Temp extremely high, take out the key, back to normal?

[diatenshi]

Hello,
On the way home today, my temp went all the way to H in the middle of traffic on the highway. As soon as I pressed the clutch in, it went down to about 3/4 so I put it in 5th and slowly let the clutch out it shoots back up to H.

I am like 3 turns from home, as I cost in to my drive way at 3/4 as soon as I take the key out, and let it run on turbo timer, it drops to normal, I put the key back in in the on position, back up to H, take it out, back to normal.

any ideas??

 

[97GSTAUTO]

Thats wierd. The only thing I can think of checking is coolant level. But other than that Im clueless.

 

[Jeff99GS]

Sounds like some faulty wiring you got there.

I would just get a good aftermarket gauge with a NEW sender unit. That way you can see what the REAL temp is. Not just a C or H dummy light

 

[diatenshi]

Its also odd, because normally when you run really high temps and get out and listen, you can hear the coolant making unusual noises, that and all the coolant was still in the over flow? Did not seem out of place under the bay at all.

Update - I called my tech and he said since it has DSMLink, it reads the temp sensor and will throw a CEL if the temp gets above like 240 or something? So he said the gauge is probably just effed.

 

[voodoogsx]

odd....have you checked the temps through dsmlink? That should tell youif you're even getting to 240f....but your fans should kick in a bit before it gets that high and bring it back down again(they are connected, right?).

I'm with jeff99gs on this one....sounds like faulty wire issue...as you mentioned when pushing the clutch in it dropped a bit....do you still have the clutch switch(for starting) connected? That would be an important clue to finding the short. I'd check the wiring diagrams for that switch and do a trace of the wiring to see where else that connects to....

when the car is cold, does it exibit the same issue? key in high, key out low.

 

[diatenshi]

Odd question, but how do i check the level since the cap is on the upper hose?? I cant see in to the radiator to see how full it is >_<

 

[snowborder714]

You don't look into the radiator to see how full it is. Just take off the cap and make sure there is fluid right under it (not filled to the brim, but you shouldn't be able to see down in the water pipe).

 

[diatenshi]

Sorry, new to DSM I am a nissan guy.

 

[snowborder714]

That's ok. I figured you were used to a different car when you said the cap wasn't on top of the radiator.

 

[TheBigPhantom]

Coolant temp sensor...

Coolant temp sensor does not work with the key out...i.e. no power. So it will shoot down to below cold angle when it's at about normal operating temperature. Since you're car was overheating when you turned the car off the needle leaned left to that angle and made it seem like you were at normal temp.

Let the car sit for an hour or two and turn the key to the on position it should be back at cold.

If not then I would have to agree with the statements above and get an aftermarket setup.

 

[diatenshi]

Coolant temp sensor...

Coolant temp sensor does not work with the key out...i.e. no power. So it will shoot down to below cold angle when it's at about normal operating temperature. Since you're car was overheating when you turned the car off the needle leaned left to that angle and made it seem like you were at normal temp.

Let the car sit for an hour or two and turn the key to the on position it should be back at cold.

If not then I would have to agree with the statements above and get an aftermarket setup.

When i took the key out, it was still getting power from the turbo timer.

 

[viperlp01]

its got to be wiring. The temp signal wire is connected right under the cap on the housing. See if there are any wires touching it. The cover could have wore off and is grounding on something else. Check around that area.