Heater output / engine temp
Discussion
Hi all,
before I bought my Chimaera (August) - I'd read that a common problem with older models was engine overheating. So I was expecting the fans to be going like the clappers all the time. But now, with colder ambient temperatures, I'm finding the opposite....the engine only ever reaches around 70deg on the gauge and the heater output is not what you'd call hot really.
Maybe I should fit a radiator blanket, like you do with a Land Rover!
Anyone else getting similar results?
Matt
before I bought my Chimaera (August) - I'd read that a common problem with older models was engine overheating. So I was expecting the fans to be going like the clappers all the time. But now, with colder ambient temperatures, I'm finding the opposite....the engine only ever reaches around 70deg on the gauge and the heater output is not what you'd call hot really.
Maybe I should fit a radiator blanket, like you do with a Land Rover!
Anyone else getting similar results?
Matt
Mine's the same. Cruises between 65 and 70' on the motorway in cold weather. Still goes into the 80's in traffic jams though so I'm reluctant to block off any airflow. Seemed better last winter when it was running a higher thermostat, but I changed it for a recommended (74') in the spring. Shouldn't make any difference at under 70', but....
There was another post on this subject some time ago... www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=8&h=&t=20445
>> Edited by crimsonchim on Thursday 19th December 17:22
There was another post on this subject some time ago... www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=8&h=&t=20445
>> Edited by crimsonchim on Thursday 19th December 17:22
It is nothing to do with the stat in reality. The temp will rise quickly in stationary traffic. The biggest issue on motorways is cold air flow through the grill. All that is needed is to partially block the flow through the rad. A piece of stiff plastic sheeting is fine like a piece of laminated card. Don't use paper or cardboard as it disintegrates and blocks the rad.
Hell of a lot easier than changing stats etc. This will raise the temp and is a lot easier to take out should the need arise.
Ideally you want to be in a 70-90 sweet spot.
>> Edited by shpub on Friday 20th December 08:54
Hell of a lot easier than changing stats etc. This will raise the temp and is a lot easier to take out should the need arise.
Ideally you want to be in a 70-90 sweet spot.
>> Edited by shpub on Friday 20th December 08:54
I seem to remember my old Dad telling me that an old car of his (might have been an old consul or zephyr) had a "radiator blind" that you could operate from a lever inside the cab. That's what we need!
Been thinking about this for some time. Some blinds, a temp sensor and a couple of servos should do it. Given me something to think about over christmas anyway!
Been thinking about this for some time. Some blinds, a temp sensor and a couple of servos should do it. Given me something to think about over christmas anyway!
True, but it was nothing so complicated as what you have in mind! You used to but them from the back pages of magazines like The AutoCar and Motor. They had a little cable which ran back to a mounting under the dasj board and you simply pulled it up and down like a roller-blind! Rich...
crimsonchim said: I seem to remember my old Dad telling me that an old car of his (might have been an old consul or zephyr) had a "radiator blind" that you could operate from a lever inside the cab. That's what we need!
Been thinking about this for some time. Some blinds, a temp sensor and a couple of servos should do it. Given me something to think about over christmas anyway!
Iam sorry,there is no way i would strap a bit of cardboard or any other material across the front of my "modern" car, even if you cant see it. The thermostat sets the basic lower engine temp, full stop.The fans set the upper temp. If it doesnt, take it out and then see if its cooler on the motorway! I know we have all been here before but,really.
>> Edited by david beer on Saturday 21st December 17:04
>> Edited by david beer on Saturday 21st December 17:04
david beer said: Iam sorry,there is no way i would strap a bit of cardboard or any other material across the front of my "modern" car, even if you cant see it. The thermostat sets the basic lower engine temp, full stop.The fans set the upper temp. If it doesnt, take it out and then see if its cooler on the motorway! I know we have all been here before but,really.
>> Edited by david beer on Saturday 21st December 17:04
The stat determines when the water flows through the rad, but that isn't the only cooling the engine gets. The cold air blast onto the engine itself has a significant cooling effect, especially if the ambiant temperature is down towards freezing and the engine isn't working hard. On motorways in the winter, my V8S will cruise at 60 degees or less with the stat fully closed and the radiator virtually stone cold, all the cooling comes from the air blast. By blocking off half the front grill I can get it warm enough to just start to open the stat. Under those conditions, blocking off the front grill more and more doesn't make much difference at all - it still sits right on the stat opening temperature. All this is under cruise conditions - it warms up when you slow down, of course.
PS black gaffer tape if you have a mesh grill, cardboard wrapped in bin liner if you haven't.
Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
I quite agree about the cold air blast. How come in the summer we have too little air and in the winter too much. My Rangie has the cold air blast and it never budges in winter or summer. All iam saying is having a lower thermostat is not going to help keep the temperature up in the winter when we need it and in the summer is virtually open all the time.
They don't have:
simpo one said: So how does BMW do it? Mine not only reaches temperature in a quarter of the time the Griff takes, but the needle stays bang on its middle spot whether I'm doing 0 or 70, summer or winter.
a) A nice insulated GRP engine bay
b) Big manifolds that do a whole circuit of the bay that act as excellent heaters
What this means is that the cooling system must be really powerful to cope with the summer heat, which means in winter it is massively overspecified.
What this means is that the cooling system must be really powerful to cope with the summer heat, which means in winter it is massively overspecified.
Yep. As a rough guide assume 1/3 of engine power dissipates as heat, so on a well sorted Griff 500 that is around 100 BHP or 75KW. The equivalent of 75 1 kilowatt heaters all under the bonnet.
,get one off a truck if your feeling the cold
Back when I was a lad, my Dad used to come home each Christmas with the new "works " calander. It was perfect for sitting in front of the radiator of the Morris Minor/Ford pop/Hillman Minx. When he got a Beetle I used to nick the calender to fit my Midget!
(sweepscobwebsfromdeskanddecomposes.)
(sweepscobwebsfromdeskanddecomposes.)
simpo one said: So how does BMW do it? Mine not only reaches temperature in a quarter of the time the Griff takes, but the needle stays bang on its middle spot whether I'm doing 0 or 70, summer or winter.
You may find that the temp gauge is not actually a linear anologue device indicating a true zero to max. A lot of main-stream (including BMW) manufacturers have three settings - OFF (cold) NORM (anything between warm and hot) and HOT (over say, 95). That's why they all show bang on the middle for normal conditions.
- well that's MHO anyway. 
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