it covering the left hand side of the "0". Weather temp does not seem to affect it. I had the radiators separated and blown out and a new cap on the reservoir. I also had the rubber baffle under the spoiler replaced as it was torn. I wanted the air channeled as was designed. My mechanic says '99's run a little warm. What do you guys think? Should I have them look into a thermostat and/or water pump? Just had the 90k mile service and there were no red flags. Thanks.

BTW, in clear air on the interstate it seems to run closer to the needle in the "0" or covering the left hand side of the "0" in 180.

mine is the same and has been as long as i can remember. A little to the right of center on the "0" on a warm day in slow traffic or during spirited driving and centered on the "0" when on the freeway. I proactively changed the water pump and thermostat just before my recent road trip and it had no effect on the temp. reading so i am of the feeling this is normal running. Pete

traffic, right side of 0 is normal for my 1999. I would not worry.

my 99 was also running that hot, checked the fans, one wasn't working.was just a fuse. Now runs a little cooler but still warms up in traffic but not as bad. Sounds like you have recently flushed your coolant as my indy says old coolant can cause problems.

Soaringman, That's where I am on temp. Is that after you replaced the fuse that got the fan working? If not did it get cooler after? Thanks

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First you have to know what the coolant temp is. Well, before this let me say I do not think there is anything wrong. Anyhow, you need to know the coolant temp. The gage isn't real accurate. With a '99 you can, I believe, using the AC control buttons enable some kind of diagnostics mode that you can then using the temp (or fan speed) control buttons cycle through 20 or so diagnostics data items. One of particular interest is the coolant temp. I do not have the instructions to call up this mode nor how to pull up the coolant temperature reading but these exist at various places, probably here or on RennTech. The car has enough miles that a good inspection of the water pump wouldn't be a bad idea to see if it shows signs of leaking. It is almost certainly not responsible for any possible overheating as this requires the pump either not turn or have enough wobble to have the impeller blades contact the engine casting and break off. You can check for any water pump play and check the belt for sharp edges. These can arise from worn bearings which allows the belt to track wrong and rub a pulley. If you are really paranoid start the cold engine and carefully (!) check/feel the coolant hoses to/from the water pump to feel them get warm as the T-stat opens. If they do not get warm the T-stat could be failing to open fully. Now it just so happens this is I think and so does the tech what happened to my Turbo which uncharacteristically had its temp gage needle venture into a region -- about half way between the 180 hash mark and the hash mark halfway between 180 and 250 -- in which it has never ventured before the other day in 100F ambient temperature. Also, I smelt the strong odor of anti-freeze. Further inspection by the tech and I found no signs of a coolant leak (the level was just down to the min line but no lower) but the driver's side radiator fan is not working at 100%. There are no fan stage error codes from the DME but a simple feel by the hand detects very little exhaust air from the radiator exhaust opening compared to the other side. Now the car has had a radiator fan fail before -- the passenger side -- but even with one fan the engine temp gage hardly budged (not even a needle's width) above where it normally hangs out. The A/C worked just fine too. Anyhow I have a new T-stat and drivers side fan on order. Should be here Monday and both in by Monday COB. Back to your car. Absent any signs of a coolant leak and if you drive the car and the coolant temperature remains reasonable I believe the odds of there being anything wrong with your car's cooling system is nil.

Normal for me in SFL

soaringmans pic is normal and where I'm at sitting in traffic. The actually temp at that needle location is 206-208 if you check actual via OBD

Drove 1600 miles west palm to Waynsville (Der Bergen) August temps 95-98 Entire trip 190

That is where mine runs when in stop and go traffic. Runs between the 8 and the 0 when I am cruising. Isn't it nice when you discover you probably don't have a problem!!!! Happy motoring, Ray

that's the temp before I replaced the fuse, It hasn't got that hot since, but close. so yes it did cool down after. My indy says my coolant looks like its mostly water and recommends a flush and says I will get cooler temps after wards. I'm by no means a Porsche expert or even close but i don't like my engine running hot and am happy when the needle is between the 8 and 0. my manual says the needle should be straight up and that's where I like it. I do plan on cleaning my radiators in the near future and this may well help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um-h2aUJHY4

Yes I think you are running warm. Mine ran at this temp and it was due to one side rad fan not coming on low speed. Now that i have that fixed it runs with the needle at 12:00 Pos. Where it had for years. You have to ask yourself if its really running hot. Only you know your car and whats normal.

My 03 is a DD and I live in Scottsdale. In traffic and 110 outside, my gauge rarely is right of the "0". You may be running a bit warm.

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Mine runs just like that on the gauge. Dealer says it is normal. Mine never gets over the end of the zero though on the gauge. Where this picture shows the needle is the max mine gets in 95 degree weather in traffic.

That is where mine runs in 90+ degree weather, stop and go traffic. On the highway, it runs between the 8 and 0. My fans are working, rads are clear, new water pump and thermostat not long ago. I figure it is normal, plus I have to run the AC a lot. It never goes near the 215 degree line no matter what.

98 deg F ambient temp, standstill traffic for almost 40mins....check your radiator fans.

Reading off the gauge is a fools errand at best ... Hold down the Recirculating & Air up buttons for 5 seconds. The + - buttons go up and down through the list of "c" codes. The center vent button switches the left display between the "c" code and its actual value. Press the Auto button to exit.

Manual cars will run hotter than tiptronics. Tiptronics have three radiators, maual transmission cars have two. Third radiator makes a big differencein keeping the car running cooler. OP's car is fine.

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Using this temperature reading function on my '01 C4, I found my car running as high as 100 Celsius (212F?). This corresponded to the temp pointer in the middle of the 0. See photos. The radiator fans kicked on right when the temp hit 100C, and kicked off and on a couple of times while the temp bounced between 99 and 100. Exterior temp was 72 at the time. A few days ago, I noticed the right (passenger) radiator fan blowing, but not the left one. As I continued observing, the second one kicked in and both were blowing at a higher speed. Does this mean that I have something wrong with the low speed function of one of my radiator fans. I have a Tiptronic if that makes a difference.

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You most likely have a blown resistor on the side where the fan does not operate on low speed. This is common. You can check to make sure it is not the relay for the low speed fan first(cheaper/easier fix), but it is most likely the resistor. The resistor allows the fans to operate on the low speed setting so when one blows out, the low speed setting will not operate on the fan with the blown resistor. The fan's electrical circuit bypasses the resistor to operate on the high setting, therefore your fan will still operate at the high speed setting even with a blown resistor. Each fan has its own resistor located just behind the fans in the front wheel wells. Resistors cost about $70 for the part and must be soldered in place when replacing them. A search for "fan resistor" will direct you to the fix.

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I finally got around to replacing the resistor for the drivers side fan today along with some other maintenance. Both fans now kick on (low speed I believe) when the A/C is turned on. I'll probably have to wait for warmer weather to see if the high speed works as well. I guess the fan resistor is a common part to fail.

I'm the original poster and my temp started creeping higher. They thought my 95,000 mile car had the original water pump so changed that and the thermostat. That brought the needle back down to the left edge of the zero. Wouldn't you think they would have looked at the water pump at the 90k service? Was $1000 but it runs great now.