Hello, Volvo experts!

I have a question about Volvo 850 engine temperature gauge - what is the engine temperature when the needle is at the begining of the section? (Like in this picture -


Why I am interested in this?
I have an LPG system and the engine temperature must be at least 30-40 degrees (Celsium) for me to switch from petrol to LPG and I want to know if I can be guided by this gauge. Of course, I could switch to LPG when the needle is at the middle (like 90 degrees, right?) but that would be too late if I am interested in economy

Thank you!

 

there's no guaranteed consistency from car to car - the needles are just pressed on and not zeroed out. If you need to know if its over 35C - the needle would be at that point on a hot summer day right? I'd say your coolant temp will be over 35C (95F) if the needle has started to move. Try this - start the car, wait for the temp needle to move then measure the temp on the heater hose. (note the radiator hose is gated by the thermostat which fully opens at 85-90C). These cars run pressurized coolant systems so they can operate in the 190-210 degree range so if your guage is straight up you'd be in th 85C/180F range. If you have a newer 850 that can support OBDII, you can also use a fully featured reader to grab temp data right from the computer (not sure if the 96/97s support this output)

 

My '97 can pull coolant temp data using the ELM327. Not sure about older years though.

 

I decided to check this out for you while repairing a failed temperature sensor on my car. I used the OBDII code scanner to read the actual temperature. The gauge moved at 50C. Interestingly, the heater turns on at the same moment, so I don't think it was an accident. I think it is exactly 50.

 

140F ~ 60C

 

In many, many cars, it starts to move at about 125 degrees F. It hits the 3 O'clock position at about 172 degrees F. I use a scangauge to monitor this.

 

Right. My theory is that about 125 figure" was intended to be exactly 50C.