fan overide switch
Discussion
Yep, definitely worth flushing the radiator and the full system - I do mine every year on whatever classic I've owned. My Wedge had hardly been used the five years before I bought it and it did run hot. A thorough flush and a new thermostat and it now runs just above half way on the gauge.
Hi mate...Mine reads about 2mm under the white line before the red..Mine also has an 88 degree thermostat in it and all i have is a manual override switch...Plus thirty seconds for a cooling fan is long enough to bring it down below the limit..Which is probably around 90 degrees..The main thing is knowing that the fan is coming on and going off...If its staying on then there is a problem...If its not coming on then there will be a more of an obvious problem!..If the fan switches off and then on again then its working.
Have someone test the coolant ratio or try this...
Testing your coolant with a multi-meter.
A reading of .4 volts or less means the coolant is good. Replace the coolant if the reading is higher than .4 volts.
If you think the only job of antifreeze (coolant) is to cool the engine during the summer and prevent freeze-up during the winter, read on. Coolant also plays an important role in preventing corrosion caused by electrolysis. Electrolysis occurs when two dissimilar metals start swapping electrons, causing the metals to corrode. Since an engine has aluminum, copper, cast iron, steel and magnesium alloys, electrolysis will slowly eat away at its innards.
Coolant has additives to prevent all of that electron swapping. But, as coolant ages, the additives are depleted and can't do the job anymore. In fact, worn coolant becomes a pretty darn good electrical conductor, accelerating internal electrolysis. The good news is that it's pretty easy to check the conductivity of your coolant with a digital multimeter. If the conductivity is high, it's time for a coolant flush and fill. Here's a quick way to check it.
Begin with a cold engine. Remove the radiator cap and start the engine. Set your digital multimeter to DC volts at 20 volts or less. When the engine reaches operating temperature, insert the positive probe directly into the coolant. Rev the engine to 2,000 rpm and place the negative probe on the negative battery terminal. If the digital meter reads .4 volts or less, your coolant is in good condition. If it's greater than .4 volts, the electrolysis additives are exhausted, and you may be in the market for a new radiator, a water pump or a heater core in the future. All of those are far more expensive than a simple coolant change.
Hope this helps...Its a new one on me..
Cheers....Ziga
Have someone test the coolant ratio or try this...
Testing your coolant with a multi-meter.
A reading of .4 volts or less means the coolant is good. Replace the coolant if the reading is higher than .4 volts.
If you think the only job of antifreeze (coolant) is to cool the engine during the summer and prevent freeze-up during the winter, read on. Coolant also plays an important role in preventing corrosion caused by electrolysis. Electrolysis occurs when two dissimilar metals start swapping electrons, causing the metals to corrode. Since an engine has aluminum, copper, cast iron, steel and magnesium alloys, electrolysis will slowly eat away at its innards.
Coolant has additives to prevent all of that electron swapping. But, as coolant ages, the additives are depleted and can't do the job anymore. In fact, worn coolant becomes a pretty darn good electrical conductor, accelerating internal electrolysis. The good news is that it's pretty easy to check the conductivity of your coolant with a digital multimeter. If the conductivity is high, it's time for a coolant flush and fill. Here's a quick way to check it.
Begin with a cold engine. Remove the radiator cap and start the engine. Set your digital multimeter to DC volts at 20 volts or less. When the engine reaches operating temperature, insert the positive probe directly into the coolant. Rev the engine to 2,000 rpm and place the negative probe on the negative battery terminal. If the digital meter reads .4 volts or less, your coolant is in good condition. If it's greater than .4 volts, the electrolysis additives are exhausted, and you may be in the market for a new radiator, a water pump or a heater core in the future. All of those are far more expensive than a simple coolant change.
Hope this helps...Its a new one on me..
Cheers....Ziga
Looking at that photo above, it occurs to me that you should put the probe on the POSITIVE of the battery, NOT as shown there, because block should always be directly connected to negative terminal. It makes no sense as described - meter will always read zero.
This is assuming you are testing water conductivity. This makes sense, its conductivity will probably go up with more contaminants - the description in the main text does make sense.
(Do they still make +ve earth cars ? )
On most modern multimeters, you could use the resistance scale, but I don't know how many ohms it would be.
This is assuming you are testing water conductivity. This makes sense, its conductivity will probably go up with more contaminants - the description in the main text does make sense.
(Do they still make +ve earth cars ? )
On most modern multimeters, you could use the resistance scale, but I don't know how many ohms it would be.
Edited by RCK974X on Monday 17th August 20:59
Number 7 said:
mrzigazaga said:
..Mine also has an 88 degree thermostat in it ..Ziga
An 82 degree stat was an option on the RV8, and TVR made available a 74 degree version (mainly for the bigger engined variants I think) which I use.RCK974X said:
Looking at that photo above, it occurs to me that you should put the probe on the POSITIVE of the battery, NOT as shown there, because block should always be directly connected to negative terminal. It makes no sense as described - meter will always read zero.
