Over heating

I_M_Weasel · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:07

My car has for the first time got a bit warm today, normally the coolant temperature doesn't move unless its a hot day and I've been sat in traffic for half an hour. Today I was doing 50mph through some road works on the M1 and the temperature began to rise, eventually the engine fan came on and stopped it getting too hot, once I left the road works and got back up to 70mph the temperature dropped away and all was normal again.

When I drove later the car is still getting hot quickly, a quick stop at traffic lights gets the needle on the move.

Fluid level is normal and nothing stuck around the radiator, any ideas?

Its a corsa by the way - I know thats the biggest problem.

snowdog · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:10

70C isn't hot, sounds like an average ''warmed up'' engine ?
The fan works so what's the problem ?

Engine running while standing still heats the engine up, additionally stuff like aircon heats it up more ( but it might have it's own cooling, I'm not sure)?

But my Volvo always is in the 70's-80's when I leave it running when I'm eating in my car and want to have loud music... Drops to the mid 60's when driving though.

(EDIT: Ignore this post, appears my car is running too cold)

I_M_Weasel · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:12

I meant when I get to 70mph the temperature drops from the 90-95 it was at when doing 50mph

snowdog · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:17

Hmmm 90-95 does sound a tad hot at 50 mph ( though it's not a problem until it reaches the boiling point...). Google is vague but says 80-90 c is normal, and up to a 100 is normal on hot summer days.

I'm not that knowledgeable but it could be the thermostat stuck in it's closed position a tad too long ? I remember my dad had that in the past in some car, iirc he removed the thermostat altogether to test if the temps stayed cool after and they did... Remember the engine has more trouble getting up to temp without one though and it might take a lot longer for the heating to work... Probably best to wait for more replies though

, but if it was my car I'd simply test it without the thermostat.\

(EDIT: Ignore this post, appears my car is runnign too cold)

dalin80 · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:21

90-95 is standard running temp for most engines.

if it drops low while moving that is the problem. you have a stuck thermostat, the car when up to temp should stick on a constant 90-ish.

testing without a stat will simply force the engine to run under temp and be thirstier, might as well just change the stat.

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:22

snowdog said:
Hmmm 90-95 does sound a tad hot at 50 mph.

I'm not that knowledgeable but it could be the thermostat stuck in it's closed position a tad too long ? I remember my dad had that in the past in some car, iirc he removed the thermostat altogether to test if the temps stayed cool after and they did... Remember the engine has more trouble getting up to temp without one though and it might take a lot longer for the heating to work... Probably best to wait for more replies though , but if it was my car I'd simply test it without the thermostat.

Honestly Snowdog I don't want this to sound like an insult but what the hell are you talking about?
Your car water temp drops to 60oC when driving and 90 -95 is hot?

Did you not know that all modern ie less than 20 years have thermstats in the radiator to keep the coolant temp. between 85 -95 all the time.

If yours is below 80 oC then your car is broken!

snowdog · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:24

( |-| |2 ][ $;16101699 said:
Honestly Snowdog I don't want this to sound like an insult but what the hell are you talking about? Are you slow?
You car water temp drops to 60oC when driving and 90 -95 is hot?

Did you not know that all modern ie less than 20 years have thermstats in the radiator to keep the coolant temp. between 85 -95 all the time.

If yours is below 80 oC then your car is broken!

Yes, my water temp on the motorway is pretty much always 65 ish... And the highest I've seen it go was 92 when I was idling for an hour. Assumed that was normal, because, the computer says ''cold'' up to 50C and from 50 C it says the exact temp. Oil temp is about the same, just takes longer to heat and cool down, but eventually, under motorway driving it's not over 70C.

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:26

snowdog said:
Yes, my water temp on the motorway is pretty much always 65 ish... And the highest I've seen it go was 92 when I was idling for an hour.

See about getting that fixed then. (themostat change) running an engine too cold ie below 90 is bad for fuel economy and the oil isn't warmed up fully so wont provide the correct lubrication.

