Over-heating

[Marie]

Any idea's?
Not the thermostat!
Water pump is new enough, matrix new enough?

Car drives perfect city driving, got as far as Askeaton co.Limerick saturday the car went straight into the red, steam pouring out under the bonnet, boiling back up into the coolant bottle, the fan is kicking in, lost...

[paul2508]

is the fan kicking in when it starts to overheat.

[crayzidane]

I had something similar just last week, overheating with steam, and after a quick look I found one of the hose clips wasn't quite tight and water/coolant was escaping so I invested in 4 s/steel jublee clips.
Problem solved.

[CJ]

As per Dan, check hoses first....

CJ

[Marie]

I've had all the hose pipes relpaced, the fan is kicking in (city driving) but Saturday when it was over heating the fan would not kick in?
The car was parked up for 8 months only back on the road since April past the nct only two weeks ago? No one can find any fault's took it to two places.

[escu_calin]

Saturday when it was over heating the fan would not kick in?

if you ask us ; you're in trouble

it can't be more difficult than one of the two cooling liquid sensors(there are 2 ; one keeps dash informed; and the real and sensitive one keeps the ecu informed);
And seems to me that the buggy one is the ECU temperature sensor or the thermostat which kicks in the additional cooling; because you said that it went red on dashboard, which indicates correct measurements on that side.

I'll look into manuals to find a exact location of the sensors; but if i were u I'd change all cooling related sensors: ecu sensor; thermostat and dash sensor.

1)dash thingie... on the safe side
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 0s596p7178
2)thermostat - important
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s596p369
3)engine coolant sensor - important
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s596p370

[Marie]

But the car is overheating?
The sensor is reading it correctly?
It's not the matrix, not the waterpump, not the thermostat, not the pipes.
Putting in new sensor's will not really help until I figure out why it is over heating right? Or will doing this make the fan kick in at high speed?

[escu_calin]

But the car is overheating?
The sensor is reading it correctly?
It's not the matrix, not the waterpump, not the thermostat, not the pipes.
Putting in new sensor's will not really help until I figure out why it is over heating right? Or will doing this make the fan kick in at high speed?

water boils at ~100 degrees Celsius; so when it reached this temperature it went out thru the valve and into the plastic jar

-steam means the engine was overheating->read below why
-the dash sensor went on red.. so yes is working fine
-nobody said nothing about matrix, water pump or pipes



lol,seems to me your car is fine if nothing is faulty but lets proceed

the combustion engine works in this way:
air+fuel gets burned and from this it results energy; the energy resulted gets out of the engine via 2 ways

1) cinetic energy
2) heat

since the car of yours is moving ; the first point is ok
the heat is not good if much over 80 degrees Celsius
so ; it is moved to the radiator via cooling liquid as many encountered it in the form of water+antifreeze(a more complex chemical compound) when the sensors monitoring it encounter a threshold value in the following stages

1) at first threshold the water is put under circulation via the front radiator
2) at second; the additional fans kick in to help air circulation when not enough air is circulating resulting in the return water too hot; so at high speeds the fans should not kick in

at both stages the coolant liquid sensor and the thermostat are playing the guest stars roles and if one of them is faulty or anything; then the scenarios are:

a)ECU does not know when to start the ventilators(cause:faulty temp sensor);
b)The water won't go thrum the radiator thus blowing the water tower valve or one of the hoses(cause:faulty thermostat)

conclusion ; i stand by my suggestion to replace the liquid coolant sensing parts because it seems to me that the thermostat triggered way to late... being clogged or something and suddenly the temp gauge on your dash was flooded with hot water going red ... to be sure, from here , more data is needed:
The radiator was hot?
The return hose on top left corner of the radiator was also hot?
The additional cooling(fans) were rotating?

try repeat the same amount of driving around to see if it does this again... if not then because of the heat involved ; the deposits involved in a erroneous reading are gone and the cooling system needs nothing but a flush/refill and maintenance.

[CJ]

Not the thermostat!

Marie, has the stat been tested as fully operational? It should be removed to check condition.
Have you undertaken a diagnostic to confirm status of sensors?
Replace the coolant cap, they're cheap and can fail.
Have you confirmed if coolant loss is occurring?

CJ

[colm_mcm]

Air lock? Is the heater working?

[eamop]

if the fan isnt coming on all the time at peak temp then its the coolant temp sensor not telling the fans to come on if the bottom and top pipes on the rad/engine are really hot this would suggest the thermostat is open but its an easy test to see if it is. First remove the thermostat and then with a piece of string attached place it in a pot of boiling water and you should see it open then remove it from the water and shortly after as it cools you should see it close,after this procedure i would change the coolant temp sensor not to be confused with the temp gauge sensor theres is a post on here showing the location of both

[Aido C]

Engine coolant temperature sensor? Not the one for the clock on the dash but the one for the ECU. I got one in the motorfactors a few months ago for €16. If you get one make sure its the 2 wire one. The one wire one is the one for the clock on the dash.

[Muad_dib77]

Could the fan itself be faulty?

