Engine Temp Went Up To 110 Degrees.

Engine Temp Went Up To 110 Degrees.

Author
Discussion

Cuchillo

Original Poster:

685 posts

264 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
Hello,
Hello all,

Had to drive into Croydon yesterday and noticed that the engine temp went up to a 110 while crawling in traffic. (Was stuck in traffic for about 15 to 20 mins)

However, once I got back on the M23 the temp gradually came back down to 85-90.

The questions I have are:

a. Should I be worried about this?
b. If it is to happen again, what should I do?
c. Am hoping to take the car up to Scotland for a week or so. Any thing I need to be aware of in relation to this issue. Like additional spare parts to take with me?

BTW, the Chim is a 97 500 with twin fans and A/C - The A/C was on at the time. Switching it off did not make and difference.

TIA

bob the planner

4,695 posts

268 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
Cuchillo said:
Hello,
Hello all,

Had to drive into Croydon yesterday and noticed that the engine temp went up to a 110 while crawling in traffic. (Was stuck in traffic for about 15 to 20 mins)

However, once I got back on the M23 the temp gradually came back down to 85-90.

The questions I have are:

a. Should I be worried about this?
b. If it is to happen again, what should I do?
c. Am hoping to take the car up to Scotland for a week or so. Any thing I need to be aware of in relation to this issue. Like additional spare parts to take with me?

BTW, the Chim is a 97 500 with twin fans and A/C - The A/C was on at the time. Switching it off did not make and difference.

TIA


a) Try a search on overheat in the Chimaera, Griff or if you want lots of advise all TVR sections.
b) If it is not the gauge that is faulty - stop. Immediately. Let the car cool down and then continue.
c) Fan belt, throttle cable, recovery service details, oil, water, cable ties .... The list is endless. Search on the TVR forums or possibly the Le Mans forum and you should get a good selection to fill up the boot !

There are good sections in the 'bible' that cover these subjects.

Bob

Cuchillo

Original Poster:

685 posts

264 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
Hello,

Thanks for the info, will do the searches.

bob the planner said:

b) If it is not the gauge that is faulty - stop. Immediately. Let the car cool down and then continue.


What what temp should I stop? On cooler days the temp sits at around 80 - 85 on the motorways and about 90 - 95 in traffic. Yesterday was the first time it went over 100.

Regards

ribol

11,196 posts

257 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
110 is a lot, it may be worth getting it checked out before something goes bang. Assuming it turns out all is well with the car the only instant thing you can do to increase the cooling of the engine is put the heater and fan on. May not sound like a good idea in the current climate but it does help.

Some say wrapping the manifolds helps engine bay temperatures, some say it caused them to rust and die. Not convinced myself about using water wetter but am sure someone will say that helps.

Ivan

Steve_T

6,356 posts

271 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
That sounds very high, I'd be looking to stop were the temperature to reach 100 with a standard setup. Did you check that both fans were actually running? It's quite common that the contacts in the connectors corrode causing the relevant fan to stop working.

The car should be able to maintain a steady 90, maybe a little over in extreme conditions, but it should be steady. I had the Leven Tech. low temp kit fitted to my 500, now the temp holds a steady 70 to 80 and only hit 85 running one fanned on one occasion. This now means I now longer worry about the temp in traffic, no matter how bad.

There are many opinions on what can/should be done. The standard setup working at normal efficiency is up to the job, but there's not a lot of margin for error as the efficiency falls away. Have a look at the FAQs, but to summarise, the options are manual fan override, low temp system and David Beer's two stage fans setup. Once you have the standard system working properly, you may want to workout which one of these best suits your needs.

Cheers,

Steve

shnozz

27,422 posts

270 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
IIRC the boiling level of the water/coolant mix is around 106 (anyone want to correct me here?). So at 110 you will be losing coolant and could damage the engine.

Switching on the fans to hot air does make a remarkable difference and can push the temp back down those few degrees needed to cool her with the fans going, albeit not great sat in the car getting blasted by hot air

At le mans this year I had the roof on my S as the beer was filling the boot. The temp was 30+ and we got stuck in the 2 hour traffic jam coming into the circuit. Temp went rocketing so we sat there with the roof up and heater on full blast! not pleasant. sweaty bstards afterwards and a 2 hour queue for showers.

Alf Essex

1,467 posts

260 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
When I had my Chimaera it never went above 100 and if it did I would have stopped, but then again I and probably many others have not driven in this kind of heat ie 95f

So might explain a little why it hit 110 yesterday...

Alan.

pies

13,116 posts

255 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
You could check your antifreeze level-too much antifreeze is as bad as too little as it dosent help cooling

shillers

101 posts

256 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
Steve_T said:
I had the Leven Tech. low temp kit fitted to my 500, now the temp holds a steady 70 to 80 and only hit 85 running one fanned on one occasion. This now means I now longer worry about the temp in traffic, no matter how bad.



What does the Leven Tech cooling kit consist of Steve - ElleJays will hit 100 after short standing in traffic and was looking to do something about it.

shpub

8,507 posts

271 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
110 is "oh my God the engine could die at any moment" temperatures - especially if caused by a fault such as a blown head gasket. You should stop the engine before it gets to that temp and let the car cool down.

The simple act of switching off the engine in traffic can help big time. The air con does put a big load on the cooling and can cause a 5 to 10 degree increase. Switching it off once the car has got that hot probably won't do that much as it is too late.

Yesterday was hot so it could be your car has less margin than most to cope or has been fitted with the wrong spec thermostat/otter switch. Very common fault. They are TVR specific and not the same as the Rover parts.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

N17 TVR

2,937 posts

270 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
I got stuck in stop start traffic for 40 minutes yesterday eve and the gauge went to a rock solid 100 deg. Even when we got moving, no more than 40mph till I got home, it stayed at 100. Prior to this it had been a spot on 90-92 deg.

