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!

 

[2gtalontd]

This actually just happend to my GF's car when she would turn her A/C on. We originally thought it was the thermostat but ended up being the water pump going out. When was the last time it was replaced?

 

[DSMnOOb00]

It was replaced with a brand new oem water pump late last year

 

[DSMnOOb00]

The car can idle with the ac on full blast and not overheat, but as soon as I start driving more then a few miles, that's when the issues start. I'm going to replace the aluminum radiator and fans with the oem radiator and oem fans

 

[deltabt7]

So my car is deciding it wants to fool with me again(dsm). I'm getting an issue that I've seen while searching for a solution but none of the remedies have worked.
The problem is this: car starts fine and goes to normal operating temp. Will stay that way for a good while. Then randomly, the temp gauge will begin to rise, but only when I'm mid throttle. If Iaelerate fully, temps drop to normal. If, while moving, I let completely off the throttle, temps drop. This usually starts at highway speeds but will continue after its started no matter what the speeds are. When stopped, it will rise again all the way to the danger zone, but tap the pedal and it will drop right back to normal. But then there are times when it idles fine, temps normal. This all happens randomly, and stops just as randomly. However it has been doing it for the last 3 days and now its pissing me off.

Attempted fixes: new t-stat, rad cap but still not change. Water pump is practically new as is radiator. No coolant leaks that I am aware of and the coolant level is always full. Fans work fine, but A/C fan just makes the needle rise more. I've also noticed the needle bounces when there is an electrical change like there is a bad ground, i.e. when the turn indicator is on the needle bounces with it.

I'm honestly at a loss now and like I said its annoying me to death. Was hoping someone else knew something I was missing. Thanks guys

 

[92AWDHX40]

Do you have any leaks, is the car getting hot, have you checked the compression for a possible hg leak?

 

[guapking]

Is the car really overheating or is the gauge just reading wrong. My car did this and it was just my sensor. My car was never really overheating.

 

[GSTurbo1]

Mine did this... but the radiator overflow ended up bowling over, found out I had blown head gasket.

 

[gofer]

+1 to verifying that it's actually overheating because your coolant temp needle shouldn't move with voltage change. Do you have a logger to verify coolant temps?

 

[deltabt7]

I'm thinking it is electrical because it moves too much.
And not logger yet..but I'm pretty sure it isn't overheating. But I trust the gauge more than my intuiton

 

[goldbomb79]

I'm going with the dummy gauge being bad. If it was reading high, and tapping the throttle makes it drop back down to normal instantly the gauge is bad. Temp can drop quickly with a stuck thermostat, but not instantly.

 

[gofer]

You can test the CTS with a multimeter, below is a chart of what resistance reading you should get if the sensor is working correctly according to the temp. of the coolant.

• 32*F = 5.9k ohms
• 68*F = 3.5k ohms
• 104*F = 2.7k ohms
• 176*F = 0.3k ohms

The best way to do it, since the car rely's on that sensor for closed loop fuel control, is to leave the sensor plugged in and carefully stab into the wires leading into the back of the connector to test for resistance. Do it before you start the car and check it and then start it, leaving the DMM hooked in, and then watch the multimeter to verify resistance gets lower and lower and then stays.

 

[guapking]

Test the coolant sensor mine went bad and did the same thing.

 

[KrazyRob]

I have the same problem, only gets warm/hot when driving with AC on in 95+ heat days.. I have a Toyo aluminum radiator, FAL slim fans.. I just purchased a 10" ebay push fan and mounted it on my ac condensor and it didnt make a difference.

I'm running a 180 stat, new water pump, and flushed coolant system with 70/ 30 coolant mix.. Also got a FMIC... I sealed my AC condensor to radiator and it did not make a difference.. The only thing I have not tried is duct work... Im wondering where to route the air..

Maybe like a 4" flex duct pipe ran from the front right hole in the bumper (where the stock IC was) up into the eng compartment to blow over the motor.. or would it be better to force air from ductwork through the condenser and radiator via a bottom scoop?

 

[boost97gst]

I opened a thread asking to see duct work, its in the newb section. A couple guys posted up some good pics. Im going to run thin sheet metal as a scoop (again if i have ANY free time this weekend) from bottom of fmic to ac support. That SHOULD force enough air up into the ac/rad

 

[Incredible_Culp]

Hey I'm new here, so if this doesn't belong here, please move..

I've recently came across my first dsm.

I've had it for a little over a week now, and all a sudden its overheating..

Its a 91 awd tsi..
I've replaced the radiator cap, and thermostat.. filled the radiator up and over flow with coolant like twice now..

