Car Overheated / Overheating / Overheats [MERGED]

[NTRCOOL]

OVERHEATING? The issues and their solutions have remained the same- either you don't have enough cool air reaching the rad, there's a cooling system obstruction which is preventing coolant from circulating, or your head gasket has failed and is allowing coolant to be consumed or pushed away from the engine.

Discuss all possible overheating problems and solutions here.


OK,
I just left my house to go over to my GF's,and happen to look down and see my needle right before the red mark. This just happened out of nowhere. I stop the car as quickly as i can, and pour in some coolant(Coolant a little low). Still same thing. Welp im in the middle of the road, and HAD to get it home. Im only 5 min from my house. I decided to try and make it(I really had no other choice). Welp I drive no faster than 20mph, and the temp needle is BARELY into the red the whole way.And occasionaly to the left of it. Am I ok?? Do ya think any damage was done?? And im thinking either thermostat, or water pump. For each of those, whats a round about $$ figure to get replaced?? Any info you have would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[RayBan GST]

i replaced the sensor after the overheating , and the brand is ORIGINAL OEM Mitsubishi . i went to CAPS and took the part number and got the part from mitsubishi company. the new sensor is exactly the same as the old one.

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

Well, you really need to find out if your gauge is accurate. If this is the only thing you're basing your problems on we need to check and verify that it's doing it's job correctly before we take it's information as scripture.

Get an infared temperature gun to check the actual temperature at various places in the cooling system.

Upper radiator hose
Lower radiator hose
Top of radiator
Bottom of radiator
T-stat housing
Water Pump housing

Get an average temperature while the gauge is at normal and while it is above normal. Find out at what temperature your fans kick on at. If it's close to 205* then you don't really have a problem and it's more than likely your Gauge's sending unit not communicating the proper signal to the dash. Or, on my 1st 1g I had the gauge dial unit go bad. I had to tear the damn gauge cluster apart and replace the temp gauge. After that it worked fine.

If you're not spewing coolant out the overflow tank then you more than likely are not really overheating enough to worry about.

Also, a compression test doesn't give an accurate depiction of what is going on with the head gasket. I'd do a leakdown test to find out if you do in fact have a blown head gasket.

Buy a logger to see what the ECU sees for temperature and compare that with what you are getting with the infared temperature probe/gun. That will help you determine if the info that the senders are sending is accurate.

Here's an example of what I used when I was racing and tuning Nitro RC cars. We would tune them for maximum throttle response and top end while staying under in a certain temperature range. I also used it to setup the gearing for my electric RC touring car, if it ran hot I knew that the gearing was too high and I was going to be turning my commutator in the motor very soon!! All in all it was a really great tool and you can get them for Cheap!!!

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[RayBan GST]

Well, you really need to find out if your gauge is accurate. If this is the only thing you're basing your problems on we need to check and verify that it's doing it's job correctly before we take it's information as scripture.

Get an infared temperature gun to check the actual temperature at various places in the cooling system.

Upper radiator hose
Lower radiator hose
Top of radiator
Bottom of radiator
T-stat housing
Water Pump housing

Get an average temperature while the gauge is at normal and while it is above normal. Find out at what temperature your fans kick on at. If it's close to 205* then you don't really have a problem and it's more than likely your Gauge's sending unit not communicating the proper signal to the dash. Or, on my 1st 1g I had the gauge dial unit go bad. I had to tear the damn gauge cluster apart and replace the temp gauge. After that it worked fine.

If you're not spewing coolant out the overflow tank then you more than likely are not really overheating enough to worry about.

Also, a compression test doesn't give an accurate depiction of what is going on with the head gasket. I'd do a leakdown test to find out if you do in fact have a blown head gasket.

Buy a logger to see what the ECU sees for temperature and compare that with what you are getting with the infared temperature probe/gun. That will help you determine if the info that the senders are sending is accurate.

Here's an example of what I used when I was racing and tuning Nitro RC cars. We would tune them for maximum throttle response and top end while staying under in a certain temperature range. I also used it to setup the gearing for my electric RC touring car, if it ran hot I knew that the gearing was too high and I was going to be turning my commutator in the motor very soon!! All in all it was a really great tool and you can get them for Cheap!!!

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

thanks man for the nice info, however i just have one question i really rarely see my low fan ON , i only see it on rarely like 2 days a week i check my car everyday and only rarely i can see the low fan on??? i only see both fans on when the car is hot and then it will be back again to normal. i have a BLITZ upper radiator hose with a place for a temp gauge, i will buy a temp gauge tomorrow and will tell you . i just need to insert the connector of the gauge to the hose right????/

please comment on the low rad fan ( low speed)

 

[97gst_spyder]

Mine run on low a lot of the time for me. I only see the fan on high when I beat on the car.

 

[RayBan GST]

ok so today i paid again 40 USD for a coolant temp gauge sensor OEM damn expensive here. and i installed it and my problem is still the same ????? my old sensor was working properly again the fans will kick on late please wise men think with me here what should i check , can it be my ecu ? and what to check next.

i bought also today an after market gauge to tell me the exact numbers but i did not install it yet i will open another thread for that soon once i take some pics.

 

[thewraith]

Id go with a lower temp thermostat and call it a day.

Bad advice- has nothing to do w/## fans.

 

[thewraith]

If you run your a/c will the car start to overheat?

 

[RayBan GST]

with or without ac i dont overheat its just my fans are kicking in late making me overheat ?????

 

[DeadsEvolution1]

Sorry that it did not fix the problem but it was an easy place to start. Now on my water temp gauge my fans kick on at 205 degrees

 

[RayBan GST]

man so what is the solution of this problem now please guys, for sure someone knows ???? help me out if you can fix my problem then nobody will fix it here.

