J8S engine temperature readout

[panter]

Hi,
I have an unstable engine temp. readout on my J63 J8S TD.
Cleaning the temp sensor lead contacts solved instability but the red light keeps blinking all the time and it's making me nervous.
By the way, the real temperature (as I didn't trust the meter) is pretty steady and quite normal.
Anyone?

[Anders Dinsen]

Do you have other unstable instruments, e.g. rev-counter moving when you operate the blinkers?
I have the same on my Espace from 87 - I currently beleive it's a bad earth connection, but I have not had a chance to fix it yet (and like you, I have found out that there's no real problem).

- Anders

[panter]

Hi, thanks for replying.
Yes, I did have problem with mass (negative) terminal connection and it's fixed now. However it didn't solve that blinking temp light.
Although I've noticed next:
With AirCon turned on THIS ENGINE IS SUFFOCATING IN HEAT. Don't misunderstand me, the needle is just below the red area or at most,  barely touching it, and I think there is nothing wrong with an engine. It just has no enough fresh air intake and the bumper is blocking both radiators.
(Un)Luckily I recently broke front bumper just a little on too high a pavement, prior to gluing it I just might saw a big hole where front licence plate is. It just might work.
Any suggestions?

[Anders Dinsen]

With AirCon turned on THIS ENGINE IS SUFFOCATING IN HEAT.

I'd say that the airflow through the radiator is probably not good enough which may be because the fans are not running?

Good to hear you found your ground-effect-problem (no pun intended!)

[Lennart Sorth]

As soon as the aircon is turned on, the fans should start running, otherwise you will create a lot of heat in the condenser, (and quite possibly too high pressure in the airconsystem). I think there is a high-pressure switch-off thing inside the righthand side wing, just in front of the wheel.

The TD engine does not normally run very hot, or produce much heat, the system is designed with adequate airflow to the radiator through the grille.

So if your engine is sweating, there must be a problem with your car, not a generic design-fault, to be rectified by cutting big holes in the bumper.

Suggestions could be clogged radiator or clogged circulation, - or worn waterpump?

PS: My J63D once had a poor connection on ONE of the fans, which caused BOTH of them to not run. It was not easy to get my hands down there, but I succeeded without having to remove bumper, grille and half of the front :-)


/Lennart

[panter]

That was quick!

Thanks guys.

It's not about fans, both of them work well and sometimes I can hear them inside. (like driving a jet airplane)
I think I've found it today the front grille was lowered about 1.5 cm closer to the bumper, I've only checked it on my return home and today was not so hot a day.
Still I do believe that my car needs a cooling system flush, there you might be right. Who knows what might be in there.

Does anybody know of any good coolant residue flush?
Also how do I post something big here? I've got a some manuals on English and German.

[Lennart Sorth]

Also how do I post something big here? I've got a some manuals on English and German.

Out of the (real) risk of having the forum abused to store the wrong kinds of data, I haven't allowed large attachments, so send it to me - ls@matrasport.dk, then I'll stick it in the 'vault' 
( http://www.matrasport.dk/vault ) where everyone can get to it.

[panter]

Hi guys,
My radiator seems to be partially clogged, since there's no internal heating close valve, most of the cooling fluid goes rather through internal radiator than the main one, so the thermal switch rarely starts fans.
It's not that I havent suspected this, but I've found it just today. Can anyone suggest me any good cleaning technique besides removing radiator?

[Lennart Sorth]

not really, - or at least it will require it to be disconnected from the coolant system, and then you might as well remove it.

But look at the bright side - you are definitely on the track to solve this problem ! :-)

Questions:
How long have you owned the car ?
does is use plain water or antifreeze ?
Are there signs of (old)  leaks in the radiator ?   

Under normal use, a radiator shouldn't become clogged, - but if you run plain (Ca-rich) water in it, it might create a small risk.

My guess is however that there has been a minor leak, which somebody has "fixed" by adding one of these internal sealants, which over time has clogged it.

The best way is obviously to remove the radiator, and either deliver it to somebody with the tools/knowhow, or maybe try to clean it yourself. It would however require a good theory about WHAT is clogging it (to find out what to dissolve the clog with). Take care not to corrode the radiator itself (brass) though.

/Lennart

[stropley]

Hi,
By the way, the real temperature (as I didn't trust the meter) is pretty steady and quite normal.

Hi, I am worried about flow thru my rad as well - fans never seem to cut in although tamp guage rarely goes above half-way. Can someone tell me how you manually test the water/engine temperature?

Tnanks

[Anders Dinsen]

Hi,
By the way, the real temperature (as I didn't trust the meter) is pretty steady and quite normal.

Hi, I am worried about flow thru my rad as well - fans never seem to cut in although tamp guage rarely goes above half-way. Can someone tell me how you manually test the water/engine temperature?

Tnanks

Thermostat could be nonfunctional - that's the most likely cause for this problem. First, however, try shorting it to see if the fan works at all.

- Anders

[fragmaster]

just to mention i had temperate reading problems with a previous 1999 espace 2.2 i found a large main fuse in the fuse box at side of battery had blown causing problems.. i didnt replace it i just soldered it fixed my problem ok
regards frag