Its fine riding around town, but as soon as I go to another town 45 min away its starts over heating.. slowly.. its stops when I start driving, but as soon as I come to an idle its creeping up towards the H..

When I arrive at my destination and turn the car off, the overflow spills out from the bottom and I hear the coolant bubbling..

Like I said, when I drive around town its fine. It only overheats when I've been driving for a long time (45min) and as soon as I arrive in the other town its starts over heating slowly.

Any ideas?? Thanks guys.. I've searched the forums but I didnt come across my issue

EDIT: I even burped the system as well..

 

[91blackcherrytsi]

sounds like the fans not running

 

[WES_393]

Congrats on the new DSM! The bubbling/overflowing are usually signs of a leaking radiator cap. Losing pressure and coolant can obviously cause cooling issues. However, a bad thermostat, clogged radiator, and malfunctioning fans could also cause these issues.

 

[91blackcherrytsi]

im putting my money on the fans not running. its not overheating when your going down the road because air is moving across the radiator, when u stop t doesnt. start the car and let it warm up and see if they come on.

 

[Incredible_Culp]

sounds like the fans not running

youre right.. its not

Congrats on the new DSM! The bubbling/overflowing are usually signs of a leaking radiator cap. Losing pressure and coolant can obviously cause cooling issues. However, a bad thermostat, clogged radiator, and malfunctioning fans could also cause these issues.

hey thanks man! here's my thread on my new dsm
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/wel...444873-jdm-dsm-my-new-girl.html#post153069302

but yea, i think its the fan.. cant believe i forgot about something so simple

im putting my money on the fans not running. its not overheating when your going down the road because air is moving across the radiator, when u stop t doesnt. start the car and let it warm up and see if they come on.

warmed it up.. no fan came on.. it started to over heat a little after sitting awhile.. no fan turned on..

my friend told me to find the fan relay, take it out and put wire (speaker wire or paper clip) across to jumper it.. he said then itll make the fan turn on when the key is turned..

fan relay is in the passenger fuse box under the hood right? ill check in the morning... If you guys have other suggestions, please. Im all ears

 

[xxNocturnalxx]

Not sure but does the rad. have a temp sensor? If so, make sure that is plugged in.

 

[luv2rallye]

For fans not working the temp sensor on the bottom of the radiator may be faulty or the relay.

 

[91blackcherrytsi]

Good deal man I thought that was it. Should be an easy fix good luck

 

[GSTurbo1]

I put mine on a switch, i turn it them on as soon as I get in the car... don't run it too much more like that, you might or already have a blown headgasket.

 

[Tattooedtabi]

I bought a 97 eclipse that had similar issues replaced the fan and stopped the overheating. Then I still had issues with disappearing coolant but didn't see any leaks. Turned out my water pump bushing was going bad, not making any funky noises and the leaking coolant evaporated before i could find it. Had to burp it several times before i stuck cardboard under the car and found evap marks on it. Good luck!

 

[Incredible_Culp]

I dont think its the head gasket.. I changed out the plugs the other day and they seemed fine.. there wasnt any burned or weird "junk" on the plugs.. i was told if there was, thats a sign of a bad gasket..

anyways..

Thanks for your guys' fan input.. i think that it was the problem.. i jumped some speaker wire to each side of the fuse inlet (if that makes sense) haha.. Both fans came straight on...

so then i was like "hmm, oh wait" (i remember seeing a random switch in the glove box) so i got it out and plugged it straight to the relay.. turned the switch on, wahla! they both came on again.. turned the switch off, they both went of..

so then i was thinking on how i can transfer the switch into my car.. i came up with lots of solutions.. but most were a pita to do.. the main solution was to get my speaker wire on either side of the relay and then place the other ends on that switch..

that worked but noticed smoke coming from the relay.. it was burning the wire.. so then i was like hmm, i have extra "battery to amp" wire 8 gauge in my room (from a system i had). Did the same thing, worked fine, no smoke.

but then i realized i didnt have enough of it to trace it through into the car

so then finally i said, "you know what, screw it." "Im just gonna plug this switch right into the relay, and everytime i get into or out of my car, im just going to pop the hood and manually turn the switch on or off.." so thats what i did..

havent drove the car today.. but both fans come on now, so i think i fixed the prob.. just need to fill it up with coolant and see how it goes

credit goes to you guys! thanks!.. wouldnt even thought about it being the fan haha

...p.s. hopefully this is the problem, if it over heats while the fans are on, what else would it be? probably the water pump as stated above.. dont know when that was changed..