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Overheating 1.4 16V - HELP!
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:50 am
by dickys3
Hi all,
My misses has a R plate 1.4 16v polo and has been having problems recently with the temp gauge. When driving on the motorway (approx 70mph) the temp seems to stay around 70 degrees. Sometimes it will stay at 90 but more often around 70. This morning she phoned me saying she was stuck on the side of the motorway with the temp on 110 degrees!
I told her to let it cool down and then put the fans on blowing hot and take it easy. She got to work and phoned me and told me that it was fine for the rest of the journey, staying on 90 degrees?
Does this sound like a water pump failure? Or could it simply be a theromstat? Whats common on these?
Thanks for your help
Rich.
Re: Overheating 1.4 16V - HELP!
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:00 am
by bstardchild
dickys3 wrote:Hi all,
My misses has a R plate 1.4 16v polo and has been having problems recently with the temp gauge. When driving on the motorway (approx 70mph) the temp seems to stay around 70 degrees. Sometimes it will stay at 90 but more often around 70. This morning she phoned me saying she was stuck on the side of the motorway with the temp on 110 degrees!
I told her to let it cool down and then put the fans on blowing hot and take it easy. She got to work and phoned me and told me that it was fine for the rest of the journey, staying on 90 degrees?
Does this sound like a water pump failure? Or could it simply be a theromstat? Whats common on these?
Thanks for your help
Rich.
Thermostat would be the first place I looked but......
- Did it boil over? See the variability of your temp reading is leading me to distrust the guage - they normally suit rock steady on 90.
Why you may ask
- a short to ground would result in the needle hitting the end of the scale with the engine stone cold
- a broken connection to the temp sensor would equal no reading
You are getting both extremes so it could just be that the wire is loose and only making contact intermittantly
- Is the fan (electric) working when it goes over 90 - it should
- Water pumps can shear the impellors off but it's rare.
Hope this helps
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:28 am
by dickys3
Thanks for your help.
I think I'll change the thermostat tonight to see if it fixes the problems. Any gotchas to look out for? Where is it actually located in the engine bay?
cheers
Rich.
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:25 pm
by dickys3
ok, quick update...
Checked the car over when I got home, the bottom hose was cold when engine was running (100 degrees on dash). Fans wouldn't come on!
Replaced Thermostat and housing as the housing had a hole right through it and now the fans come on/off as normal!
Car doesn't overheat anymore!
One issue I have though is at idle it sits around 90, but when you take it for a drive it goes below 70 degrees?
Anyone got any ideas why it is running cold? There is plenty of heat coming from the heaters?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Rich.
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:27 pm
by JTLondon
dickys3 wrote:ok, quick update...
Checked the car over when I got home, the bottom hose was cold when engine was running (100 degrees on dash). Fans wouldn't come on!
Replaced Thermostat and housing as the housing had a hole right through it and now the fans come on/off as normal!
Car doesn't overheat anymore!
One issue I have though is at idle it sits around 90, but when you take it for a drive it goes below 70 degrees?
Anyone got any ideas why it is running cold? There is plenty of heat coming from the heaters?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Rich.
I had the same problem awhile back... car wouldnt even run for 10mins without boiling over
Was it easy to replace the thermostat by yourself? I had to take mine to the mechanic.
So once u drive the car, the needle drops below 90? or 70?