Why is my car not getting hot?
Discussion
Hey, only just found this forum - if it's new, good idea! 
Anyway, I have a 1.7 Ford Puma. The temperature on the engine gauge hasn't been getting up to temp for a while now. At first I assumed the thermostat, so I had it replaced. This seemed to fix it for a very short while. The system hadn't been bled perfectly, so I topped it up with water as it was under the minimum. After this it was once again not getting up to temp, but it was getting close. The fans were blowing cold too, and the heater control valve is a common fault on the puma so I replaced that myself. The heaters now blow hot, but the engine temp struggles to get anywhere near the middle of the normal zone. For those that don't know what the ford temp gauge looks like, it has a grey patch, then a large normal zone with NORMAL written above it (R being central) then a red hot zone.
Since the new thermostat it has only every really reached "N" except on the first day where it was on R (bang in the middle). This gradually got lower. After fitting the HCV and running stationary on idle for 15 mins it didn't even reach N, not even close but waa in the normal zone. I then did an 8 mile drive and left it sitting for about 5 mins where it slowly crept up to R, the fan kicked in which quickly reduced the temp back to N where it stayed.
It now barely gets into the normal zone ever.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Chris
Anyway, I have a 1.7 Ford Puma. The temperature on the engine gauge hasn't been getting up to temp for a while now. At first I assumed the thermostat, so I had it replaced. This seemed to fix it for a very short while. The system hadn't been bled perfectly, so I topped it up with water as it was under the minimum. After this it was once again not getting up to temp, but it was getting close. The fans were blowing cold too, and the heater control valve is a common fault on the puma so I replaced that myself. The heaters now blow hot, but the engine temp struggles to get anywhere near the middle of the normal zone. For those that don't know what the ford temp gauge looks like, it has a grey patch, then a large normal zone with NORMAL written above it (R being central) then a red hot zone.
Since the new thermostat it has only every really reached "N" except on the first day where it was on R (bang in the middle). This gradually got lower. After fitting the HCV and running stationary on idle for 15 mins it didn't even reach N, not even close but waa in the normal zone. I then did an 8 mile drive and left it sitting for about 5 mins where it slowly crept up to R, the fan kicked in which quickly reduced the temp back to N where it stayed.
It now barely gets into the normal zone ever.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Chris
Edited by balders118 on Friday 8th July 18:28
turbopug said:
Are you sure the thermostat hasn't failed again? Throw it into a saucepan of boiling water and watch what happens.
Apparantly it's a bit of a pig to change, involves taking off alternator etc. and I'm not confident enough to do it. I suggested this (read told the garage that this is what happened) to the garage but they wouldn't buy it, and told me that it "was a genuine ford part, have no reason to believe it would have failed and therefore won't accept the possibility that it has". That conversation ended with the owner telling me that "this conversation is over, don't bring your car back here again" whilst walking off and locking himself in his garage. Full rant available here.My thoughts are that it can't be anything else!?
Defcon5 said:
If the R is the normal spot, why would the rad fan cool it back to N?
I'm not sure 
After this happened I left it running and it wouldn't get any hotter. I was trying to do the coolent "test" to make sure the system was working properly after fitting the HCV in which you're supposed to let it idle and wait for the fan to kick in and turn off, twice. Just leaving it to idle for 15-20 minutes wouldn't get it hot enough to get the fan to kick in. After an 8 mile drive then leaving to sit for another 5 it got up to temperature and the fan kicked in, which cooled it right down and then it just wouldn't get hot again. Since this it has barely got into the normal zone, let alone reaching "N".Incidently, if it sitting on the cusp of the normal zone and I drive up hill for a prolonged time it will generally edge up a bit. On coming down hill and taking my foot off the throttle it will usually cool well into the grey "cold" zone.
Not unusual for the temp sender to fail.
If everything else is OK - heat from the heater etc - that's the most likely cause. My RRC lunches a sender every so often & the gauge does all sorts of interesting things
. A genuine parts sender from the franchised dealer solves the problem.
As an afterthought, ONLY use genuine parts for critical applications - that's franchised dealer only BTW - as some of the 'alternative quality part' or 'equivalent to' items are crap.
If everything else is OK - heat from the heater etc - that's the most likely cause. My RRC lunches a sender every so often & the gauge does all sorts of interesting things
. A genuine parts sender from the franchised dealer solves the problem.As an afterthought, ONLY use genuine parts for critical applications - that's franchised dealer only BTW - as some of the 'alternative quality part' or 'equivalent to' items are crap.
paintman said:
Not unusual for the temp sender to fail.
If everything else is OK - heat from the heater etc - that's the most likely cause. My RRC lunches a sender every so often & the gauge does all sorts of interesting things. A genuine parts sender from the franchised dealer solves the problem.
As an afterthought, ONLY use genuine parts for critical applications - that's franchised dealer only BTW - as some of the 'alternative quality part' or 'equivalent to' items are crap.
So the "temp sender" tells my guage what the temperature is? Would this means that the engine is getting to the correct temp, but it's just not telling me that it is?If everything else is OK - heat from the heater etc - that's the most likely cause. My RRC lunches a sender every so often & the gauge does all sorts of interesting things
. A genuine parts sender from the franchised dealer solves the problem.As an afterthought, ONLY use genuine parts for critical applications - that's franchised dealer only BTW - as some of the 'alternative quality part' or 'equivalent to' items are crap.
If that were to be the case, why would the fan not kick in after 15 mins of idling with the engine getting hot despite the possible faulty temp sender?
If this is the fault, any idea on cost?#
Do you think this is more likely than a failed new thermostat?
Many have that. One tells the gauge, the other tells the ECU.
If the one that tells the ECU fails, the ECU can think the engine is cold when its actually up to temp & fuels as if it was cold. Plays hell with fuel consumption & can cause the engine to cut out - had this on Peugeot 1.6 306's.
If the one that tells the ECU fails, the ECU can think the engine is cold when its actually up to temp & fuels as if it was cold. Plays hell with fuel consumption & can cause the engine to cut out - had this on Peugeot 1.6 306's.
paintman said:
Many have that. One tells the gauge, the other tells the ECU.
If the one that tells the ECU fails, the ECU can think the engine is cold when its actually up to temp & fuels as if it was cold. Plays hell with fuel consumption & can cause the engine to cut out - had this on Peugeot 1.6 306's.
My fuel consumption is generally better than book so it won't be the ECU one i'd imagine. I'll look into the other.If the one that tells the ECU fails, the ECU can think the engine is cold when its actually up to temp & fuels as if it was cold. Plays hell with fuel consumption & can cause the engine to cut out - had this on Peugeot 1.6 306's.
Gassing Station | Engines & Drivetrain | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff