-30C temp-Coolant temperature dropping on highway

[circuitsmith]

I think this issue is due mainly to two things:
Increased engine efficiency and lightweight all-aluminum inline engines.

There's more surface area (vs a V-engine) and thermal conductivity for cold air blowing around under the hood to carry away heat from the block.

With higher compression, less friction and optimized timing there's less waste heat in the engine to begin with.
This has always been an issue with the more efficient diesel.

I use a lower grill block on my Matrix in the winter.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
It is simply too cold for the engine to keep up to it's thermostat rating.
This is why trucks use covers to block./partially block the radiators in winter.
Old Volvos had a crank under the dash to raise/lower a curtain in front of the radiator!

It's not the thermostat. It's not the heater controls.

All sorts of ways to block or partially block the radiator - from cardboard to heavy plastic to aluminum sheeting.

You are in extreme conditions, and the rate of heat flow is proportional to the temperature differential.

Exactly. Unless a person has experienced -40c you cannot even begin to explain what it can do to a vehicle.
I've experienced cold here that was so bitter it froze green antifreeze mixed 50/50 in a bike I had years ago and broke the rad.
Last week I sprayed windshield washer fluid rated for -45 and it froze on my windshield at 50mph.
Some shopping malls actually have posts with plug ins on them,and sometimes even plugged in you have to run out and start you car every few hours,or else by the end of your shift the engine is locked up,frozen solid.
So to conclude,the op's car is in sound mechanical condition. There is nothing wrong with it,it just so happens in those extreme temps his vehicle won't heat up. The only remedy is a grille block.
Call Vern's pizza. Tell em you want a large t-Rex. After you eat the pizza cut the box to fit on your grille.
Win/win. Full tummy,warm car.

 

[mechtech2]

The Italian tune up now has a sibling..
The Italian pizza mod!

 

[mattd]

Those that are saying thermostat is stuck open needs their head examined.

Problem is simple. Ambient temp is much too low and will overcome a majority of the heat the engine will produce. Block off parts of the radiator and this should fix your issue.

 

[Lyman]

And here I thought it was cold when we had a little frost. I guess I better stay here in So Cal.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
The Italian tune up now has a sibling..
The Italian pizza mod!


Hehehe
Prairie heat pizza mod maybe?

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: mattd
Those that are saying thermostat is stuck open needs their head examined.



Agreed but there are wealth of BITOG experts that'll argue differently when they should be listening instead...

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: rikstaker
few days back it was -30 and -40 with windchill,

I don't think windchill applies to mechanical equipment. It's more for exposed flesh. If it's -10 outside, the coldest mechanical equipment can get is -10, regardless of how much wind is blowing.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: mattd
Those that are saying thermostat is stuck open needs their head examined.


Some people are just making suggestions, and they are valid. No one said to immediately change the thermostat. If a winter front or cardboard doesn't help, then there is obviously another issue. I've been there and done that several times over the years. The thermostat is the last or second last thing I'd check in such a situation, depending upon ease of access to the heater core.

Thermostats don't always fail in a manner like a switch. Sometimes they get lazy, and sometimes problems happen when they aren't all that old either. Heck, the old Audi required the thermostat to be properly indexed for correct functioning. If it is a thermostat issue for the OP, he's under warranty, at least. Not every vehicle out there has a temperature gauge either, which can somewhat complicate the diagnosis.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: coolbird101
You guys are dealing with temperatures that I cant even get my head around.

Likewise. I love Florida (sometimes).

 

[WhyMe]

if you have an OBD reader, you cna read it in real time and really see what the temps are. most car temps gauge these days just go to a certain spot and then stop.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: rikstaker
few days back it was -30 and -40 with windchill,

I don't think windchill applies to mechanical equipment. It's more for exposed flesh. If it's -10 outside, the coldest mechanical equipment can get is -10, regardless of how much wind is blowing.

Windchill definitely makes a difference to equipment.
My forklift for example. If its -35 with the windchill but actually only -20 and I don't put plywood around the engine it's not going to start,even plugged in I have to put a salamander heater underneath blowing,however if I block the wind from whipping through it it will start even if it isn't plugged in.
If you aren't in the wind it's fine however if its -30 in the wind,it's -30

 

[Garak]

Yep, the air flow (i.e. wind chill) definitely won't make it any colder, but it will bring it down to ambient faster. If it had no effect, automotive engineers and backyard mechanics alike have wasted a lot of time dealing with radiators, air cooled engines, thermostats, fans, and cardboard.

 

[spackard]

FWIW, Wikipedia's explanation of windchill on inanimate objects (preceded by human body explanation, which is interesting because of the "boundary layer", a phenomena which would also happen on an inanimate object):

The human body loses heat through convection, evaporation, conduction, and radiation.[1] The rate of heat loss by a surface through convection depends on the wind speed above that surface. As a surface heats the air around it, an insulating boundary layer of warm air forms against the surface. Moving air disrupts the boundary layer, allowing for new, cooler air to replace the warm air against the surface. The faster the wind speed, the more readily the surface cools.

For inanimate objects, the effect of wind chill is to reduce any warmer objects to the ambient temperature more quickly. It cannot, however, reduce the temperature of these objects below the ambient temperature, no matter how great the wind velocity. For most biological organisms, the physiological response is to maintain surface temperature in an acceptable range so as to avoid adverse effects. Thus, the attempt to maintain a given surface temperature in an environment of faster heat loss results in both the perception of lower temperatures and an actual greater heat loss increasing the risk of adverse effects such as frostbite, hypothermia, and death.