glasgow Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Heading to France in a few hours and temp gauge sitting at zero [this is when engine is hot]. Any suggestions as to what the problem is and what I should do? Ahmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECR Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Have you checked that the wire is still attached to the sender in the engine bay ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James7 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Not an expert but I have had this problem before. Failing the above, could the sensor (on the water rail) be broken? If you turn on the ignition you will probably get a slight flicker of movement from the instrument needles. If the temp gauge doesn’t move at all, it could be the sensor is faulty. Screw out the old and in with the new, being careful not to burn yourself with hot coolant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin H Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 How confident are you that the fan works? It it is reliable then you may choose to risk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clousta Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 As a fall back ask Redline Components to ship a spare temperature sender to your first stop/hotel/B&B/camp-site in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 With the ignition on, ground the sender wire on the water rail, and the gauge should deflect to max. If this is the case, then the gauge sender is broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fil M Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I have had to change a sensor which is the most common fault. You sound like you wont have time to sort it. If its the sensor or the guage I would simply do without it. I would run her up and get her hot and just make sure the fan kicks in ok. If it does just go and have a great time. If the fan kicks in you know when its at 92 deg at least Thats what I would do and sort it back home afterwards. There is a way of testing the guage. Pull the wire from the sender unit on the water rail and touch it to earth on a chassis rail (metal to metal) If the guage shoots up indicating 'hot' its the sender. There must be a blat chatter out there who is hot on electrics who can talk you through all the checks over the phone. Go luck .. Fil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy couchman Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 On my crossflow it's usually where I've knocked the wire off on the engine (it's a blade connector). Usually, because I've been checking the car ready for a long journey... Enjoy France. If you can't fix it, the car will still be driveable and you will smell the antifreeze if it gets to boiling point. Unlikely except in very bad traffic jams and even then the fan should cut in and keep the engine cool. But do check water levels each day and carry bottled water (for you and the car). Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 is this it? .. if so I have one, not sure how I could get it to you though http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t75/johnv_photos/SurreyHeath-20110722-00005.jpg other thing would be to put a bypass switch onto the fan so that you could put it on when you wanted .. it's very quick to do, and you could tidy it up later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Do you have an Apollo tank and a switch for the gauge? If so, the two senders are identical - I'd just switch them over for now as your coolant will give you a quicker indication that something is amiss than your oil temperature would... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I would limit your checks to seeing if the wire is still attached to the temp sensor on the engine. No offence Ahmed but judging ny your postings here your technical skills are not yet up to taking on the other suggestions here. I would use it for now (if it's not just the wire) and if you get chance take it to a garage en route. You have had the thing sorted out so it won't break after all, just check the cooling fan comes on as others have suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Ahmed agree with BOSS, just because the gauge is not working will not effect car, you have a working stat (with hole) you said the other day your engine was running cool , France is not baking hot at the moment, if you leave the car running for a while, stationary, and the fan cuts in ok then you have an indication of temperature, just relax and enjoy the holiday, your car wants to work for you, everything will be fine. what time is your ferry and where are you at the moment Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thank you all.... .....Not sure where the sensor is... is it the one in the pic link at the end of my reply? ....When I turn theignition on I have no flicker at all from the temp gauge needle .....Checked the fan and is working. .... if it is a faulty sender... I doubt if halfords sells them and it may be too late for halfords this evening anyway..... so, how easy to buy a sender in France? Can't ask Redline to send it to France as simply I didn't book any stop... just booked the final destination on the Mediterranean. :( .... CagyH, thank you for the tip.... just need to know where is the sender then will do your test ;) ...... Andy, thank you for the trick about how to know if the engine is boiling ..... need to make sure I don't have a blocked nose.....:) ..... johnv, thank you for your offer, but will not be possible to send of yours.... if I want to do the fan bypass, could anyone please send me a pic of which 2 wires I should connect... I take it its the 2 wires on the pic of my reply... ...... myles, don't know if I have an Apollo tank... sorry for my ignorance ..... BOSS, no offence and I may go with your suggestion.... at least its better than my SWMBO's - she wanted me to take the SLK and forget about the 7.... NO WAY.... 😬 Tim, I'm still in Glasgow... ☹️ http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/53629241@N02/5964039155/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 K series car? Brass coloured thing with a wire sticking out of a black pipe above the exhaust. Do not remove the sender when the coolant is hot. You will get hurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Just to add, I doubt you will get a sender in France, unless you find a Caterham specialist. They are not a standard part used in lots of different cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I know its going North and not sure what time you need to be in Dover but if really worried and I dont think you need to be, can you get to Dreadnought first thing, if any Mechanics in, probably take 5 minutes to fix, alternatively if you get away early 7 workshop on your way if open Saturday, If you cut accross to M1 then Caterham Midlands are around until 4 pm and could well help Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltec Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If you know it's the sender let me know and I'll pop over to Caterham Midlands and pick one up, I'm not far from the M6 if it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnockoff Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I would do as has been suggested and just carry on with your trip. The senders on Caterhams are notorious for going wrong whether water or oil so as long as the fan is working as it should then it's unlikely you will overheat. Not long after I bought my seven the water temp gauge started going all over the place, I, like you are now, was seriously concerned, stopped the car, called RAC and after they had gone all over the engine with their fancy temp reader was told to carry on. On taking back to Caterham South for warranty work they said not worry that it was anything serious and the sender would be the first thing they would think of. Have a great trip. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The thing in the photo on your post is the switch for the cooling fan - so if you wanted to fit a fan override switch it is just these 2 wire that need to be shorted together through a switch. The temp probe is in the water rail above the exhaust manifold (at the end near the passenger). But do as suggested - go and enjoy your holiday, cover the temp gauge with a bit of tape so it doesn't bother you, it will be fine I'm sure Many modern cars don't even bother with a temp gauge these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 Miltec, many thanks for your offer....... In queue to embark.... had a trouble free journey..... I think I'll just carry on and have it sorted when I'm back..... Many thanks for all your help...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony1956 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 where are you going in France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Think somewhere near Marseillan for the first week Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltec Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 If you're worried just short the fan wires together, the fan will run constantly but won't do any damage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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