Griffith 500 Engine Temperature, Help & Advise please
Discussion
As i am sure you all suffer from excessive high engine bay temperatures i'm hoping on some advise.
The 500 is totally standard but following a perfect faultless run (60 miles on saturday)park it for 10 mins, start it up and it wont idle, the revs drop off and it cuts out. Im thinking something is getting too hot and it wouldnt surprise me.
My thoughts are:
Pacet adjustable thermostat wired into the standard fans to bring the fans in sooner
Remove pre-cats, is it better to remove the cat myself or buy manifolds from somewhere?
Ceramic coat the cat? Who does this though? oh and will it help to reduce temperature?
Fit 75 degree thermostat
Possibly wrap the manifolds?
Fit a hot start kit?
Your thoughts please on the plan of action and who will be best to supply the parts, not too sure on how much money i have to spend on it yet, depends on what it will all cost.
Thanks
Equinox
>> Edited by Equinox on Wednesday 25th January 21:12
The 500 is totally standard but following a perfect faultless run (60 miles on saturday)park it for 10 mins, start it up and it wont idle, the revs drop off and it cuts out. Im thinking something is getting too hot and it wouldnt surprise me.
My thoughts are:
Pacet adjustable thermostat wired into the standard fans to bring the fans in sooner
Remove pre-cats, is it better to remove the cat myself or buy manifolds from somewhere?
Ceramic coat the cat? Who does this though? oh and will it help to reduce temperature?
Fit 75 degree thermostat
Possibly wrap the manifolds?
Fit a hot start kit?
Your thoughts please on the plan of action and who will be best to supply the parts, not too sure on how much money i have to spend on it yet, depends on what it will all cost.
Thanks
Equinox
>> Edited by Equinox on Wednesday 25th January 21:12
Equinox said:Not quite sure what you are saying here? If your car runs at around 85-90 degs then it's not excesivly high, yes the engine bay gets hot but that's normal, does your car overheat? If it overheats then that should be sorted first, if it doesn't but you get poor idle speed them something is obviously wrong. I have a mod-wise two stage cooling fan kit fitted because it keeps the air moving whilst in queues and is a god-send at places like Le Mans in that it keeps the engine bay and cockpit cooler but I didn't have over heating issues previously. I'd get the problem sorted rather than treat the symptom. Rich...
As i am sure you all suffer from excessive high engine bay temperatures i'm hoping on some advise.
The 500 is totally standard but following a perfect faultless run (60 miles on saturday)park it for 10 mins, start it up and it wont idle, the revs drop off and it cuts out.
It does not overheat, after a long drive this weekend it was fine, when it was turned off (for about 10 mins) then has the fault of not having a idle when re-started, the revs just drop until it cuts out. This only happened after the vehicle had been parked for a 10 mins and engine bay temperatures had risen with the engine turned off.
When cooler again it is fine
When cooler again it is fine
ive just ben sent the mod wise 2 stage cooling kit and am going to fit at the weekend, it looks fiddly to fit but from what ive heard its well worth it, i had issues with the car getting too hot and changed the otter switch and it was fine, but fitting the 2 stage cooling kit will, from what ive been told transform the car and make it run cooler and have less heat soak into the cabin, a Godsend come sommer time particularly as i dont have the luxuary of Air Conditioning in mine.
geoffvalenti said:
a Godsend come sommer time particularly as i dont have the luxuary of Air Conditioning in mine.
TBH Giles, I find that the aircon is far more useful this time of year to keep the screen clear.
In the summer the roof is off to keep cool
ah i just have to rely on the normal heater and opening the windows slightly to clear it, the normal heater also having only 2 settings, hot and very hot
g hot Check that the stepper motor is working correctly, and also reset the ECU by unplugging it for 10 seconds or so. It may be that your ECU has "learnt" it's way into a bad place by out-of-spec feedback information from one of the engine sources (ignition, temp sensor etc). Resetting it will return it to factory settings.
