98 A6 Avant, Temp guage flucuates.

[Mark Erickson]

HI Everyone,

Yesterday we went in search of fall colors on a rainy day in Northern
Minnesota. The Avant ran great the whole time. It was in the 50's for temps
and rained off and on the whole day. I did notice the water temp gauge
dropped to about 1/2 between what it normally runs at and the far left of
the gauge.
The oil temp gauge was normal for a few hours of driving. When the temp
gauge dropped we were on the south side of Lake Mille Lacs driving about 40
mph for about 10 miles. Just nice easy driving. When speeds picked up the
temp picked up too. I didn't notice any loss of heat from the climate
control system.

My question? is this normal? I have never had a vehicle with a temp gauge
cool off that much just by loafing at around 40 mph. The car still has an AA
warranty and I don't want any problems this winter with lack of heat so if
the thermostat is bad I would want to fix it before it hits 10 below.


Thanks,

Mark Erickson

98 A6 Avant
St. Paul, MN