Cooling problem????

[chimpandy]

Hello all,

Half way through a service and have a question.....

Since I've had my car I've always had concerns over the cooling. Basically the gauge sits at halfway point after about 5 mins of driving and stays there, whatever the weather, if I'm moving or sitting in traffic, it just sits there and I never hear the fan run.

So, stat out (one of the pricey ones) and forced it to open, all good. Forced the fan too, all good there.

I refitted and tested yesterday.... Exactly the same as before, half way up the gauge etc, no fan however long I left it, but definately no coolant passing the stat as the top hose was virtually empty.

The engines is definately hotter before the stat and the top hose is almost cold to touch.

What's going on eh?????? If I run it without the stat the temp gauge still sits halfway no matter how long the engines running, it just takes longer to get there and still no fan!!!!!

Am I worrying over nothing here? Should I replace the temp sender and try again?????

[Flatout Phil]

Hello all,

Half way through a service and have a question.....

Since I've had my car I've always had concerns over the cooling. Basically the gauge sits at halfway point after about 5 mins of driving and stays there, whatever the weather, if I'm moving or sitting in traffic, it just sits there and I never hear the fan run.

So, stat out (one of the pricey ones) and forced it to open, all good. Forced the fan too, all good there.

I refitted and tested yesterday.... Exactly the same as before, half way up the gauge etc, no fan however long I left it, but definately no coolant passing the stat as the top hose was virtually empty.

The engines is definately hotter before the stat and the top hose is almost cold to touch.

What's going on eh?????? If I run it without the stat the temp gauge still sits halfway no matter how long the engines running, it just takes longer to get there and still no fan!!!!!

Am I worrying over nothing here? Should I replace the temp sender and try again?????

That is a knotty one. Cheapest solution would to do some judicious hose squeezing (that sounds SO rude) with the tank cap off to squeeze out any air locks. The top hose should have coolant in it (obviously). If the squeezing does not work, loosen off the top hose until bleeds off all the air.
Fit a new stat. Sometimes they can be faulty, and not having one will make the engine run cooler if anything - they are there to keep the temp regulated.
If that fails, get a cheap electronic thermocouple temp guage (eg: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-K-Type-Digital-Thermometer-w-Thermocouple-Sensors-/330414212805?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item4cee38c6c5 ) to check what is happening (this was an old Hillman Imp trick) - I would use a spare hose with a copper pipe cut into it to get a really accurate reading - But would not get OCD about it.

Hope that is some use.
Phil

[chimpandy]

Cheers Phil,

Done the hose squeezing bit already!! Stat is definately not opening when installed. I've done a bit of digging about and the cheapest I can find is £103.40 as you have to buy the entire assembly, bloody rip off merchants!!
Anyway, I'll do as you've suggested 2moro cos I've got a temp probe etc. and then I'll run her without a stat until my lottery numbers come good.
Still not understanding why the fan isn't cutting in???? It's chuffin hot under there but the gauge still sits faithfully dead on centre. Wierd eh?

Andy

[rimmer100]

Not sure what car you have, but i would look at the coolant temperature sensor if your motor has one...

[cornclose]

You can measure coolant temperature via the OBDII port.