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Over heating??

  • Thread starter Thread starter 95_cobra123
  • Start date Start date Mar 16, 2009

95_cobra123

New Member
Jun 14, 2004
213
0
0
Lovington, IL
Mar 16, 2009
#1
  • Mar 16, 2009
  • #1
Hey guys just got all the stuff put n the cobra msd and the new t-stat in.

its has been over heating for the last few yrs i had a 160deg in and i put in a 180. the car still runs hot.


here is where it runs i think the fan is kicking on to late but thats me it does have under drives on it.

Thank Guys
Brien
 

Chythar

Recently finished repairing my rear
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 26, 2004
2,373
140
113
Foothill Ranch, CA
Mar 16, 2009
#2
  • Mar 16, 2009
  • #2
As I've been told many times, the dash gauge is notoriously inaccurate. What you need to do is find out what the actual temperature is. The stock low fan settings turns the fan on at 208* (I believe) and turns off at 200*. Your gauge may just be reading high. If you have a code reader that can read PIDs (live sensor data, including the ECT temp sensor), you can tell what temperature the computer is reading from the coolant.

I have something similar in my new GT. I thought the car was going to overheat and the fan was not turning on. But after some research, I found my fan IS turning on at the right temperature - my dash gauge is just reading high.

Your cooling system may not be holding enough pressure. Physics 101: coolant at a certain pressure holds a set amount of heat at a specific temperature. If you lower the pressure, the temperature goes up even though the water is just as hot.

Put another way: our engines would "overheat" according to the gauge if we didn't have a radiator cap - the coolant would boil out long before the engine was in any danger. So if your coolant system isn't holding 16lbs of pressure, the coolant may be reading warmer than it is supposed to.

Here's an example. I was having similar overheating issues on my Green GT. I splurged on a coolant pressure tester - it's basically an air pump hooked up to a special radiator cap. It lets you pressurize your coolant system without heating the coolant. I pumped up the pressure, got to 10lbs and heard dribbling water. It was a loose hose clamp. Repeated the process several times - most of my hose clamps were not tight enough. After this "whack-a-mole" with my coolant system, it held a good 16lbs of pressure and my temp gauge read lower than it did before.
 

icemetalstang

New Member
Nov 7, 2007
77
1
0
Mar 16, 2009
#3
  • Mar 16, 2009
  • #3
I had the same problem. Put in a 190 Therm and gauge read exactly the same. So hooked up a manual temp guage and found my car ran about 200 degrees. My cooling fan came on at 210 degrees. (courtesy of my buddys scanner) Replaced the coolant tempature sensor $5 and it reads correctly. Cythar is right the gauges do go bad.
 

95_cobra123

New Member
Jun 14, 2004
213
0
0
Lovington, IL
Mar 16, 2009
#4
  • Mar 16, 2009
  • #4
So try replacing the coolant temperature sensor and that might help? Um how hard is that to do?
 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
31,179
33
129
Mar 17, 2009
#5
  • Mar 17, 2009
  • #5
As noted, get a real gauge so you can tell what's really going on. If the gauge stays cooler the whole time you're on the freeway, it's probably just your fan temp threshold.

A quick overview of cooling system considerations. There's a link to doing a set of manual fan switches in the narrative.
 

95_cobra123

New Member
Jun 14, 2004
213
0
0
Lovington, IL
Mar 17, 2009
#6
  • Mar 17, 2009
  • #6
if i am on the high way it stay way down around the n and o.
 

desertcox05

New Member
Oct 3, 2007
379
0
0
south atlanta
Mar 17, 2009
#7
  • Mar 17, 2009
  • #7
just as an added note: No thermostat at all can make the car run hotter too. The coolant doesn't spend enough time in the rad to cool it completely
 

Dino Dino Bambino

15 Year Member
Jun 13, 2007
1,670
87
79
Cyprus
Mar 17, 2009
#8
  • Mar 17, 2009
  • #8
95_cobra123 said:
if i am on the high way it stay way down around the n and o.
Click to expand...

Since your gauge is between M and A (~212*F) when you're in traffic and down between N and O (~191*F) on the highway, that tells me your fan is possibly kicking in too late (assuming the gauge to be accurate).
Check if the fan works at all while the gauge is climbing towards the M and see when the low speed or high speed fan does kick in. It's quite possible that your ECT sensor is at fault but before you replace it, you could try testing it first. This page tells you how:

Ford Fuel Injection Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (ECT)

Check the voltage and the resistance across the sensor immediately when the fan kicks in and check the reading on the dash gauge at the same time. Report the results back to us so we can see where the problem lies. The information will also be useful to find out what the gauge is actually reading.
 

95_cobra123

New Member
Jun 14, 2004
213
0
0
Lovington, IL
Mar 31, 2009
#9
  • Mar 31, 2009
  • #9
Ok so yes the fan turns on i can turn on the ac and it turns on when i want it to but it does nto help bring it down... uho?
 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
31,179
33
129
Mar 31, 2009
#10
  • Mar 31, 2009
  • #10
You might need a decent gauge to actually see the temp drop (due the aforementioned hystersis built into the stock gauge).

If you have to, do some testing with an IR thermometer to see if the fan is indeed helping.
 

95_cobra123

New Member
Jun 14, 2004
213
0
0
Lovington, IL
Mar 31, 2009
#11
  • Mar 31, 2009
  • #11
English plz ^
 

94GTCoupe

10 Year Member
May 7, 2006
1,412
92
79
CA
Mar 31, 2009
#12
  • Mar 31, 2009
  • #12
95_cobra123 said:
English plz ^
Click to expand...

he means the stock temp gauge is not accurate.either use a real temp gauge or an infra-red (Non contact) thermometer,to verify actual coolant temp.


Posted via Mobile Device
 

Chythar

Recently finished repairing my rear
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 26, 2004
2,373
140
113
Foothill Ranch, CA
Mar 31, 2009
#13
  • Mar 31, 2009
  • #13
If you have a good code reader (such as Autoxray) that can read PIDs (engine sensor data), you can see the temperature that the computer sees. This should be not too far off from the dash gauge. My dash gauge is very off, it shows my engine "overheating" when it's within operating temperature.
 
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