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!

 

[Defiant]

Replace the cap, and check your temp sender and its wiring and connections.

 

[DSMjrv]

ok well i have no idea when the water pump was changed, but tomorrow im gonna test if my head is warped. then if it isnt then i will try to fix my fans. and if that still doesnt fix it, i will replace the water pump...

ok i was just informed that even if i am crusing on the freeway about 70mph, if my fans dont work i will overheat... i originally thought that if im moving, then there is plenty of airflow to keep my radiator cool... is this true?

 

[steve]

i have the mmcd logger and it reads in degrees celcius and my car creeps to 108c when the guage is a little past the middle and 93c when its in the middle or slightly to the left of middle.

In MMCd you can choose the output format from the options menu. On the first screen click on the titlebar and select options then preferences. Change Units to English.

Steve

 

[EagleTalonRacer]

FLUSH THE RADIATOR CHARLES!!!!!

 

[Vallary99]

Have a 96 GST. Ever since I got the car running it overheats. It was overheating whenever I was stuck in traffic or sitting still for a long time. Then I chaged things and now it only overheats when I'm in heavy traffic or stopped long with the A/C on. (The needle gets to the top of the boat and the A/C compressor cycles on and off). If I'm moving with the A/C on it's fine or if I'm in traffic with no A/C. Here's a list of what I have done to fix problem:

I have generic slim line fans (3) that are always on.
High performance Radiator
New thermostat
Flushed system a few times and put Water WEtter & Anti-freeze
Cut out the little extra piece in the bumper for a little more airflow (this is when I was able to use A/C as long as I'm moving)

The coolant level is fine. I'm not losing coolant anywhere and there are no air bubbles or anything. The water pump works b/c water is flowing like a fire truck going to a fire.

Please help. I really need to fix this or at least give something to check. The mechanics can't figure it out either.

 

[GTM]

...
now it only overheats when I'm in heavy traffic or stopped long with the A/C on. (The needle gets to the top of the boat and the A/C compressor cycles on and off). If I'm moving with the A/C on it's fine or if I'm in traffic with no A/C. Here's a list of what I have done to fix problem:

I have generic slim line fans (3) that are always on.
High performance Radiator
New thermostat
...
The coolant level is fine. I'm not losing coolant anywhere and there are no air bubbles or anything. The water pump works b/c water is flowing like a fire truck going to a fire.

Please help. I really need to fix this or at least give something to check. The mechanics can't figure it out either.

Hmmm, what's the temperature rating of the T'stat?

How do you know it's overheating??

Tune-up? Timing? Lean running? Broken or cracked vacuum line? Cam timing?

Cheers,
GTM

 

[Vallary99]

Hmmm, what's the temperature rating of the T'stat?

How do you know it's overheating??

Tune-up? Timing? Lean running? Broken or cracked vacuum line? Cam timing?

The temp rating is 180 degrees.. it over heats because when the needle gets to the top of the boat thing, the A/C compressor starts to cycle on/off fast..

I've done tune ups... checked timing on everything.. got the car re-tuned (running 720cc injectors. I don't think I would lean out.)

Why would a broken vacuum line cause overheating only when the A/C is on? Please explain and what vacuum line could it be?

 

[GTM]

The temp rating is 180 degrees.. it over heats because when the needle gets to the top of the boat thing, the A/C compressor starts to cycle on/off fast..

I've done tune ups... checked timing on everything.. got the car re-tuned (running 720cc injectors. I don't think I would lean out.)

Why would a broken vacuum line cause overheating only when the A/C is on? Please explain and what vacuum line could it be?

What I was trying to establish was your checking the temp with a reliable thermometer rather than relying on the car. Depending on where, you can buy a pocket gauge for radiator or A/C check for $4 - $8. Overheat usually would also include boiling and coolant loss but if the sender is going south it could be false information and you only need to fix this. So I'm not able to steer you in the right direction of where to look until you establish some basics. I presume the "boat" is the pitcher for pouring water in factory type gauges.

You may also have a problem with the temp control for the A/C but this could be caused by freon being too low as it tries to protect it's self from burning up the compressor.

Any number of vacuum lines can cause a lean mix which burns hotter and increase engine temp.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[Vallary99]

Overheat usually would also include boiling and coolant loss but if the sender is going south it could be false information and you only need to fix this. So I'm not able to steer you in the right direction of where to look until you establish some basics. I presume the "boat" is the pitcher for pouring water in factory type gauges.

You may also have a problem with the temp control for the A/C but this could be caused by freon being too low as it tries to protect it's self from burning up the compressor.

There is no boil over or coolant loss when the car overheats.. I've already recharged the freon in the car b/c I thought it was low but it still cycles as if it was low when the car starts to read hot. The "boat" is the pitcher in the factory gauge.

Could one of the relays be bad?

 

[GTM]

There is no boil over or coolant loss when the car overheats.. I've already recharged the freon in the car b/c I thought it was low but it still cycles as if it was low when the car starts to read hot. The "boat" is the pitcher in the factory gauge.

Could one of the relays be bad?

