Engine teperatures
Discussion
Collected the Griff yesterday and it behaved perfectly for all the 160 miles home. However, and I may be being paranoid here, at certain points in traffic the temp guage was reading about 110 and slightly higher at some points. Fans were cutting in and I have had a manual over ride switch fitted which I used now and again too. The temp did drop when the fans cut in but rather slowly. When travelling at anything above 40mph all was fine and it was running at between 80 and 90 for the majority of the journey. Should I worry ?
Cheers
Simon
(A paranoid Griff newbie)
......still GRINNING from ear to ear
eta could someone fix my speeling mistake in the title please !!
Cheers
Simon
(A paranoid Griff newbie)
......still GRINNING from ear to ear
eta could someone fix my speeling mistake in the title please !!
Edited by Mr MoJo on Saturday 6th September 10:49
I've only ever had the engine overheat once and that was when the horn/engine fan fuse had blown. With steam pouring out it was reading over 100, so maybe if yours has been to 110 or more and didn't overheat it might just be a faulty thermostat/sender or just loose/corroded contacts.
I think 80-90 is normal but the gauges/thermostats are known to play up. If the fans are cutting in regularly, and they will do so frequently in traffic, it sounds as if it might be an electrical issue between the thermostat and the gauge.
Worth checking the coolant levels too. The expansion tank should be about half full and checked regularly. You could also have a minor air lock, but never having had this before I'm not the best person to advise you what to do ?!!?
G
I think 80-90 is normal but the gauges/thermostats are known to play up. If the fans are cutting in regularly, and they will do so frequently in traffic, it sounds as if it might be an electrical issue between the thermostat and the gauge.
Worth checking the coolant levels too. The expansion tank should be about half full and checked regularly. You could also have a minor air lock, but never having had this before I'm not the best person to advise you what to do ?!!?
G
Fans cut in at just above 90 but sat in traffic the temp seems to still rise (slowly) and then drop (v.slowly). I was just concerned that the temp shouldn't get that high in the first place.
The car had a new thermostat etc before I picked it up along with fan over ride so I'll just keep an eye on it for now :fingerscrossedsmiley:
Cheers
Simon.
The car had a new thermostat etc before I picked it up along with fan over ride so I'll just keep an eye on it for now :fingerscrossedsmiley:
Cheers
Simon.
If it's had a new thermostat then it might as someone has suggested got an air lock in the system so do keep an eye on the level in the blue capped reservoir which should be half full, resist the temptation to fill it or you'll get coolant spewing out. Perhaps it might be an idea get someone to use an infra red themometer on the block as the engine heats up as that will give a more reliable temperature than yout guage.
You may have an airlock, there's loads of stuff on here about clearing them, just do a search.
Check that both fans are coming on and that they are sucking air through the radiator.
Don't get too hung up on where the coolant sits in the expansion tank some do sit at half way up but in both of my TVR's they've both sat at about 1" from the bottom. There is also no electrical link between thermostat and the gauge.
Check that both fans are coming on and that they are sucking air through the radiator.
Don't get too hung up on where the coolant sits in the expansion tank some do sit at half way up but in both of my TVR's they've both sat at about 1" from the bottom. There is also no electrical link between thermostat and the gauge.
The cooling of the Griff can be a bit marginal, but should be fine in a well functioning system. Since no one else has done so, will point you in the direction of 'The Bible' written by the guru Mr Steve Heath. Available from TVRCC.
I had a long standing 'marginal' cooling system, eventually traced to a leaking radiator (can be checked by pressure testing I believe).
If you have air trapped in the system, then you may hear a 'gurgling' sound when switching off the engine - I used to even after having the radiator changed. I fixed this by topping up directly into the swirl pot (tall siver cyliner with brass screw in the top). Since this is the highest point in the cooling system, air tends to make its way to here.
Gently squeezing the rubber tubes in and around the system can help shift the air as well. Although there is a bleed screw on top of the radiator, this may not always help clear the air, since it is not the highest point. Also, my bleed screw seemed to be made of lead - so tightening was a bit of a problem (or it could just have been me!)
Found that clearing air was a bit of an iteratative process - top up - go for a run - cool down - check srirl pot. Seems to have worked 'though!
p.s. Only time I overheated was when fuse blew and fans did not come on - top tip is to keep a supply of suitable fuses in glove box...
I had a long standing 'marginal' cooling system, eventually traced to a leaking radiator (can be checked by pressure testing I believe).
If you have air trapped in the system, then you may hear a 'gurgling' sound when switching off the engine - I used to even after having the radiator changed. I fixed this by topping up directly into the swirl pot (tall siver cyliner with brass screw in the top). Since this is the highest point in the cooling system, air tends to make its way to here.
Gently squeezing the rubber tubes in and around the system can help shift the air as well. Although there is a bleed screw on top of the radiator, this may not always help clear the air, since it is not the highest point. Also, my bleed screw seemed to be made of lead - so tightening was a bit of a problem (or it could just have been me!)
Found that clearing air was a bit of an iteratative process - top up - go for a run - cool down - check srirl pot. Seems to have worked 'though!
p.s. Only time I overheated was when fuse blew and fans did not come on - top tip is to keep a supply of suitable fuses in glove box...
Rob Robertson fitted my ECU and built the engine.
My fans are controled by the ECU, and I have an overheat alarm buzzer. These are set these according to his advice, which was.
The buzzer sounds at 95C and his advice was that at this temperature I should shut down the engine.
The fan one comes on at 82C and fan two at 84C.
My fans are controled by the ECU, and I have an overheat alarm buzzer. These are set these according to his advice, which was.
The buzzer sounds at 95C and his advice was that at this temperature I should shut down the engine.
The fan one comes on at 82C and fan two at 84C.
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