My car has been overheating as long as I am either at idle or slower than 20mph, this is forcing me to drive like a lunatic in order to keep the car cool because I have to go over 20 in order to make sure it wont overheat(almost impossible in traffic). I just replaced the fan clutch along with new coolant about 5 months ago because I had this problem before but that fixed it, and now it is back. What other things could cause this problem other than the fan clutch. I've heard that the auxiliary fan is supposed to turn on in order to keep the engine cool but even if I force it on by turning on the ac the car still overheats.
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i've had fan clutches die on me really fast. like less than 6 months. i would check to see if yours has done the same.
check to make sure you are not low on water and that the system has no air in it. jlevie has posted how to correctly bleed in many posts.
then you also need to see if the temp sensors are bad, the one on the radiator controls the electric fan. you can also turn on this fan with the AC button. or the car might just be saying it's hot but a faulty temp sensor is the cause. this happened to my friend.Much wow
I hate 4 doors
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I ordered a new radiator sensor because mine is janky and the wires keep falling out. It could be the gauge too because the batteries in my gauge cluster are going out and my gauges are acting all funky. I bled the system with no avail yesterday. I guess Ill check the fan clutch again. That sucks that they can die so quickly haha.Originally posted by Cabriolet View PostComment
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would it be worth it to do an electric fan conversion?Comment
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if you have a late model its pretty simple to check the aux fan operation. theres only 3 pins at the temp sensor connector. if you jumper the power pin to each of the other ones, the fan should turn on at a low speed and at a high speed. if it does that tells you the fuses, relays, wiring and resistor to the aux fan are ok. in this scenario you most likely just have a bad temp switch. and imo it would not be worth it to do a conversion since you already have an electric fan(the aux). and the oe system is designed pretty well. really with a properly working system you could probably throw the mechanical fan in the trash and be fine. i use the factory setup with an e34 aux fan and no mechanical myself on my s52. with a fan clutch and working aux system you should be more than ok.Comment
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but yes a faulty reading could be the cause as well, ive had that happen to me myself when i had my m20. the gauge would go to 3/4 sometimes while waiting at stoplights but after tightening the ground nut on the back of the cluster it never went above half. it might be a good idea to get an infrared thermometer and start checking temps at your rad, thermo housing, hoses, engine etc. other possible causes for overheating at a stop or slow speeds could be a partially clogged rad, lazy/partially opening thermostat, water pump with damaged impeller fins, air pockets in the system,etc. basically anything that won't support enough coolant flow volume to cool the engine down.Comment
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Can you elaborate a little bit on how I would jump them, sorry im a bit of a noob at electrical stuff.Originally posted by atldohc View PostComment
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While the aux fan temp switch could be a problem, it's primary purpose is assist when A/C is being used. Cars w/o A/C have no aux fan. Thus I'd explore the possibility of a bad fan clutch, misbehaving temp gauge, air in the system, or a bad thermostat first. The fan clutch is easy to test with a rolled up newspaper and the head temperature can be checked with an I/R temperature or contact gauge.
In this case, I'm inclined to suspect that the engine is running hot since the temperature comes back down when the car is moving faster. Which tends to exonerate the gauge as a suspect. If the easy suspects are eliminated as a cause, my next step would be to replace the radiator as it could be partially clogged.
For bleeding the system see http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=364705. You might also gain some benefit from flushing the cooling system (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...07&postcount=8) before replacing the radiator if it comes to that.The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
Jim Levie, Huntsville, ALComment
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A failing thermostat can cause the fan clutch to not engage. Air heated by the radiator is what heats the fan clutch and causes it to engage.
If the thermostat is not acting properly and blocking too much coolant flow, the car will run hot and the radiator will still be cool thus not engaging the fan clutch which makes the car overheat at low speeds. A failing thermostat can be slightly random in it's behavior as well.
Ask me how i know. Don't buy a shitty aftermarket thermostat either, buy a nice bmw or oem unit.Lorin
Originally posted by slammin.e28Comment
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Do you have a fan shroud installed ?Seat Shocks....I have passed the baton to John Christy from Ninestitch. Email John or Garrett at ninestitch1@gmail.com
https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...86#post4944786
Alice the Time Capsule
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=360504
87 Zinno Cabrio barn find 98k and still smells like a barn. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...20#post3455220Comment
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could be, Ive noticed that when the engine is still really hot( intake manifold, valve cover) the radiator is barely even luke warm. Wouldn't that also effect cooling while im driving though?Originally posted by LJ851 View PostComment
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Originally posted by Dzdimi14 View Post
It would if the thermostat failed closed, my car would still stay around the middle of the gauge on the highway (maybe a little warmer than usual) and then climb up to near the top of the gauge when i stopped.
Do you have an infrared heat gun?Lorin
Originally posted by slammin.e28Comment
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Harbor freight, like 9-15 dollars for a ir gun.Comment
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sick, ill pick one up. I can see myself just playing around with one of those for hours hahaOriginally posted by efficient View PostComment
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