This is assuming you are testing water conductivity.
As far as I can make out, the implication is that there's some 'charge' in the water that somehow raises its potential above the ground of the very metalwork in which it's circulating.This is assuming you are testing water conductivity.
If the date was somewhere around April 1st we could all nod knowingly
but it's not a technique I've ever come across.mrzigazaga said:
Sorry i think i got it confused with the fan switch i was going to fit which was 88 degree switching...
Rather than rely on the notoriously unreliable (and, on the Wedge inaccessible) Otter switch on the rad., fit a Kenlowe thermostat with its sensor in the rad top hose and use the 'stat contacts to switch on the original fan relay.One of the most useful things that the previous owner of my car did (i.e. not just bling
) was to have his pet garage fit a Kenlowe... but they went a bit monkey and used the 'stat to switch the fan directly, thus risking premature failure of the contacts by switching a nice 15-20A inductive load 
. I reconfigured it to use the relay (actually my car has two paired-up, TVR almost doing the job properly for a change) and it works a charm.If the relays fail due to arcing they're a fiver each, rather less than a new Kenlowe.
It doesn't have to be a Kenlowe, incidentally; several companies make thermostats with remote capillary sensors and a switching range around what's required (say 70-120 degrees).
Hi Ian...When i had the radiator recored i made sure the hole for the otter switch was welded up..The fan has the original wiring that went to it but it has been by-passed and connected to a manual switch....I call it an override switch but its not actually overriding anything...
The intention was to fit a thermostatically controlled switch that is available for the RV8...Either something like this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35MM-HOSE-ADAPTOR-RANGE-...
And then make sure i have the correct temperature rated thermostat...Probably the 74 degree..I did think about getting someone to weld a boss into the swan neck as thats the "Hot side" of the engine and there is little else room on anything remotely accessible that side...Or maybe a thermostatic probe in the swan neck joining hose..I had similar on Delilah and once the system was calibrated i didn't have any issues..Then i can still have my override switch that WILL override something....
The intention was to fit a thermostatically controlled switch that is available for the RV8...Either something like this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35MM-HOSE-ADAPTOR-RANGE-...
And then make sure i have the correct temperature rated thermostat...Probably the 74 degree..I did think about getting someone to weld a boss into the swan neck as thats the "Hot side" of the engine and there is little else room on anything remotely accessible that side...Or maybe a thermostatic probe in the swan neck joining hose..I had similar on Delilah and once the system was calibrated i didn't have any issues..Then i can still have my override switch that WILL override something....
colin mee said:
I think I will flush it all first.and may put twin fans on
I did that but I had not worked out the issues. I removed the cowl and single and fitted two fans tight to the face of the rad. However I wonder if I would have been fine with the cowl and single.Basically my plumbing was over complicated. Expansion tank not working (re sited and too low) and rad inefficient, re core sorted the latter admirably. Swan neck cap weeping, letting air in but not really letting water out, rad was doing that. The fans work, but I wonder if it still would have worked with a the system working correctly.
jmorgan said:
I wonder if I would have been fine with the cowl and single fan.
Basically my plumbing was over complicated.
Hi mate...Yes a cowling and a single fan would be ideal as the air is getting concentrated to where it needs to be...The rubber flaps on the standard cowling work a treat..People have removed them in some case but think about it...When moving they open to let air passed...When stationery they close to avoid sucking in hot engine bay air...Now the plumbing is a different story altogether...Speak to Martin..The Hatter about that..Most Wedges have either over complicated cooling systems or totally ineffective ones...Or both...Martin tried various ways but has i believe cracked it...For his at least....Basically my plumbing was over complicated.
Well as long as your running temperatures are okay and you can cool the static or traffic temps then everything is fine..To be fair i know i have slagged off the Wedge system but in honesty with a new rad, Flush and fresh coolant mine runs lovely...It could be in some cases that the radiator has a montage of slop in there...That would be the main part to flush but whatever you do disconnect bottom hose and pour from the top..Then flush the engine separately before hooking the rad back up...Please be aware that this also could cause your radiator to possibly start leaking as sometimes the shyte seals it up...Like mine was....I think the only solution is to have the radiator recored and upgrade the fan to a newer one or clean up the old one if its okay...Its inevitable if you still have the original one fitted so your going to have to bite the bullet sooner or later.....
I ended up with an 82 Deg stat; I fitted an 88 Deg one for a while and it didn't boil over but it did get uncomfortably hot from time to time... not ideal!
The SD1 vitesse had an 88 Deg stat but also had a viscous fan not an electric one; so the the Rover application had the fan running ALL the time.
The SD1 vitesse had an 88 Deg stat but also had a viscous fan not an electric one; so the the Rover application had the fan running ALL the time.
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