1998 Beetle Normal Operating Temp ?

[RokGear]

Hello new to the boards here.

My latest VW project is a 1998 Beetle 2.0L

How to kill a German (Mexican) Beetle... No water required ‎(1999 bug)‎

It went through hell before I bought it after replacing the head and many many many other parts due to a bad water pump and over heating.

I have it road ready and all back together mechanically.

I installed the VDO gauges and 3 panel pod to monitor everything, it all looks good but I have 2 questions maybe someone can help me out with.

(1) should both cooling fans come on at the same time ? only one is kicking in at about 185F/190F the second fan never comes on.

(2) what is normal operating temp of the Beetle 2.0L ?

It seems to run a few degree's cooler then both my 1995 2.0L Jetta and my 1986 Cabriolet 1.8L, but only one fan is kicking in.

I am thinking the second fan is for when the AC is running and the car might reach a hotter temp the second fan kicks in for extra cooling that sound right.


Thank you

Ken

[Lnzbug]

That sounds right. My hubby replaced a thermostat on mine & had me go exchange it because he said the new one wasn't working. I finally figured out why he was saying that. It runs about 185 or so before opening. That is NORMAL operating temp. I wish he would have told me BEFORE he changed it I could have saved him some work & aggravation.

[vdubbugman53]

i run 200-220


on a side note i have my 2.0 bug and a 85 1.8l cabby