I doubt it will be anything expensive.

I_M_Weasel · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:28

Is it possible then that the temperature gauge is now actually working for me and that in the past it hasn't been.

I've seen it move about 5 times in 6 years before today (it starts at 80)

snowdog · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:34

( |-| |2 ][ $;16101732 said:
See about getting that fixed then. (themostat change) running an engine too cold ie below 90 is bad for fuel economy and the oil isn't warmed up fully so wont provide the correct lubrication.

I doubt it will be anything expensive.

Aye, I see, the manual says the thermo should only open @ 90C...
Thanks, I did wonder why my car was a tad thirsty even when driving it very calmly. Because I never really saw such a high temp except at parking lots I assumed 65-75 ish was a normal operating temperature.

So the OP's car isn't overheating either ?

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:44

snowdog said:
Aye, I see, the manual says the thermo should only open @ 90C...
Thanks, I did wonder why my car was a tad thirsty even when driving it very calmly. Because I never really saw such a high temp except at parking lots I assumed 65-75 ish was a normal operating temperature.

So the OP's car isn't overheating either ?

If it's going over 95 yes but if it's under 85 after it's warmed up then its probably the themostat stuck open.

I_M_Weasel · 6 Mar 2010 at 16:50

Well it didn't exceed 95 the fan came on before that and cooled it somewhat. At speed it goes all the way to the bottom of the gauge again (80 or less)

Do I need to replace the thermostat?
Is the car likely to fail on me?

Matt82 · 6 Mar 2010 at 18:03

your car is broken. the temp should get to 90* or so and stay there and never ever move.

get a new stat in your car

Joshy · 6 Mar 2010 at 19:44

snowdog said:
Aye, I see, the manual says the thermo should only open @ 90C...
Thanks, I did wonder why my car was a tad thirsty even when driving it very calmly. Because I never really saw such a high temp except at parking lots I assumed 65-75 ish was a normal operating temperature.

So the OP's car isn't overheating either ?

I'm not trying to be a horrible, but how possibly can you try to give advice on engine cooling systems when you think that 65-75c is an engine's normal operating temperature!?

Personally I am doubting a thermostat issue - A faulty thermostat is either stuck open (engine does not warm up to correct operating temperature due to coolant constantly being able to flow through the radiator) or stuck close (engine overheats due to coolant not being able to pass through the radiator). I can't really see a thermostat picking its times to open and close.

Although saying that, 80C is a tad low. As mentioned previously, you should be pretty muc dead on the 90C mark (although it is normal to see the temperature gauge dip once you're at higher speeds)

An interesting point about electric fans seeing as how it is semi related. I (through complete and utter stupidity on my end) managed to run my 205 almost completely devoid of coolant :eek:

. Despite warming up exceedingly quickly the car never actually strictly speaking overheated. Once the electric fans (which shift an utterly retarded amount of air) kicked it the car was able to maintain a perfectly reasonable temperature of 90C - 95C. It just goes to show that there could be a massive problem with your cooling system and you may not even notice! Not that I recommend running your car without coolant

.

Fuzz · 6 Mar 2010 at 19:54

Matt82 said:
your car is broken. the temp should get to 90* or so and stay there and never ever move.

get a new stat in your car

This.

Fr0dders · 6 Mar 2010 at 20:12

Joshy said:
I'm not trying to be a horrible, but how possibly can you try to give advice on engine cooling systems when you think that 65-75c is an engine's normal operating temperature!?

His posts are always wierd

Like his argument that his first car "needed" to be fast to cruise the autobahns of germany. Despite living in holland, he couldnt possibly go on the motorway with a car capable of at least 150 km/h

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17875039

And then there was the repsray thread, where he said that the best way to get your car resprayed, was to drive to Poland for the weekend to get it done.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18110815

he really is one of the strangest posters we have. Can think of numerous ocassions he's got into arguments about what is and is not legal, completely unaware of the fact he's arguing with people who live in a completely different country.

