Radiator switch needed
Discussion
That's the otter switch, controls the fans.
If it is working (ie the fans come on when the engine is hot) but just seeping coolant, then you may be able to reseal it. Have you checked that it is tight?
It has no effect on the water temp gauge.
However, it's pretty standard and a replacement will solve the leak. You need one that comes on at about 92 degrees, goes off at about 85 degrees. You can vary that to suit your operating temperatures and where you live. If you are changing it yourself you will need a big socket - from memory about 27-30 mm. If you live near Newark I have the relevant socket somewhere.
If it is working (ie the fans come on when the engine is hot) but just seeping coolant, then you may be able to reseal it. Have you checked that it is tight?
It has no effect on the water temp gauge.
However, it's pretty standard and a replacement will solve the leak. You need one that comes on at about 92 degrees, goes off at about 85 degrees. You can vary that to suit your operating temperatures and where you live. If you are changing it yourself you will need a big socket - from memory about 27-30 mm. If you live near Newark I have the relevant socket somewhere.
Edited by QBee on Monday 25th May 12:39
http://www.actproducts.co.uk/product/hg01-tvr-grif...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fan-switch-TVR-Chimaera-...
Early turn on refers to the temperature being lower than for a Range Rover
Sorry, I am struggling to remember which car it came from. I spent a happy half hour at a local independent motor spares place, sorting through literally hundreds of alternatives to get the right one, and paid about £12 for it. You will need the correct big socket on a ratchet with a short extension IIRC, have the new part to hand, then whip the old one out and get the new one in immediately, and there's no need to drain the cooling system.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fan-switch-TVR-Chimaera-...
Early turn on refers to the temperature being lower than for a Range Rover
Sorry, I am struggling to remember which car it came from. I spent a happy half hour at a local independent motor spares place, sorting through literally hundreds of alternatives to get the right one, and paid about £12 for it. You will need the correct big socket on a ratchet with a short extension IIRC, have the new part to hand, then whip the old one out and get the new one in immediately, and there's no need to drain the cooling system.
bababoom said:
Brill thanks for that.
Next question the water temp seems to move about a lot between 50 and 70, I have googled it but there's a 1001 different options about what it could be?
Depends what you mean by this. On a cool morning like today, mine will crawl its way up to 65 degrees and stay there while I drive down the A1. Frozen nuts confirm the reading is correct, heater useless at this temp. If i stop for five minutes and let the engine idle, then temp shoots up to 90 degrees, heater going full tilt, fans cut in, and it takes quite a few miles to drop back down to 70 degrees again.Next question the water temp seems to move about a lot between 50 and 70, I have googled it but there's a 1001 different options about what it could be?
Please give more of a description with timings
bababoom said:
Driving at motorway speeds it sits about 50.
Giving it the beans on a roads it will rise to about 70 and if left to idle it will rise to 85/90 when the fans start.
Reading more into it this would seem normal?
Most other cars ive had always sit at 90 thats what I was going by.
Yes, this is quite normal.Giving it the beans on a roads it will rise to about 70 and if left to idle it will rise to 85/90 when the fans start.
Reading more into it this would seem normal?
Most other cars ive had always sit at 90 thats what I was going by.
All cars coolant temperature will fluctuate in pretty much the same way due to the laws of physics, but modern cars indicate a steady temperature on the gauge, (if indeed they actually have one) until something hideous has actually gone wrong, so that people don't worry about it going up and down.
Hope this helps.
Ged
J400GED said:
bababoom said:
Driving at motorway speeds it sits about 50.
Giving it the beans on a roads it will rise to about 70 and if left to idle it will rise to 85/90 when the fans start.
Reading more into it this would seem normal?
Most other cars ive had always sit at 90 thats what I was going by.
Yes, this is quite normal.Giving it the beans on a roads it will rise to about 70 and if left to idle it will rise to 85/90 when the fans start.
Reading more into it this would seem normal?
Most other cars ive had always sit at 90 thats what I was going by.
All cars coolant temperature will fluctuate in pretty much the same way due to the laws of physics, but modern cars indicate a steady temperature on the gauge, (if indeed they actually have one) until something hideous has actually gone wrong, so that people don't worry about it going up and down.
Hope this helps.
Ged
The thermostat holds the temp where it should be- it will open and close at its preset temp to control the water flow into the rad- so if you stat is opening at 80'c then the engine temp should NOT run cooler than this and it only runs hotter when the airflow through the rad is insufficient to take all the heat away. The reason why modern cars hold steady is the cooling system is so over capacity and efficient, that the water temp does not have a chance to rise any further once the stat' opens.
