Sagaris overheating
Sagaris overheating
Author
Discussion

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
Just bought my first TVR (Sagaris)over a week ago. Been running fine but last day or so been overheating and belting out steam from the bonnet. I don't know if the fan came on at all. Need some help as I'm really crap with all this!!

VARLEYHYD

2,244 posts

236 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
Maybe just a case of an overfilled coolant header tank.

If so, it spits excess out & causes steam from bonnet untill natural level is ok.

Or rain sits on rad and shortly after start up blows steam

Expect dash water temp to be 85-94 when fans should cut in.

If temp any higher you may need the system bled or sensors checked

Hope this helps
or try my web link

G

Edited by VARLEYHYD on Wednesday 23 December 23:10

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
quotequote all
The water temp was hitting 120. It has been rained and snowed on the last couple of days, can that affect the electrics?!

D14 AYS

3,696 posts

239 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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parvs said:
The water temp was hitting 120. It has been rained and snowed on the last couple of days, can that affect the electrics?!
Dont run the car if it is hitting temps like that! You need to get it looked at.

Good luck.

dbvw

134 posts

221 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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I had a similar problem with my Sag a few months ago. Luckily only 2 miles or so from home. When idle the temp would soar and steam would start coming out of the bonnet and from under the wheel arches. I limped it home. It turned out to be the switches near the fans that were not working therefore not telling the fans to switch on.

Best way to check, park the car up run the engine and listen to when and if the fans come on. If the temp reaches 94+ and the fans are still off there's your problem.

hope it helps.

Edited by dbvw on Thursday 24th December 08:31

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
quotequote all
It's the sensor I keep getting a warning (water sensor!) is there any easy fix or temporary solution to get the fans to kick in?so I can at least get to the dealer ( an hours drive!) thanks for your help!

darkmark07

702 posts

227 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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parvs said:
It's the sensor I keep getting a warning (water sensor!) is there any easy fix or temporary solution to get the fans to kick in?so I can at least get to the dealer ( an hours drive!) thanks for your help!
Not necessarily the sensor, I'm afraid, although that doesn't mean that it's not...

I'm pretty sure that is just a generic over temperature fault (Error 15 IIRC). I had the same thing when I had a water leak caused by a loose hose clip.

Has it lost a lot of water? Not sure if the Sag has an expansion tank or whether you just fill the swirlpot directly.

Some sound advice on this thread here - although my trip to the garage was only about 15 minutes...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Hope it's nothing too serious...

Regards,

Mark

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
quotequote all
The fans are working. How do I check the coolant level? Can a low level cause overheating? Sorry for all the questions, I know it's christmas eve, but I'm sure you can appreciate my dilemma, particularly as my engineering knowledge is pretty rudimentary.

Laser Sag

2,860 posts

272 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
quotequote all
If there is not enough coolant in the system then yes it will overheat,top up the tank with the blue plastic cap (on left of engine bay as you look in from front of car)with a mix of water and anti freeze. If coolant is low you may also have to make sure you havent got any air locks in cooling pipework etc.
HTH
Kev

SAGTAFF

599 posts

243 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
quotequote all
Laser Sag said:
top up the tank with the blue plastic cap (on left of engine bay as you look in from front of car)with a mix of water and anti freeze
Make sure its a 50/50 mix - I wasn't aware of this when I had my first TVR 5 years ago. Makes a big difference. When topping up, the level should only be about qtr way up the tank with the blue cap - don't fill anywhere near up to the brim as there won't be room for expansion.

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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Cheers guys there was no coolant, obviously there is a leak somewhere. Merry Xmas everyone, got my first job to do for the new year!

LaserTam

2,183 posts

248 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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These cars do need some care and attention. Once you have it sorted, its worth checking water and oil levels very regularly. The oil levels must be checked when engine is hot, have a search on here, there have been loads of threads.

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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one last question - how do i remove any air locks from the rad/ bleed it?

darkmark07

702 posts

227 months

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Thursday 24th December 2009
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Awesome. Will have a crack at it tomorrow morning. After all what's Xmas for?

parvs

Original Poster:

179 posts

202 months

Friday 25th December 2009
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Erm.....is the bleed valve the little brass bit on top of the rad? Excuse my ignorance, I had a mini for less then a year after passing my test, and been in lotuses ever since. I've never needed to do anything to any of them!

donaldosaurus

211 posts

232 months

Saturday 26th December 2009
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Buy one of Graham Varley's workshop manuals, a great thing.

JxT

339 posts

203 months

Saturday 26th December 2009
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Sorry for the small thread hijack, but other than seeing the battery voltage decrease, is there any way to check when (and if) the fans are coming on when driving?

Druid

1,312 posts

210 months

Saturday 26th December 2009
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Havent had my temp high enough for the fans whilst driving but certainly when stuck in traffic you can hear them cutting in and out. Would be nice to have some visual confirmation though.

KillerJim

972 posts

232 months

Monday 28th December 2009
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Druid said:
Havent had my temp high enough for the fans whilst driving but certainly when stuck in traffic you can hear them cutting in and out. Would be nice to have some visual confirmation though.
Agreed, you should be able to hear them come on - I notice the relay click when she gets up to around 92c water temp.

On filling the coolant, I always open the swirl pot first (keep the blue cap on) and fill that to the top. Replace swirl pot lid and fill expansion tank..

I find that she will almost always spit out water if both fan's kick on (after a top-up where she finds the natural level).