Looking for more help please, my car seems to intermittently on the gauge show its overheating, but within a few seconds can quickly drop back to normal temperature and sometimes, if i pull over it will drop to cold start position, but then quickly rise up again.

 

the electric fan however never cuts in even if the gauge shows the car is on the red line of overheating, there are no water leaks, both sides of the radiator are warm, and the thermostat and radiator have been replaced in the last few weeks..

 

also if left stationary once warm, the temp gauge will slowly drop and show closer to the 1/4 mark in stead of remaining in the middle, and sometimes less..

 

any ideas.... is the car actually overheating, or may i be experiencing some other electircal fault.

 

i know it hard to say online, but just a long shot into some possible insight.

first thing that came to mind with the fan not coming on is viscous coupling (fan clutch?) but someone who has more knowledge will see this and reply soon im sure :)

on a side note, once the car just overheated (according to the gauge) i popped the bonnet, (no steam) unplugged the water temp sensor, then plugged it back in, looked a t the gauge and it showed normal temp.... now is this becuase id unplugged it and it gave a corrupt reading, or may the gauge be faulty and giving irratic results.

viscous fan and coupling as well as the entire unit were also repalced with the radiator and thermostat.....

I would say it was the temp sensor, check for corrosion on the plugs of both sensors on the top water pipe. You probably havent got an issue with the sensor that goes to the ecu or you would have some running issues, if not the plug then the sensor may be misreading and would need replacing.

 

Did you have this issue before the work was done, re thermostat and rad change?

no groover, but all of that work was done in October, and ive used the car daily since. the plug and sensor are in near perfect condition with no corrosion...

 

does it sound like maybe a water pump issue? but without it leaking ive no idea how to tell..

both of them? there are 2 on the top pipe.

dont think its the water pump, they would have replaced it, if it was on its way out, but to be honest i would have replaced it as part of the job, you dont want to have to get in there again if you can help it lol

Most likely an electrical fault, the temp gauges from my experience are fairly stable and give a reading that would indicate normal running, but a few peeps go for aftermarket temp gauges to get a more accurate reading.

You can check the wire on the right hand sensor , with one wire, thats the temp gauge sensor

Pull off the gauge sensor wire and earth it with the ignition on,gauge should read max,if it does your sensor is faulty.

The usual cause of this is the terminal on the sensor comes loose on its rivet or it cracks,seen it many times.

what i mean its the plug that goes onto the sensor, is fine, as is the actual sensor, for clarification i mean these two.

 

http://www.zcentre.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tpl&product_id=88&category_id=67&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=7

 

and

 

http://www.zcentre.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tpl&product_id=102&category_id=67&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=7

 

both of these are fine and in good condition.

manta V8 how do i do that? do you mean earth the wire? or earth the sensor unit? and pardon my poor knowledge and this may get a laugh, but how do i 'earth' it?

manta V8 how do i do that? do you mean earth the wire? or earth the sensor unit? and pardon my poor knowledge and this may get a laugh, but how do i 'earth' it?

 

Pull off the single wire,put piece of wire/screwdriver etc up the connector on the wire and touch that to the pipe that the sender is in.What Jimmer says is right,the terminal usually comes loose but you still need to replace the sender,not a lot of money.

and ideas why the fan doesnt come on?

and ideas why the fan doesnt come on?

 

Because it aint' hot enough?-to check the electric fan is working,unplug the other sensor (2 wire) with the engine running,fan should kick in.

thanks, will check both tomorow, apprecaite all your help fellaz. happy xmas wishes to you all.

 

Aaron.

what i mean its the plug that goes onto the sensor, is fine, as is the actual sensor, for clarification i mean these two.

 

http://www.zcentre.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tpl&product_id=88&category_id=67&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=7

 

and

 

http://www.zcentre.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tpl&product_id=102&category_id=67&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=7

 

both of these are fine and in good condition.

 

I think i may know what you were on about possibly :huh: the temp sensor for the gauge mmmmm.im glad you cleared that up :laugh:

ive earthed the sensor wire onto main pipe and the gauge still reads nothing, however if i earth it to the copper part of the connector it reads over max. does this indicate the sensor is good or bad?

ive earthed the sensor wire onto main pipe and the gauge still reads nothing, however if i earth it to the copper part of the connector it reads over max. does this indicate the sensor is good or bad?

 

Eeerrmm,the sender is screwed into the ally pipe? so if it reads when touched to the sender body it should on the pipe!-anyhoo, if the gauge shot to max your sender is fubar or the lucar connector on top is loose.Just get a new one.Did you check the fan cuts in?:whistling:

no the fan doesnt cut in, but it doesnt even with the wire disconnected so i think thats a seperate issue.