Banny · 6 Mar 2010 at 20:37

I dont think its thermostat neither, I would be looking myself toward the start of possible head gasket faliure.
Cerainly seems like the start of it, being it traffic with no air through the rad and starting to get warm enough for the fans to cut in is a sure sign.
I would say check your oil for signs of white stuff, best idea is to get it pressure tested, garages have a tester where the fluid changes colour if the HG is gone or going.
Hopes its not as in my experience as it will cost some as in my experience you should have the head skimmed aswell.

Fuzz · 6 Mar 2010 at 20:56

LOL it gets to 95 degrees, the fans cut in and you think the head gaskets are going, just lol

That's what the fans are designed to do, he said it cooled down again straight away.

snowdog · 6 Mar 2010 at 21:08

MrLOL said:
His posts are always wierd

Not really, I thought those were normal temps as I never really have any higher ones, I thought my car worked fine, but apparently, the thermostat is broken... So me posting here actually helped me realize my temps are way too low.

Like his argument that his first car "needed" to be fast to cruise the autobahns of germany. Despite living in holland, he couldnt possibly go on the motorway with a car capable of at least 150 km/h

I don't want a slow car, and yes, I often drive in far excess of 150kph, if it's 3.30 am and there are no cars on the road I believe you should be able to go as fast as you like, as always possible in Germany... And yes I've been in Germany twice now and going any slower than 150km/h feels dangerous there, as people drive that on average on the stretches of A2 I went on...

I will still probably never buy a car which can't at least reach 110 mph...

I don't ''need'' a car at all overall, I want one, but if I want one it must at least be able to reach faster speeds... I'd kindly say no to something that wouldn't reach 150kph, or if I'd win one or some other situation, I'd immediately sell it.

And then there was the repsray thread, where he said that the best way to get your car resprayed, was to drive to Poland for the weekend to get it done.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18110815

I didn't know how along a respray took when I said that, I clarified that afterwards.

The sooner you accept that:
I'm 18 and immature.
I'm a cheapskate.
I don't care much about what the law says, I will speed if I believe it's acceptable ( on empty roads) if I know I can get away with it and if I will get somewhere faster, so basically from 10 pm to 5 am.
The better...

Joshy · 7 Mar 2010 at 00:31

Scubascorpion said:
LOL it gets to 95 degrees, the fans cut in and you think the head gaskets are going, just lol

That's what the fans are designed to do, he said it cooled down again straight away.

I am with you in thinking that it isn't the Head Gasket, but as I said earlier it was possible to keep my engine cool for the with a serve cooling issue on the electric fans alone. Never once did It raise about 95C, with 90C being the cut in temperature, so I suppose it is possible for there to be an underlying coolant system fault. Unlikely, but possible

snowdog said:
Not really, I thought those were normal temps as I never really have any higher ones, I thought my car worked fine, but apparently, the thermostat is broken... So me posting here actually helped me realize my temps are way too low.

Sorry, but this is the point. You entered a thread leaning towards a technical discussion giving out advice like you actually may have an idea that you know what you're talking about, which in truth you don't. You shouldn't need Google to tell you what the normal operating temperature, it is just something you should know. The widely accepted range is 90c +/- 5c or "the Middle of the gauge". Even my mother knows that :confused:

I'm struggling to see how anybody can be dishing out advice on engine cooling systems when they are quite happy to see their car operating in the Mid 65s on a motorway journey...

snowdog said:
I didn't know how along a respray took when I said that, I clarified that afterwards.

Another example of what I'm saying. You boldly stated that anybody getting charged more than £1200 for a full body respray of an executive sized saloon car is being ripped off, and that going to Poland for the weekend (LOL) would be far more cost effective, and yet didn't even have the slightest clue of how much work goes into spraying alone, let alone prep work. It seems you bound facts and figures around that you've pulled from a quick Google search and stand by them like they are Gospel until they are shot down in flames by someone who actually has a clue?

If you're going to make a bold statement, at least have SOME correct knowledge on the subject you're commenting on!