BTW the otter switch is a pretty an industry standard 22mm part- used on the likes of Golf GTI and Peugeot 205.
BTW the otter switch is a pretty an industry standard 22mm part- used on the likes of Golf GTI and Peugeot 205.
blitzracing said:
The thermostat holds the temp where it should be- it will open and close at its preset temp to control the water flow into the rad- so if you stat is opening at 80'c then the engine temp should NOT run cooler than this and it only runs hotter when the airflow through the rad is insufficient to take all the heat away. The reason why modern cars hold steady is the cooling system is so over capacity and efficient, that the water temp does not have a chance to rise any further once the stat' opens.
BTW the otter switch is a pretty an industry standard 22mm part- used on the likes of Golf GTI and Peugeot 205.
Once the thermostat is fully open it no longer controls the coolant temperature, the amount of heat put into the coolant and the airflow through the radiator -either from vehicle speed or the fans - controls the temperature. On modern cars, the gauge is told by the controller that if the temperature is within a pre-determined range to show a constant reading. Even with efficiency and over capacity, the coolant temperature will fluctuate. BTW the otter switch is a pretty an industry standard 22mm part- used on the likes of Golf GTI and Peugeot 205.
blitzracing said:
The thermostat holds the temp where it should be- it will open and close at its preset temp to control the water flow into the rad- so if you stat is opening at 80'c then the engine temp should NOT run cooler than this and it only runs hotter when the airflow through the rad is insufficient to take all the heat away. The reason why modern cars hold steady is the cooling system is so over capacity and efficient, that the water temp does not have a chance to rise any further once the stat' opens.
BTW the otter switch is a pretty an industry standard 22mm part- used on the likes of Golf GTI and Peugeot 205.
This is exactly right the engine shouldn't drop below 82'c ( or what ever temp the tstat is) but like Qbee says at steady highway speeds on cold days and even not so cold days the heater output suffers. I have checked and replaced my tstat BTW the otter switch is a pretty an industry standard 22mm part- used on the likes of Golf GTI and Peugeot 205.
So all I can assume is that either there is enough heat being shed through the heater and what ever water can sneak past the tstat and through the rad that the engine truly isn't reaching the 82'c point or the heat that comes out of the heater at 82'c just hasn't got the energy to do what 90-95'c air will do iyswim.
When I first got my car it had a 74'c tstat in it and it ran so cold that the ecu would richen up the mixture and it would run like a pig unless I pulled over and let it idle until the fans came on then it would be sweet as a nut again for a while.
J400GED said:
Once the thermostat is fully open it no longer controls the coolant temperature, the amount of heat put into the coolant and the airflow through the radiator -either from vehicle speed or the fans - controls the temperature. On modern cars, the gauge is told by the controller that if the temperature is within a pre-determined range to show a constant reading. Even with efficiency and over capacity, the coolant temperature will fluctuate.
The thermostat will open AND close- so with excess cooling capacity the engine water temp will drop, so the stat will start to close again, so restricting the water flow to the rad and ideally you should not see large fluctuations once operating temp is reached, as its a self regulating closed loop system. I appreciate however you can add or remove additional cooling by speed controlling the fans once the stat is fully open to try and minimise the raise where engine heat output is high. Thinking about it logically- you have an aluminium engine with steel liners and alloy head. These metals have different expansion rates, so to keep things reliable you dont want to cycle the temp too much if you can help it.blitzracing said:
The thermostat will open AND close- so with excess cooling capacity the engine water temp will drop, so the stat will start to close again, so restricting the water flow to the rad and ideally you should not see large fluctuations once operating temp is reached, as its a self regulating closed loop system. I appreciate however you can add or remove additional cooling by speed controlling the fans once the stat is fully open to try and minimise the raise where engine heat output is high. Thinking about it logically- you have an aluminium engine with steel liners and alloy head. These metals have different expansion rates, so to keep things reliable you dont want to cycle the temp too much if you can help it.
Mark, I am not arguing with you on how the system works, the point I was trying to make is that the temperature gauge in modern cars - except the Alfa 159 apparently - does not show fluctuations as it's signal from it's controller tells it to show a certain steady reading as long as the actual temperature is within a given range, so that the driver does not get concerned/alarmed about the temperature going up and down. 
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