Discussion
Oh no - another JB question 
Was in traffic today and the water temp went up to about 92-94, bearing in mind the outside temp was about 3 degrees and there was a slight "wisp" of vapour or steam from the front. The fans kicked in and temp came down to 85/86. This cycled a few times whilst I was in the jam and then all was back down to the early 80's once moving again
2 queries:
1. Is this normal or running a bit too hot(wisps of vapour make me nervous
) bearing in mind summer temps etc
2. Is there a fan override switch I can fit like I did on the Chim
Coach
Was in traffic today and the water temp went up to about 92-94, bearing in mind the outside temp was about 3 degrees and there was a slight "wisp" of vapour or steam from the front. The fans kicked in and temp came down to 85/86. This cycled a few times whilst I was in the jam and then all was back down to the early 80's once moving again
2 queries:
1. Is this normal or running a bit too hot(wisps of vapour make me nervous
) bearing in mind summer temps etc 2. Is there a fan override switch I can fit like I did on the Chim
Coach
Coach, Wisps of steam other then from the expansion tank cap can indicate a radiator leak. Have you noticed an odd smell in the cabin, a kind of sulfurous acidy pong? This is the smell of hot coolant. The high water temp may be due to an airlock in the cooling system caused by said leak in the radiator. A small pinhole leak may not be detectable at first and your friendly dealer may just bleed the cooling system to get rid of it. This will temporally cure the problem for a couple of weeks before the high temps and wisps of steam return. In my case a week after the second bleed the coolant splashed all over my driveway, Obviously the pinhole got bigger.
Sorry for being alarmist but I find myself in this situation right now and not looking forward to limping to a nearby independant specialist next week with a 2litre bottle of water behind the seat and my fingers crossed
Sorry for being alarmist but I find myself in this situation right now and not looking forward to limping to a nearby independant specialist next week with a 2litre bottle of water behind the seat and my fingers crossed
I suspect its all perfectly normal, fans coming on suggests that you have no airlock.
92-94 degress is not an alarming temperature, despite low ambient.
The "normal" wisp from the pressure relief cap is usually after topping up the water level, and overfilling..... You should be able to see traces of the overflow on the stainless tank itself.
92-94 degress is not an alarming temperature, despite low ambient.
The "normal" wisp from the pressure relief cap is usually after topping up the water level, and overfilling..... You should be able to see traces of the overflow on the stainless tank itself.
coach said:
I did top up the expansion tank as per the manual (seems a bit high - 10mm to the neck in the manual) and will see what happens
Coach
That does seem a bit high!
I normally fill up to about two inches from the top. (PH advice rather than the manual) Measured on a spoon. If you are filling up to within 10mm then you might well be venting excess coolant, as daftlad suggested.
coach said:
Thanks chaps
Will keep an eye on this during our "Shropshire and Staffs Mad March Run" today
I did top up the expansion tank as per the manual (seems a bit high - 10mm to the neck in the manual) and will see what happens
Coach
Hi Coach, You say you topped up the water?
Well i get the wisp of steam after topping up every time, it just means that like me you have put a tad too much water in, so its probably nothing to worry about.
Have you had the realy strange one yet... when starting up on these very cold mornings, i get a water temp fault saying 200 degrees c, But i think from what i have read on here, that "they all do that sir"
Dave
madbadger said:
I did top up the expansion tank as per the manual (seems a bit high - 10mm to the neck in the manual) and will see what happens
Coach
That does seem a bit high!
I normally fill up to about two inches from the top.[/] (PH advice rather than the manual) Measured on a spoon. If you are filling up to within 10mm then you might well be venting excess coolant, as daftlad suggested.
My manual states that there should be coolant 2 cm from the bottom of the expansion tank, not top!
Coach[/quote]
Have you had the realy strange one yet... when starting up on these very cold mornings, i get a water temp fault saying 200 degrees c, But i think from what i have read on here, that "they all do that sir"
Dave[/quote]
today as it happens.... she does make me smile from time to time
Well...
Back from the mad march lakes run and not a wisp! Nope, not a sausage! This is with topping it up "so that there is 10mm visible coolant in the neck" as per the manual!
She IS alive I tell ya!
We drove on dry roads, salty roads, wet roads and SNOW and she did not put a foot wrong....well I did...dry road - way to much throttle in 3rd and the wheels broke traction at about 40mph
the result - a wiggle of annoyance from her! 
Poky engine this one...
I do LOVE this car
Thank you all for putting up with my daft and incessant questions (yes, there are more in the chest of a million questions)
Back from the mad march lakes run and not a wisp! Nope, not a sausage! This is with topping it up "so that there is 10mm visible coolant in the neck" as per the manual!
She IS alive I tell ya!
We drove on dry roads, salty roads, wet roads and SNOW and she did not put a foot wrong....well I did...dry road - way to much throttle in 3rd and the wheels broke traction at about 40mph
the result - a wiggle of annoyance from her! Poky engine this one...
I do LOVE this car
Thank you all for putting up with my daft and incessant questions (yes, there are more in the chest of a million questions)
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