I've got 2 stage fan kit (fans on full blast), no sign of coolant loss (based on level in expansion tank), heaters pump out heat (no air block ?)

Do I put this down to yesterdays unusually high external air temp and low speeds or do we think I have a problem (....Houston) ?

>> Edited by N17 TVR on Thursday 7th August 09:53

yiw1393

23,018 posts

260 months

Thursday 7th August 2003
quotequote all
Temp guages are notoriously inaccurate - mine sits at around 80/85 normally and hits 90/95 in traffic jams (fan cuts in at 90) I have no mods to cooling at all, but was considering the 2 speed kit - how much is it?

chimpy_bob

41 posts

247 months

Friday 8th August 2003
quotequote all
110. Thats nothing. Got a 96 500 chim and for some reason over the last few days it has gone past the 120 mark. Maybe I shold be concerned but the engine hasn't fallen out yet.

Trefor

14,635 posts

282 months

Friday 8th August 2003
quotequote all
chimpy_bob said:
110. Thats nothing. Got a 96 500 chim and for some reason over the last few days it has gone past the 120 mark. Maybe I shold be concerned but the engine hasn't fallen out yet.


Are the fans coming on? Are you losing water? Does the car 'smell funny'?

Corin Denton

8,759 posts

267 months

Friday 8th August 2003
quotequote all
My otter switch failed on Saturday and on backing the car into the garage the car boiled over guage read 120!
The fans were not running so I shut off immediately, drove it to work two days later, fitted a lower activating switch from Peninsula, now the car standing will not go above 85 and the fans kick in at late 70s, lovely!

R&J

905 posts

255 months

Friday 8th August 2003
quotequote all
Trefor said:

chimpy_bob said:
110. Thats nothing. Got a 96 500 chim and for some reason over the last few days it has gone past the 120 mark. Maybe I shold be concerned but the engine hasn't fallen out yet.



Are the fans coming on? Are you losing water? Does the car 'smell funny'?


Has the bonnet melted?

R&J

905 posts

255 months

Friday 8th August 2003
quotequote all
Corin Denton said:
I fitted a lower activating switch from Peninsula,

Corin, what did the fitting consist of and is it a reasonably straight forward job?

MikeyT

16,455 posts

270 months

Friday 8th August 2003
quotequote all
Chimpy Bob, are you serious? It's a wonder you can even change gear - the lever gets RED hot on mine someimes.

August LAST year I got stucj in Portsmouth after a footy match and the thing was running at 100°C - I stopped for 20 mins and all the traffic buggreed off and I got back to our hotel ok in then end.

Next morning, coming home via M3, M25, A1, car ran like a dream never going over 75°C.

Went out Monday night and it got pretty hot - 85/90 when cruising on the A1 but as the time got later, it got coooler. I'd be interested in some of these methods of cooling it down if I was keeping it!

Mike

Corin Denton

8,759 posts

267 months

Saturday 9th August 2003
quotequote all
[quote=R&J]
Corin Denton said:
I fitted a lower activating switch from Peninsula,


Corin, what did the fitting consist of and is it a reasonably straight forward job?[/quote]
The switch was under £20 took under half an hour to fit, different connectors but everything comes in the box to adapt. All you need is a pair of electrical pliers and the correct spanner to fit the switch.
A little hint leave the tops on the resevoirs when fitting this stems the flow of water when you swap the switches.

griffless

405 posts

250 months

Saturday 9th August 2003
quotequote all
We had a similar problem with our Chim, & referred it to my brother Alasdair, a mechanic & garage owner. No more problems since, highest temperature has been just over 90C, even in slow-moving traffic in this weather.

Here's what he reckons:
Problem was caused by a faulty radiator fan switch, the TVR-fitted one being of a brand unfamiliar to him. He was of the opinion it was probably of sub-standard quality. The original part switched the fan on & off between a temperature range of 93C and 88C (IIRC), & has only 5 degrees difference between switch on / off, thus causing wear to the part due to arc across contacts when the fan is turned on / off. The part therefore degrades more rapidly, due to its inferior quality.

He recommended & used a Lucas replacement switch, part number SND723, which operates between temperature range 92C & 87C, cutting in earlier & out later, and since replacement we have never seen the temperature rise above 92C, so it appears that this now works exactly as intended

Other options which Alasdair suggested are Lucas p/no: SNB717, which runs the fan for longer still, operating between 92C & 82C. He would recommend this part to anyone experiencing overheating problems.

In any case, he suggests that anyone running a V8, especially in this weather, should replace the original TVR switch as a matter of course, as it will be prone to failure.

Part no SNB723 cost us £6, and although Alasdair fitted it for us, it's an easy DIY. All that's required is an adjustable spanner for the job (think it's 27mm, but not certain), & ensure that the new switch is in your other hand when replacing, in order to minimise coolant loss (about 1/2 a pint can be expected).

Replacement switches can be obtained from motorfactors, possibly Partco, but they may need to cross-reference the part number. Additional information that may be helpful to ID the correct radiator fan switch is: thread size M22 x 1.5, & it has 2 spade terminals. Price will be under £10, & the job takes less than 10 minutes, so there's little to lose by trying this.

Having just re-read Corin Denton's post, I see that this is the otter switch that I've seen mentioned so many times, but didn't realise that it was the same thing. D-oh!

Additionally, we bought some Water Wetter from Leven while at PistonFest (£10) and this brought the temperature down another 5 or so degrees, giving more time before the fan needs to kick in. Without the antifreeze in the radiatior, this would make even more difference, but as the Chim's now running at 70C -75C in normal running, we wouldn't want to go any lower than this anyway.

Sorry this is so longwinded, but hope it helps.
Mairi