Kenno Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Hi All, My car is currently at the CC factory where they're trying to work out why it was overheating. In the answer's i've been getting it sounds as if they're stumped. It's only happen a handful of times (4 out of say 100), but each time it has, it's gone past the 100 mark and began to run really badly, losing pretty much all power. They're stumped at the moment as it doesn't do it all the time and they've been taking it on numerous test drives and the car behaves itself. Here's a video of me at an activity day and I end up aborting the run as it just overheats.. (and I run out of talent at the second cone). http://vimeo.com/36132319 What do the POBC think? T.I.A Ken. Edited by - kenno on 15 Feb 2012 16:29:49 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted February 15, 2012 Member Share Posted February 15, 2012 You're probably past the obvious ideas already, but are you sure the thermostat is working, and could you have an airlock? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 It is likely to be an airlock, or a sticky thermostat. As it is intermittent, I would suspect the thermostat... It's cheap to replace if you have not done so already. Edited by - CageyH on 15 Feb 2012 16:48:17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative manningpaul Posted February 15, 2012 Area Representative Share Posted February 15, 2012 Watching the video, it looks like the temp is fine but climbs rapidly once you are driving. This seems odd, as usually the guage would take a little while to get over to the extreme right whereas in your case it seems to happen almost instantly. The fact that you lose power indicates more than an air lock? K series are notoriously difficult to bleed air out, mine took another litre after a run despite raising the nose right up and having a bleed on the heater and running it up to temp when refilling. Edited by - manningpaul on 15 Feb 2012 16:51:52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenno Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thanks for the responses. I've suggested Air Lock and Dodgy thermostat or water pump and CC think it's none of them. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myothercarsa2cv Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Does the engine lose power because the computer tells it to? Or is it losing power because of something much much worse like a partial seizure? I don't know if the sender on the water rail is connected to the ECU in any way, but you could swap it as they can die... Especially if you wash the bonnet on the car Are there any other senders? If the gauge is climbing in to the red, and the temperature of the water really is that high, would there not be lots of coolant coming out of the expansion tank? I would replace the sender first, as it's cheap and easy. And the expansion bottle cap. Also easy Then look at the stat - either get a new one (cheap), or replace it with a PRRT or similar (more) - both major hassle! Then make sure it's bled properly with no airlocks. By the sounds of it, the latest stats from CC have a hole in them so this shouldn't be the issue it was before. Then since you're draining the system, replace the hoses with silicone hoses if you haven't already (not cheap, but 🥰). Worth checking these are all tight and in one piece; the rubber ones are awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Any information on why they think that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The sender for the gauge is separate to the one for the ECU (they are next to each other). As far as I know, the MEMS doesn't have a power cut for overheating.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetec Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 water pump working ok ? sounds like a blockage ie thermostat /air lock,try running without stat then go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Hmm, it's really not difficult to solve most overheating issues. Assuming that there's enough water in at and it's not leaking out, either the water's not circulating properly (airlock, blockage, stuck thermostat) the water's not being cooled adequately (is your radiator damaged?) or the engine is generating too much heat (too lean --> air leak in induction system?) From your description I suspect it's not an overheating problem at all as the needle shooting up really fast doesn't sound like a sudden temperature rise, more like a loose wire earthing itself somewhere and the same electrical problem simultaneously causing poor running (eg. weak spark etc...). If it does it very occasionally, you need to find some way to double-check the temperature against what the gauge says. If the temp really was that high, did the fan cut in - if not, then the temp probably isn't as high as the gauge says! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted February 15, 2012 Member Share Posted February 15, 2012 I thought about using the fan temperature sensor as an independent check, but there's another recent thread (about the fan and cold weather) describing how the differing temperature at different parts of the cooling system in a K series can be misleading. But if the fan isn't on it in this case it must mean something. (This is similar to some bits of medical diagnosis.) Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bio Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Does it actually overheat or feel very hot under the bonnet 🤔 Your vidio's shows the temperature gauge rising very rapidly...almost too fast to catch up with an increase in engine temperature. If the alternator voltage regulator was u/s could too high a voltage at higher RPM cause the gauges to go funny and also have some effect on the ECU. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnty Lyons Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Simple Faulty Pump Change it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenno Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 @ MOCa2CV. On all instances of the overheating, the coolant has risen to the cap and a couple of times pushed past the cap. I don't think the loss of power is partial seizure, as the car runs well once it's cooled down again. I've also got silicone hoses. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Some water pumps have plastic impellers which can break. Mine was steel, but starting to leak at around 42k, so we replaced it while the engine was out for other work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenno Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 @CharlesE - I'm running a MBE ecu not MEMS. (R300). Not sure if that makes a difference. @zetec - yes I questioned the water pump but CC tell me it's okay. It seems to circulate at the moment. Not to say there might not be a loose connection somewhere, but they have ruled it out. @Charlie_plank - Definitely an overheating issue as it dumps coolant through the cap. The fan also didn't cut in on the day. CC replaced the switch when I first reported the issue and it's doing it again. @BIO - Yes. Very hot under the bonnet and coolant past the cap. @Johnty - I suspected the same but CC say it isn't. One more thing. When I drove to CC to drop the car off, I had to leave have the heater and fan on, else it would overheat. I was doing a constant 50mph on the A2 and it was about -2c outside. Which is why I thought it might be the water pump.. .. and thanks all for the advice. General consensus seems I should push CC on the water pump. Edited by - Kenno on 15 Feb 2012 20:34:33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hughes Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Have you tested or changed the expansion bottle cap ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenno Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Nope. But is that related to the symptoms I have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackb_ms Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 If it is an R300 do you have the CC RB? If yes on my car with the CC RB I had a similar issue, where the air lock was on the outlet from the RB or just before. I personally didn't find the issue, it was my local k series specialist who did. Before I given up, I replaced the water pump, as I found out there was no water movement. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dom69 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 not an expert by a long way but could it be 'sludge' in the water causing partial blockage in pump/pipes when running and when turned off its sinking away from said parts allowing to flow again til its picked up again?(did that make sense??? *confused*" i know its a different beast but SWMBO fiesta had similar prob and i found piece of plastic by accident floating round system causing occasional blockage/over heat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Sorry to hear you're having problems Kenno, the expansion tank cap is worth a shot - they are known to be a weak area as they can release pressure too early and this can allow the coolant to boil sooner. For a couple of quid I'd try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klunk Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Hi Ken, Is the oil gauge bust as you don't seem to have any oil pressure? Giles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Locust Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The thermostat can fail shut. Which shuts off the coolant flow through the radiator. If your car has the std fan switch in the radiator it doesn't see the increased coolant temp to switch the fan on. You have indicated that the heater is effective so the bypass circuit is primed. The thermostat should open if working. Is the inlet side of the radiator getting hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted February 15, 2012 Member Share Posted February 15, 2012 *arrowup* What else could we diagnose from the video? Is this the future of car maintenance? It's now getting like telemedicine! Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenno Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 @jack. Yep R300K with CC RB. Will ask them about airlocks. Seem a few on here don't rate CC for getting air out of the system? @Klunk. I have a CC electronic oil pressure sender. Haven't fitted a mechanical one yet. @Grubbster & John H. Thanks, will get them to check that too. @Mr Locust. Is the inlet at the top of the rad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now