I would suggest that you should check that the gauge is reading correctly since you are not having any boiling or coolant loss. It may be the sender has started to fail and giving false information. With the key turned on, unplug the sending uint and with a test light connected to ground and probe the wire lead. Your test light will light and then slowly grow dim and the gauge will go to full scale. You will have to have a manual to give instructions on testing the sending unit which will have to be removed and tested in water and with a thermometer.
...............

How did you know how much freon to add? It's possible it's overcharged and building up too much pressure and causing the fast cycling. Can it be turned off? It's also possible that the temp sensor (climate control?) is giving problems as well.
................

You mentioned that you had the fans running all the time, so what relay are you thinking of?

Cheers,
GTM

 

[98Eclipse_gst]

Hey guys whats up! I just got a new radiator, new water pump, new thermostat and my car keeps overheating still. any other ideas on what it might be? I have small oil leak that leaks on my exhaust could that be part of the problem? Please Help!

 

[92redman]

A cracked/warped head or blown headgasket may cause overheating. You can check for bubbling in your system when the vehicle is running at operating temperature. You could also try a simple search using "overheating" as your keyword:http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/search.php?searchid=750309
there you can find similar problems/possible solutions and things to check.

 

[vinh766]

my radiator fan does not kick one when my coolant gets hot. both of my fans work when i turn on my A/c. can somebody please tell me which coolant temperature sensor tells the ECU when i am starting to get hot, so that my fans can kick on. it use to be iffy, some times it works, sometimes it doesn't, now when im in traffic, i just have to keep flipping my AC on and off just to keep my temps down. and sometimes i forget, and i look down, and i am in the RED . i know that we have a couple different Coolant Temp Sensors, and in different locations, can somebody please tell/show me the one that i need to replace for this problem? TIA

 

[n0c7]

Could be your thermostat too.

 

[BUCK]

Rad Fan Temp Switch is Lower Radiator - Passenger Side.

 

[vinh766]

do you think that the thermostat could cause my radiator fan not to turn on?

and about the switch being on the bottom of radiator on passenger side, i've seen pictures of it there, but my radiator doesn't have one. so what can i do?

 

[BUCK]

The only way a Thermostat could keep a Fan from coming On is if you didn't have one (running to cool to Trip Temp Switch) & you already said it ran Hot which is why I gave him the rolleyes - The Temp "switch" looks like a Plug in Lower Passenger side of Rad - There should be an Electrical connector clipped on it - You can jumper out the Connector to test Switch - I doubt SERIOUSLY that you don't have one. NT's even have them!

 

[Turbo Talon DL]

Well, actually there is the fan relay in the relay box too, thats easier to get too, and also a good time to do your cooling fan switch mod also. But wouldnt the thermostat staying shut, which causes overheating also, attribute to the fans not kicking on? The thermo-switch would never see the hot coolant to engage the fan relay, right? Its just a thought before this guy spends all kinds of time and $$ throwing parts at the car. Take the thermostat out, see how the temp gauge acts when the car starts to get warm.

 

[Attack Eagle]

THe fans will come on... trust me, even with a shut thermostat ie failed, it will turn them on.

I knw mine failed shut and the fans came on... if it were the relay you would expect it not to come on with the a/c button depressed either...but it is.

 

[n0c7]

My bad, the thermostat is most likely not your problem. If the thermostat wasnt working and you were overheating, the fan would be running constantly but the reason I mentioned it is because if it wasnt working properly and you were running cold constantly the fans wouldnt kick in thats why I brought it up. Good luck!

 

[Turbo Talon DL]

clogged radiator, bad water pump? did u try a flush and fill to clean it? what kind of condition is all the hardware in? Or are u sure you have enough coolant in the motor? Check all those things man..

 

[BUCK]

THe fans will come on... trust me, even with a shut thermostat ie failed, it will turn them on.

I knw mine failed shut and the fans came on... if it were the relay you would expect it not to come on with the a/c button depressed either...but it is.

CORRECT

 

[vinh766]

ok, im gonna try all the flushing and everything first, but yeah, i have full coolant/water 50/50 mix right now. but i'll flush it out anyways, and see how that goes. well this is what i think the problem is, tell me if im wrong, i think its the sensor that tell the ecu to kick on my fans, but i have no idea which sensor or where it is. tell me what u guys think

 

[yankees1919]

If you can find your thermostat housing you can find the sensor...It is a plug with 2 wires coming out of it...If you unplug the sensor, your fans should stay on at all times...I had a problem with the plug being broken, and I had to run my fans at all times...Its fine when the car is warm or the weather is nice, but when it is cold out, its a bi*** to start the car

 

[vinh766]

If you can find your thermostat housing you can find the sensor...It is a plug with 2 wires coming out of it...If you unplug the sensor, your fans should stay on at all times...I had a problem with the plug being broken, and I had to run my fans at all times...Its fine when the car is warm or the weather is nice, but when it is cold out, its a bi*** to start the car

so did you eventually replace it? and what kind of problems did you have when yours was broken? did it act like how i am describing my problems?