over-heating

[Bank of SHO]

Ever since I had the 60k maintenance done (at Performance Plus), my SHO wants to over-heat on 95+ degree days when the a/c is on. This mostly happens during city driving. This happened for several years in Denver and now in Las Vegas. I end up having to turn on the heat to bring the temp back down. Otherwise the temp is always in the middle to low range on the guage on not-so-hot days.

Also sometimes when it wasn't even over-heating, I would find that (presumably) the coolant over-flow bottle would release a fair amount of coolant on the ground after a short visit to a store on hot days.

The radiator is always full. Occasionally I have to add to the reservoir bottle. I have replaced the radiator cap MANY times.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[KyngofPop]

Have you verified that you cooling fan is working on both speesd? If not do this first, then check/change the t-stat, and then you should check for a cooling system restriction. Others will chime in on this to help ya out.

<small>[ January 23, 2003, 06:03 PM: Message edited by: SHOmyWS6/Merkur ]</small>

 

[projectSHO89]

Yeah, check for cooling fan operation. Sounds like it's broke or the radiator is clogged.

Ssteve

 

[Bank of SHO]

How should I go about troubleshooting it?
Sould I pay a shop or should I buy a unit to check codes?

Would such a unit test the fan for high speed operation?

 

[EZ4U2ENVY]

Mine did exact same thing- i replaced the ECT sensor- all is well now- it stays well below middle now- in the comfort zone- so that might be your problem to... goodluck

 

[yamahaSHO]

EZ4U2ENVY:
Mine did exact same thing- i replaced the ECT sensor- all is well now- it stays well below middle now- in the comfort zone- so that might be your problem to... goodluck

Same here boink

 

[Bank of SHO]

That's good news. I am working up the courage to work on my own car.

Is there a detailed thread on how to replace this sensor? I am a car novice but fairly mechanically inclined. Am I asking for trouble?

 

[BlackMagik]

Some helpful hints...I just changed this sensor:

Cost is $17.00 at Advance Auto

Location (at least on my 94 ATX) is on the left side of the engine and threads into a metal tube near the end of the radiator hose.

Two possible causes for your problem are a bad sensor or a bad fan. Two ways to check the fan would be to first start the car and then turn on the heater, the cooling fan on the radiator should start running for a while. You can also connect 12V DC directly to the fan electrical connnection to see if it runs but I've never done this because the firs method always seems to work for me. If the fan checks good but doesn't run when the car gets hot you probably have a bad sensor. Those of us who live in colder climates will notice that the heater fails to turn on in auto or manual mode when this sensor goes bad...I'm not sure why but this is what my car was doing.

I'm no expert but I just had this problem a week ago, hope this helps.

 

[projectSHO89]

Guess all you want to, but a simple search shows this extensive post http://www.shoforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=005071#000005 with the complete diagostic procedure to check out a Gen 1 cooling fan circuit that I wrote only two weeks ago.

It will also apply, with some minor changes, to the Gen 2.

Steve

<small>[ January 28, 2003, 08:15 AM: Message edited by: projectSHO89 ]</small>

 

[Bank of SHO]

ProjectSHO89,
I did follow that thread when it originated but obviously hadn't revisited since you posted those instructions . Sorry about that. I understand your exasperation. I do utilize the search engine, though not always with great success. Thanks to you and all for the help. It is greatly appreciated.
Tom