90 degrees is the optimum engine temp for longevity and fuel economy/performance.
look at ANY modern car...90 on the button. engine oil 100.
the heat soak comes from the exhaust primarily, which is wrapped round the engine and under the tunnel. to control underbonnet temps you need to...
the radiator system will cope with the heat if it is in excellent condition. but if you are going to replace it, upgrade to an ally rad. these are stronger lighter and have the extra capacity to cool needed to ensure cooling in all circumstances. (rad £350ish)
1 get the manifolds and Y piece ceramic coated. i can get my engine red hopt on the track and after 5 mins in the pit, put my hand on the manifold. honest! and they look very cool
(£500ish)
2 you may also want to put a delay off relay in the fan position, to continue blowing air after switch off. you have to watch how long they're on for, it doesn't take long to flatten the battery. 5 mins? they are huge fans!
this is not needed if you do no 1!
running the car cooler (80) does increase power slightly, but drops economy and increases wear, but most dealers do it as a way of controlling the heat. less to get rid of and will control most probs, but as with most things, cash or effort are the only real solutions.
mine has all of the above, with a triple core race spec rad and electric water pumps. we can run the car on the track in all weathers and solidly maintain any temp selected and touch the manifolds soon after pitting, they are cooler than the block!!
andy
monster
BTW don't dismis the ignition amp, leads and dizzy cap & rotor, you can do all of these for £100. could also be fuel evapouration in the fuel rail (if heat is too high)
but cleaning the stepper motor is a great place to start (as petev8 says...and its free!)
look at ANY modern car...90 on the button. engine oil 100.
the heat soak comes from the exhaust primarily, which is wrapped round the engine and under the tunnel. to control underbonnet temps you need to...
the radiator system will cope with the heat if it is in excellent condition. but if you are going to replace it, upgrade to an ally rad. these are stronger lighter and have the extra capacity to cool needed to ensure cooling in all circumstances. (rad £350ish)
1 get the manifolds and Y piece ceramic coated. i can get my engine red hopt on the track and after 5 mins in the pit, put my hand on the manifold. honest! and they look very cool
(£500ish) 2 you may also want to put a delay off relay in the fan position, to continue blowing air after switch off. you have to watch how long they're on for, it doesn't take long to flatten the battery. 5 mins? they are huge fans!
this is not needed if you do no 1!
running the car cooler (80) does increase power slightly, but drops economy and increases wear, but most dealers do it as a way of controlling the heat. less to get rid of and will control most probs, but as with most things, cash or effort are the only real solutions.
mine has all of the above, with a triple core race spec rad and electric water pumps. we can run the car on the track in all weathers and solidly maintain any temp selected and touch the manifolds soon after pitting, they are cooler than the block!!
andy
monster
BTW don't dismis the ignition amp, leads and dizzy cap & rotor, you can do all of these for £100. could also be fuel evapouration in the fuel rail (if heat is too high)
but cleaning the stepper motor is a great place to start (as petev8 says...and its free!)
I have just had an ally radiator fitted which has dropped my temperature by 5-10 degrees when hot. The fans cut in at 95 degrees and drop the temp down to 80-85 ish whilst on the run. It cost me £300 fitted. Before this I ran at 90-95 and the fans cut in at 100 - 105 degrees.
I also have a 3/4 size front number plate which helped drop the temp when I fitted it last year. Not much use when stationary though!
I have experienced poor starting when hot after filling up at petrol stations. I cleaned the stepper motor and (touch wood) no probs since
cheers
I also have a 3/4 size front number plate which helped drop the temp when I fitted it last year. Not much use when stationary though!
I have experienced poor starting when hot after filling up at petrol stations. I cleaned the stepper motor and (touch wood) no probs since
cheers
Think the thing to focus on here is that the car should idle when hot or cold.
If it's getting the correct air/fuel mixture and a good spark then it will run.
So either your mixture is off or your spark is duff.
Which one? Dunno but it does sound like it's more likly to be mixture related and some sensor is failing due to heat soak.
Worth doing some of the basic sensor and MAF checks in the Bible to see if the readings are in spec'.
Wrapping the exhaust will help but I very much doubt it's the root cause of your problem.
Good luck.
If it's getting the correct air/fuel mixture and a good spark then it will run.
So either your mixture is off or your spark is duff.
Which one? Dunno but it does sound like it's more likly to be mixture related and some sensor is failing due to heat soak.
Worth doing some of the basic sensor and MAF checks in the Bible to see if the readings are in spec'.
Wrapping the exhaust will help but I very much doubt it's the root cause of your problem.
Good luck.
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