Science Abuse Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 start the car and drive it, watch the temp, it behaves as if the fan isint running, it crawls gradualy half way up the gauge and levels off for an inconsistent amoutn of time, then drops like a rock back downto normal operating temps. Tstat is 160 and is opening. So, WTF? Wheres the sensor in these motors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rl Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Sounds like the thermostat is sticking. Which car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ranger_Man Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Originally posted by rl: Sounds like the thermostat is sticking. Which car? righto, id change that thermostat. mine did that right before my thermostat died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Originally posted by rl: Sounds like the thermostat is sticking. Which car? +2 on changing the stat. Air bubbles can also play havic on your guage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science Abuse Posted September 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 Originally posted by rl: Sounds like the thermostat is sticking. Which car? its the bird, has a 2 month old 160 stat in it. bout time to change to a 180 and 50/50 antifreeze anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science Abuse Posted September 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 wait, if it was a stuck Tstat, wouldnt the temp go quite a bit higher then half way up the gauge? Also, the radiator is hot. Not warm, fricken hot. And, the fan is not running, where is the sensor that triggers tghe fan? Fan fuse is fine, hoping th efuckin fan itself aint hosed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest White Horse Posted September 16, 2003 Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 Hmmm... yeah, could go either way.. stuck stat or faulty temp sensor/fan switch.... luckily neither is horribly expensive or difficult to fix. You said that the fan does eventually kick on? Check for bad wires, may have a short as well. You might try temporarily wiring in a manual switch for the fan and seeing if the problem continues or stops... this would indicate where the problem is. (and its a cheap, fast way to diagnose your problem.) graemlins/thumb.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted September 16, 2003 Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 Mine is in the bottom of my radiator, I've usually seen them in the raditor end tanks or coolant elbow, but I guess it could be anywhere in your coolant system. EDIT: now that I think about it most probable place is somewhere on the radiator, or in the coolant tract after it leaves your engine to go into the radiator (or I guess it could be coming back out, but that wouldn't be as acurate). My logic is that it has to be somewhere near where the coolant is hiting the radiator, because the fan only realy cares how hot the coolant in the radiator is, not in the rest of the system. The temp. in the rest of system (read engine) is the tstats job. Oh ya, my car was overheating when I got it, turned out to be a fugged up electrical connector to the fan that's supposed to kick on. Check your coolant level, shake the engine around. I like the idea that someone else had that there are air bubles in the system, that's the only thing that makes sense if your needle is jumping around faster than it should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nevarmore Posted September 16, 2003 Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 Eric, it might be relevant to consider the rewiring you had to do to get your aftermarket fan to work right. IIRC you had a manual switch for it somewhere that might be interfering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science Abuse Posted September 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 Originally posted by Nevarmore: Eric, it might be relevant to consider the rewiring you had to do to get your aftermarket fan to work right. IIRC you had a manual switch for it somewhere that might be interfering. switch was removed eons ago and put back to the stock system. Checked my connections, all fine. I used male/femal connectors with boots and wraped them in tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supldys Posted September 18, 2003 Report Share Posted September 18, 2003 three possible sensors, dont know the specifics of the tbird, but call me at my work tomorrow and i can tell you. but theres usually a fan switch in the rad, then either in the engine or in the thermostat housing will be a coolant temp. sensor for the ecu and one for the gauge or light. possibly the gauge one is messed up, usually cheap, try changing it. if fan isnt turning on, hook directly up to the battery and make sure the motor works, if it does,check the wires and/or change that sensor too, still should be fairly cheap. 160 is unnecessary for your car, put the 180 in, put a good 50/50 mix, and try and get most of the air out of the system if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science Abuse Posted September 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2003 parked car today with gauge running high, half way. drained system, refilled with 50/50 and put a 180 stat in. With a system full of cold fluid, I start the car, and found the gauge was unmoved. There be no sensor in the stat housing, and none in/on the radiator itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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