I use the Ultragauge and I'm getting the same temps in F. The readings are from the cylinder head, not the coolant. Unless you have a water temp gauge hooked up.

 

When I've checked I've seen slightly under 200F to a bit over...but didn't write it down...so just guessing. Have seen higher under city conditions though. Probably original coolant and thermo. Same yr...same engine.

 

my 2005 runs 185-195 most times. sometimes at a long stoplight or in the drive through,it will jump to 210-215 on my ultra gauge. Funny thing is Ultra gauge has read 215-220 before and the temp gauge in the dash didn't move off the middle where it always is after the engine warms up.

 

Okay so my car isn't the only one running this hot. Im glad this is true, and thanks Terry, I had read that the SVT has a water temperature sensor in the thermostat housing, but not our cars. Since no coolant is in the head, I must presume the temperature shown by my ultraguauge must have a few degrees more than the actual temperature. Has anyone taken a infrared thermometer to their upper hose to check the temperature and compare it to that of the ug/sg?

And I guess this only confirms that the needle in the instrument panel is a dummy gauge as it doesn't move whether its 94C or 115C.

Long live the ultragauge!


Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!

 

The highest I've gotten is 233F. I usually cruise around 200-210F.

 

Just hooked up my Scangauge e this morning and did a run to see what the temperatures were. My observations were this:

(dash gauge) The 1/4 mark is about 109 degrees. At about 135 degrees the needle on the gauge hits the 1/2 way point and then just stops. However, even though the dash gauge's needle stops at the halfway mark, on my scangauge, the temperature continued to climb (which I expected). So at highway speeds between 60-65 mph the scangauge was reading a steady 206 to 207 degrees, occaisionnally going up to 209 degrees for a few seconds or so if I sped up to pass. I parked for a bit in a parking lot with the engine running to simulate being stopped at a traffic light. The temperature went up to about 224 degrees at which point the fan kicked in to cool it down. Now again, the dash gauge needle never moved past the middle, even though the engine heated up to the point that the fan kicked on to cool it down. So the conclusion is that the dash temeprature gauge is essentially a useless ornament. Geez I bought the scangauge to use as a temperature gauge and voltmeter gauge in my Fiesta because it had neither. I was happy to be getting a dash temeprature gauge in the Focus, but now it appears for naught. Might have to mount the scangauge somehweres to have an accurate temp gauge now.

I also observed that the Focus's voltage showed it was putting out about 12.1 V's, sometimes dropping under 12V's for a second or 2. Seems low to me.

In comparison to my Fiesta (1.6L):

*Ran about 186 degrees at highway speeds.
*Would actually cool down below 180 degrees sometimes if I sped up past 70 mph. I'm guessing because more air to the radiator which makes sense.
*At stoplights and such would get up to about 192 degrees. Fan would kick on about 217 degrees.
*Voltage output was in the 14V range


So, is this normal for the Focus? Seems to be a hot running engine in comparison. Thought thermostats were usually in the 180 to 195 degrees range on most cars? 206-207 degrees on the highway seems kind of high to me.

 

I am not familiar with the 2012 focus,but that cruising temp does seem high. Like I posted earlier,mine runs 185-195 on the highway. And I agree the factory gauge is pretty much worthless. My 2005's gauge does the same as yours,goes to the middle and stays there no matter if you sit at a long stoplight or are cruising at highway speed.

 

I noticed in the Ford FSM that the 03 came with 3 different thermostats....one that ranged up into the higher temps you are talking about. I believe cars sold in colder climates have the higher temp thermos...so you are probably OK.

 

So why did my Fiesta run at 186 degrees on the highway? I was on a Fiesta forum when I had my Fiesta and I believe that was the normal temperature for all the Fiesta's no matter which climate/state. Perhaps the engine's sensor is sending false data to the Scangauge? Don't think the Scangauge is false. It worked fine in my Fiesta. And when I put it in my Focus I reset it make sure it was reading correct for the Focus. No Ford mechanics on this site to answer this question? Think I'm going to have to take my car into the dealer next week and have them check it. Have to get the TSB update for the transmission anyways. [dunno]

 

My '12 runs between 208 and 212.