Coolant/Temp Paranoia
Discussion
Hmmm .... any advice greatfully received...
Used the car (2000V S1) this morning to travel to London. First time I've used her in the rain and the wet so I was carrying a teatowel for the drips and planning to take it VERY easy.
Checked the coolant before I started out but couldn't quite see in the dark but it looked low, drove to the Esso and looked under the light of the forecourt and it was about 1cm above the min.
Drove into London and had a fair bit of queuing traffic, noticed the temp was a bit variable. It usually sits around 84/85 but I saw everything from 82-97 and then 102 just as I came out of the Limehouse Link (heavy queue in a tunnel).
Parked up in London with temp on 90, checked coolant and it was just on the join of the two halves of the expansion tank.
Am I paranoid? should I just leep an eye on it? Does the k behave differently in the wet and cold?
Thanks in advance
J
Used the car (2000V S1) this morning to travel to London. First time I've used her in the rain and the wet so I was carrying a teatowel for the drips and planning to take it VERY easy.
Checked the coolant before I started out but couldn't quite see in the dark but it looked low, drove to the Esso and looked under the light of the forecourt and it was about 1cm above the min.
Drove into London and had a fair bit of queuing traffic, noticed the temp was a bit variable. It usually sits around 84/85 but I saw everything from 82-97 and then 102 just as I came out of the Limehouse Link (heavy queue in a tunnel).
Parked up in London with temp on 90, checked coolant and it was just on the join of the two halves of the expansion tank.
Am I paranoid? should I just leep an eye on it? Does the k behave differently in the wet and cold?
Thanks in advance
J
Seems normal to me... you should notice the temp go up after long running when you come to stop in traffic as the heat soak from the engine works its way out via the cooling system.
It should only get to 102-104 degrees before the fan comes on and quickly brings you back down to 90.
The coolant level you described is normal. Most Elises (S1s) will sit around or just above the MIN mark when cold and slightly above it when warm... generally pointless to fill it up as it'll just blow the coolant out until they'e back down at this level.... as long as it doesn't keep getting lower and lower every time you check it, it's not a worry at all.
Furthermore, your temp will quite often over-read by 1-5 degrees when you've got high-drain devices like the heater-fan going full blast.... bad earthing around the temp sensor or battery earth will do this. It'll make the stack read a bit high but it's nothing to worry about.
Your temp readings don't seem too far out of the ordinary.... open road cruising mine sits on 85-87 degrees and in traffic 88-89.... if left in stationary traffic for a long time this will eventually crep upwards (over 10 minutes of not moving) until the fans come on.... you'll realise in the end that it's nothing to worry about..... one thing about Elise ownership is that the digital readout on the stack gives many new owners paranoia.... on a standard analogue guage I doubt you'd notice the difference between 84 and 94 degrees.
Don't sweat it, get out there and enjoy it
>> Edited by Esprit on Thursday 13th October 11:19
It should only get to 102-104 degrees before the fan comes on and quickly brings you back down to 90.
The coolant level you described is normal. Most Elises (S1s) will sit around or just above the MIN mark when cold and slightly above it when warm... generally pointless to fill it up as it'll just blow the coolant out until they'e back down at this level.... as long as it doesn't keep getting lower and lower every time you check it, it's not a worry at all.
Furthermore, your temp will quite often over-read by 1-5 degrees when you've got high-drain devices like the heater-fan going full blast.... bad earthing around the temp sensor or battery earth will do this. It'll make the stack read a bit high but it's nothing to worry about.
Your temp readings don't seem too far out of the ordinary.... open road cruising mine sits on 85-87 degrees and in traffic 88-89.... if left in stationary traffic for a long time this will eventually crep upwards (over 10 minutes of not moving) until the fans come on.... you'll realise in the end that it's nothing to worry about..... one thing about Elise ownership is that the digital readout on the stack gives many new owners paranoia.... on a standard analogue guage I doubt you'd notice the difference between 84 and 94 degrees.
Don't sweat it, get out there and enjoy it
>> Edited by Esprit on Thursday 13th October 11:19
HGF in Feb now fixed so I watch the temp more than anything else.
The temps you are seeing are normal.
Just in case and you more than likley do but its best for all cars, let the car warm up gentley before gunning it and before you switch the engine off make if its at the high end of the 90's let the Fan cut in and cool it until the fan switches off.
For most cars when the engine is hot the fan will cut in when the car's ignition is off. The Fan on my S1 only comes on if the engine is running. Personally I would prefer a flat bat than a cooked engine.
Gary
>> Edited by garydvo on Thursday 13th October 13:20
The temps you are seeing are normal.
Just in case and you more than likley do but its best for all cars, let the car warm up gentley before gunning it and before you switch the engine off make if its at the high end of the 90's let the Fan cut in and cool it until the fan switches off.
For most cars when the engine is hot the fan will cut in when the car's ignition is off. The Fan on my S1 only comes on if the engine is running. Personally I would prefer a flat bat than a cooked engine.
Gary
>> Edited by garydvo on Thursday 13th October 13:20
Yep - perfectly normal, I know how you feel, I get the same irrational paranoia that comes from a temp readout on a car with HGF as an achillies heel.
Another think to take note of is that the water pump slows at low revs, some people swear by holding the revs at 2K+ in traffic but to be honest most engines are designed to run a heat cycle. You'll know if the fan kicks in as not only will the temp start to drop at 102-103 but you'll see a heat haze in front of you. In heavy traffic mine drops to 96 then the climb starts all over again. One way of passing the time during a traffic jam, I 'spose...
Another think to take note of is that the water pump slows at low revs, some people swear by holding the revs at 2K+ in traffic but to be honest most engines are designed to run a heat cycle. You'll know if the fan kicks in as not only will the temp start to drop at 102-103 but you'll see a heat haze in front of you. In heavy traffic mine drops to 96 then the climb starts all over again. One way of passing the time during a traffic jam, I 'spose...
S Works said:
All totally normal 
Has it started "snorting" steam at you yet
Hehe one of my favourite little quirks of the Elise
Always enjoy taking it for a drive just after she's been washed and she steams like a bugger! But yeah the advice about letting her warm up first is golden. I always take it very easy (4kRPM rev limit and only ~50% throttle) until 5 minutes AFTER my thermostat pops (87-88 degrees).... just to allow the engine and cooling system to stabilise before throwing lots of energy at it... this should be the best insurance against HGF.
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