[eamop]

Could the fan itself be faulty?

it could be easily checked by rewiring it direct to see if it spins but i would rather try the temp sensor first relatively cheap part considering its importance and if this doesnt get the fans spinning then id look at the fan itself

[skipper]

Try changing the coolant filler cap. If enough pressure is achieved the system will boil. under working pressure the water should not boil untill about 115 degrees
I had a simular problem years ago with an audi quattro, tried all sorts including removing the thermostat but still overheated so was convinced the head gasket had gone.
I booked it into a dealer for a new head gasket, they did a test changed the radiator cap----- problem solved
.

[witcher]

Basic question is whether or not you are loosing the coolant. If not, it's nothing serious. if you are loosing coolant it is headgasket (probably). Had similar problem, the car was fine for app 30 miles and then it started to overheat, and it was becoming progressively worse. On a side notice overheating the engine is the worst thing you can do to your car, (except of running engine without oil) so fix it now, do not wait.

[eamop]

definitely needs immediate attention im sure one of the lads close to where you live would look at it for you if you ask nicely and the most important question as previously advised is are you losing water/coolant

[eamop]

well marie any news on your overheating issue?

[Marie]

Sorry for the late responce in replaying guy's 700euro later turn's out it is the headgasket
Have decided to admit defeat, had I not poured in so much money previously to try repair, with sensor's, hoses, clips ect... Then maybe I'd consider repairing it.

Going to scrap It's costing more to repair then it is worth.

[eamop]

sorry to hear that marie but surely scrapping it is a bit extreme what sort of money you looking at to set it right

[witcher]

Marie, headgasket and some other works (head planting) shall not cost you more than 250 - 300max. Reconsider, If you are quoted more for this repair your mechanic is ripping you off (he probably is anyway considering you paid 700 euro so far) where you based?? I can help with the spanner if you live relatively near.

[Kace]

Marie, headgasket and some other works (head planting) shall not cost you more than 250 - 300max. Reconsider, If you are quoted more for this repair your mechanic is ripping you off (he probably is anyway considering you paid 700 euro so far) where you based?? I can help with the spanner if you live relatively near.

Nice one - hopefully this one can be saved from the scrapheap

[Marie]

So far I have replaced all hoses, all clips, all sensors, along with the clutch. (This was not due to the overhearting) I replaced the clutch for more power.
Beween the hoses clips and sensors it was 250euro before labour.

What suprises me is it just past the NCT???

I'm not even sure what to ask for it for scrap?

I also have all the leatherette seats steering wheel and paint that never went on brand new in the boxes! The glow dials did get put in so they'll be up for grabs too as soon as I get another car sorted.

[eamop]

So far I have replaced all hoses, all clips, all sensors, along with the clutch. (This was not due to the overhearting) I replaced the clutch for more power.
Beween the hoses clips and sensors it was 250euro before labour.

What suprises me is it just past the NCT???

I'm not even sure what to ask for it for scrap?

I also have all the leatherette seats steering wheel and paint that never went on brand new in the boxes! The glow dials did get put in so they'll be up for grabs too as soon as I get another car sorted.

i wouldn't mind the nct i had an a4 which i bought from a dealer (sold as seen) because it had a one day old 2 yr nct and a couple of weeks later it burst into flames as i was driving it had my sisters four kids in it at the time .when i went to the nct centre that tested it i was told they are only responsible for the test result while the car is on their premises once you drive it out they are not in any way responsible for the condition of the car even though they have just certified it as safe for two years ,the nct is nothing but a fiddle and means very little about the "safety " or real roadworthyness (if thats even a word) of the car and since then i have never bought a car based on an nct as imo its nothing but another government money robbing scam but witcher has offered to help you diy the head gasket so why not sell the sell the unfitted after market mods that you have and use that money to pay for the repairs would be a shame to scrap it after the work you have already have done and what are the chances you will get a car you love as much and one that has had the work done that you have just carried out on your fto please reconsider

[colm_mcm]

i wouldn't mind the nct i had an a4 which i bought from a dealer (sold as seen) because it had a one day old 2 yr nct and a couple of weeks later it burst into flames as i was driving it had my sisters four kids in it at the time .when i went to the nct centre that tested it i was told they are only responsible for the test result while the car is on their premises once you drive it out they are not in any way responsible for the condition of the car even though they have just certified it as safe for two years ,the nct is nothing but a fiddle and means very little about the "safety " or real roadworthyness (if thats even a word) of the car and since then.................

Unless the fire was caused by a petrol leak, then I can't see how you can say the NCT crowd were negligible. They test a car under certain conditions, whether the car will spontaniously burst into flames isn't on the checklist, I don't even know how they're suppose to test for this?
Do you?

The NCT doesn't certify the car as safe for 2 years. the test is due every 2 years, and the test certifys it as safe when they test it. You could drive down the road, kit a kerb, knock the tracking out and make the car unsafe within 30 seconds of passing your NCT. that doesn't mean your car is safe for 2 years.

I can't see how a test for 50 euro is a fiddle when most main dealers charge 70 euro per hour (plus vat) labour. Who's running the fiddle and who benefits from it?

I'm obviously sorry you had such a traumatic accident, but unless the fault can be traced directly to something the NCT missed that falls under their checklist and should have seen, then you've no business slagging them off like that.