No heat, yet car is running hotter. Water pump?

[Roysneon]

My car usually runs between 1/4 and 1/2 on the temp gauge, but starting last week it's running around the 1/2 mark and I have little or no heat unless I rev it a bit. Temp also comes down when I do that. I'm thinking water pump, what say you, R3v?

[bmw325csi]

Mine did that when I had air in the system.

[Dj Syco]

re-bleed your system. 325csi is right about their being air in it. are you using a 318 rad?

[bimmer630]

Ive seen Water pump impellers that freewheel on the shaft, and dont move any water unless you are revving it higher.

But that also is true for your cooling fan, maybe your fan clutch is shot.. but check for air pockets too

[Roysneon]

Using stock e30 325 rad and electric fan. The temp would spike and I'd loose heat then heat would come back and temp would drop. I added some coolant and let it bleed for a few mins, went for a short drive and it seems a lot better. We'll see on the drive to work tomorrow morning.

[SwiftE30]

definitely bleed it. Make sure to do it the full correct way too. What temp sensor are you using and how did you wire it in to the harness?