98 A6 Avant, Temp guage flucuates

[ricematthews]

Mark:
The coolant temp in my '98 A4 Avant is REALLY consistant (90 deg C with no
fluctuation) at operating temp.  I have  determined, however, that I have an
intermittant gauge sending unit as it frequently reads between the normal
operating temp and somewhere below it (even all the way on "C") when the car
is fully warmed up.
There is a way to check the actual coolant temp on the A4.  It may work for
the A6 as well (or there is probably a similar method anyway).
This link describes a way to obtain a bunch of info using the climate
control panel http://www.audiworld.com/tech/int5.shtml
Follow the directions to accessing the various codes and get into code
Number 51.  This code will display the engine coolant temp in degrees
Celcius.  Try this and compare it to your gauge.
-Mark Rice

>
> 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
>
>
>
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