 

[qnz]

There is the chance gauge may not be accurate?

 

[booostedGSX]

What about the fan switch on the thermo housing? Maybe it's going bad causing the fans to come on late.

 

[1gDSMike]

My fans were coming on late, it was right after i switched in a different radiator so i swapped the sensor thats inside the bottom of the radiator with my original one. Bam back to normal.

 

[RayBan GST]

My fans were coming on late, it was right after i switched in a different radiator so i swapped the sensor thats inside the bottom of the radiator with my original one. Bam back to normal.

guys there is no sensor on the bottom on the radiator in 2g , wise men please help me

 

[1gDSMike]

Ok, swap the fans out.

 

[RayBan GST]

Ok, swap the fans out.

man are you kidding me ???? why the hell do you say that?? im telling you since morning im tired of spending money on parts that i dont need and you are saying swap them out .......... JESUS please man spare me and spare your self if you dont know the answer just please dont comment

thanks man but really iam frustrated from this issue and sorry to be mean.

 

[viperlp01]

Dude why are you being so hostile.. You first need to chill the hell out.. Then you need to assess the situation.. Ok lets start from the beginning.. You changed pretty much everything but the t stat housing so those are all good.. assuming the signal is getting to the ecu correctly i would imagine you have some kind of problem with the ecu.. If the ecu is seeing the right temp it will kick them on. Assuming your ecu is correct you have a problem with the signal getting to the ecu.. What I would do is get some kind of logger where you can see the coolant temp the ecu sees.. remember there is two sensors.. The one on the dash has no ties to the one the ecu sees besides the same coolant.. My coolant temp will hit the roof when my boost controller hits it so its grounding.. make sure there is no grounding to the temp gauge.. Relax man ok... There are alot of intelligent people on this site that happen to not be wise men..

 

[RayBan GST]

Dude why are you being so hostile.. You first need to chill the hell out.. Then you need to assess the situation.. Ok lets start from the beginning.. You changed pretty much everything but the t stat housing so those are all good.. assuming the signal is getting to the ecu correctly i would imagine you have some kind of problem with the ecu.. If the ecu is seeing the right temp it will kick them on. Assuming your ecu is correct you have a problem with the signal getting to the ecu.. What I would do is get some kind of logger where you can see the coolant temp the ecu sees.. remember there is two sensors.. The one on the dash has no ties to the one the ecu sees besides the same coolant.. My coolant temp will hit the roof when my boost controller hits it so its grounding.. make sure there is no grounding to the temp gauge.. Relax man ok... There are alot of intelligent people on this site that happen to not be wise men..

thanks man iam always cool and i always respect people,however i really dont want to spend more money on parts that i dont need. sorry if i sounded upset.

as for the gauge unit sensor man there is only one wire for it so i did not ground it , and as for the logger that means another love story of searching for logger in this city how can i check my ECU for errors or fault signals without logger , can you tell me the port number on the ecu that controls the fans , i will open my ECU and look there.

 

[Sam@RRE]

having the fans set to be on whenever you turn the key on is as cheap as some wires and a toggle switch. If you are in a really big pinch for cash and cant afford 5-ish ft of wire and a toggle switch, steal the wire from your rear speakers and the fog light or rear wiper switch. You don't need them.

 

[ricktb]

Is this overheating problem only when you are in slow traffic/just idling? Or is it at speed as well? As far as I know the fans play a very small role in keeping the engine cool at speed. Maybe you have bugs and other debris clogging the fins of your rad and reducing its effectiveness? Worth inspecting.. maybe also check the fins of the other cooling unit, ( I think for AC), in front of the rad because air needs to flow freely through both.

I use a 50/50 mix of coolant and water in the summer, and 60/40 in the winter. Wouldn't go any less than 30/70 or more than 70/30. Just my preference. (pure water will boil at 212F)

Use a digital meat thermometer between the fins at the top of the rad below the inlet tube and check the actual temp at which the fans turn on.. if they turn on and maintain the temp below 210F then you not over heating unless the thermostat isn't open(stock opens at 180F), or the coolant isn't flowing(pump?), or flowing fast enough(clogged system?).

MAPerformance carries a racing thermostat that opens at 160F, in case you want to try that out.

Good luck

 

[Mindslayer]

I will say, check your cooling level. I wonder if it's just water in the motor and they didn't completely fill the radiator up. Or, a leak somewhere.

 

[1gDSMike]

Chill dude, everyone's here trying to help you.
Take 15 minutes and wire the fans to your ignition or a switch.

 

[DeadsEvolution1]

Seriously wire up your fans if you are so concerned and DO NOT want to spen more money. ALSO you need a logger to see what temp the ECU sees so you can make sure the fans are coming on.

It seems to me that you are stuck on the ECU being the problem, so replace it. If you don't like the answers we give you than ignore it. NO offense but we are giving you places to look if you have already looked there than just say I already checked that end of story.

 

[phunny]

Chill dude, everyone's here trying to help you.
Take 15 minutes and wire the fans to your ignition or a switch.

How in the world does rigging something fix the problem???

To OP - do not apologize for people giving you bogus info.
Did you get your aftermarket water gauge in yet?

 

[anteversion]

there should be a thermo switch somewhere who is faulty. Correct me if im wrong but i don't think the ecu is sending the power signal to the fan when a target temperature is reached. On the 1 g, thermo switch is on the bottom of the radiator. this switch is giving continuity or not to the fan relay, wich is activated the fan.