190e temperature in traffic

[horatio]

Bit of an odd one.

My 190e drives very well and in general driving the temp gauge never goes over half way. However I was stuck in the north circ on a hot day in solid traffic (almost same place with heavy traffic idling alongside, there was a crash or something further up) and after a while the temp gauge creeped up to 3/4 which was concerning.

The magnetic fan thingy kicks in fine and the temp switch is fairly new. Doesn't use any water/coolant at all.

Any thought why this could be, or is this normal?

Oh and it has a/c but it hasn't worked for a few years, this means it has the extra 2 electric fans - maybe these should kick in when very hot.

 

[trapperjohn]

Going up to 3/4 is fine in traffic if you are stood or just crawling. Not sure about the two fans at the front. My 190 did not have AC. When my old 124 got a bit warm in traffic I just dropped the front windows and banged the heater on "hot" full blast. Sorry if thats a bit egg sucky.

 

[neilrr]

Does your temp gauge have any numbers on it?

 

[SLKNick]

Some years ago I was with my brother in his '96 E220 driving through France. It was a hot day about 28C. Driving around on fast A roads and a variety traffic the engine temperature was between 85 and 90. Then we got stuck in crawling traffic for about 40 minutes with the engine mostly idling. Engine temperature went up, fan kicked in, temperature hesitate for a moment and then continued to rise. Turning the interior heater to full heat had no noticeable effect. The engine temperature eventually peaked at just over 120 and didn't fall back until we got moving again. I was quite alarmed but my brother said it had happened a few times before and it certainly seemed to have no ill effects. In my mind it did all seem to point towards a fundamental lack of airflow through the radiator and engine compartment when the vehicle was stationary.

Incidentally, I am not sure that suddenly turning the interior heater on full is a good idea as the cold water previously trapped in the heater loop suddenly being flushed into the cooling system could cause a thermal shock to the engine with potentially disastrous results.

 

[stwat]

Perfectly normal behaviour for a Mercedes from that era. As long as the fan clutch kicks in and brings the temp down then there is no problem.

Moist cars these days have temp gauges that go to half way and stay there, no matter how the water temp fluctuates. Mercs of this vintage had almost, over sensitive gauges where the needle is up and down all the time. If you are not used to this kind gauge it can be a bit alarming.

 

[stwat]

Most cars not 'Moist' cars