Normal temperature for 88 300TE?
 

I have noticed my car's temperature gauge will go up when I am in traffic. Here are some examples.

Highway driving
- around 80, usually stable

Traffic driving
- would go above 100 and then fan kicks in to reduce it back to between 80 and 100

Parked
- would go above 100 and then fan kicks in

Any idea what is happening?
All other cars I have owned had a stable temperature reading..

Thanks

Mine sits right at 80 unless I'm sitting in traffic on a very hot day with the a/c running. Its possible your fan clutch is failing.

For warm / hot ambient temperatures (20 degrees C plus) that seems to me to be on the edge of what I would expect.

If you are in cooler climates sub 15 degrees C that isn't so great.

If you happen to have a IR gun thermometer thing check for cool spots on the radiator.

Service the cooling system.

I believe your thermostat is an 87C unit, so that should be your minimum temp after warm up. Getting to the 100 level is not bad, but my experience is that the main, clutch driven fan is adequate to keep temps below that except on the hottest (90F+) days.

get an 80C thermo
 

For years now, I've followed what my long time MBZ Indy recommends for all MBZ's from the early 90's and older. Get an 80 C degrees thermo from a late 70's SL. His rationale is that as the cooling system ages in our cars, it gets less efficient. Running it cooler from the outset makes up for the aging. It's always worked for me!

Perfectly normal. The viscous fan keys off radiator exit air temperature and when it tightens coolant temp is usually about 100 C.

The aux. electric fan(s) engage at 105 C and disengage at 100.

With a 50/50 blend of ethylene glycol and water and a 15 psi cap, coolant boiling temperature is about 265F, which is about 130 C.

Duke

Jim Forgione sells a resistor attachment that turns the cooling fans on sooner. But then I think that after '95 the cooling system improved dramatically. My '97 CL600 will not move off the 90C mark even sitting at idle in 115F temp weather. My wifes '95 E420 was similar.
Anziani
'97 CL600 52K