car running hot (fan question)

[CALL AAA]

Hello,
I figured out why my car runs so warm. (hot, actually) I was sitting in traffic, today, and I saw the temp climbing to 230, and then the fan kicked on and it dropped to about 215. But the fan didn't stay on long, and it started to climb again.
So I have 2 questions.
What should my temp be on a 60 degree day, not moving, with and without the fan on? (car has no A/C)
How can I keep the fan on longer? I don't remember what controls when the fan goes on and off.

Thanks, everybody.

 

[Axianator]

What should my temp be on a 60 degree day, not moving, with and without the fan on? (car has no A/C)

Assuming a perfect (or near-perfect) cooling system with fresh coolant, no clogs and a properly functioning thermostat, your radiator should be able to keep the coolant at or around the thermostat opening temperature (192F factory) under those conditions.

FWIW, the factory MTX low-speed fan settings are 216F on and 192F off. How old is your ECT sensor?

How can I keep the fan on longer? I don't remember what controls when the fan goes on and off.

Any climate control mode that engages the compressor will force fan operation (max A/C, panel/floor, floor/defrost, defrost or automatic), provided the right conditions are met (e.g. coolant is up to a specified temp, vehicle travelling under a certain speed, etc).

 

[SASHO91]

^^^ this is what i use...

i disconnected the compressor, and just use the FlR/Def. as my fan switch... works awesome... keeps temps at 180* even in 95* Texas heat..

only thing is the fan kicks off at 44mph.... but anything above that and your still getting enough airflow over the rad.....

 

[CALL AAA]

OK, disconnecting the compressor shouldn't be a problem. I think most of it is in a box under the work bench.
I don't know about a fan switch, though. I would much rather have it turn on and off by itself.

Axionator, if defrost turns the fan on, I should be able to drive in traffic with that on, and keep the fan running, and at least keep the temp down to 215, which is my "low," right?

As for the ECT sensor, is that different than a temp sending unit? Which one would be on the other end of my temp guage. The guage isn't that old. 3,000 miles, maybe?

Other things for consideration:
I have a double core radiator, new(er) water pump, TB is bypassed, I don't know what thermostat I have but it's probably a 180 deg. (and it's probably in backwards )

 

[SASHO91]

I don't know about a fan switch, though. I would much rather have it turn on and off by itself.

thats what I can do...

 

[CALL AAA]

thats what I can do...

What do you mean? You mean you can turn it on and off with the windshield defrost button?
That's good as a temporary solution, but I don't want to run it all the time. I will do it for now, but I'd really rather have the cooling system do its job, and not have to worry about remembering to have the def switch on to keep the car cool.

(did I take your response out of context?)

 

[DigDeez]

^^^ this is what i use...

i disconnected the compressor, and just use the FlR/Def. as my fan switch... works awesome... keeps temps at 180* even in 95* Texas heat..

only thing is the fan kicks off at 44mph.... but anything above that and your still getting enough airflow over the rad.....

That's good to know! You say the compressor?

The temp guage is always up in the hot summer days, but it never goes out of the NORML range, which they say is o.k. as long as it stays in that range! It would be nice to turn the fan on while sitting in 2hrs. of rush hour traffic in 90degrees & humid, black seats w/ no a.c. !

 

[SHOZ123]

Get a Flex-I-lite part # FLX-31147 from Summit racing. Connect to a 12V power source through an inline 5A fuse. Then splice into the PCM turn on wire for the high speed fan relay at the CCRM. Set the switch to whatever temp you want the fan to turn onto.

 

[CALL AAA]

That sounds like a good job for someone else to do. I'll print this up and give it all to my stereo guy. He'll make sense of it.
Thanks!
Tony