Temp gauge goes to hot after long drive to stop and go traffic
11-06-2006, 02:54 PM
#1
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Temp gauge goes to hot after long drive to stop and go traffic
After a 20 mile stretch down the highway the gauge reads fine. Once I get to a town or stop and go traffic the gauge starts traveling to the hot side.
I can turn on the heat and the gauge goes back to the normal mark.
What should I be looking at for the root cause?
I can turn on the heat and the gauge goes back to the normal mark.
What should I be looking at for the root cause?
11-06-2006, 02:56 PM
#2
How hot does it get?
It's pretty normal for it to go one tick up but it'll usually come back down once the cooling fan kicks in. If it's going higher than that or not coming down on its own you may have a problem. Possibly a bad fan or fan controller.
11-06-2006, 02:59 PM
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how hot is "hot"? up to one notch up past center is normal.
the root cause is, you drove the car and generated a lot of heat, and now when you're in stop and go traffic with no airflow across your radiator, the car doesn't cool itself very well. turning on the heat helps because you're not turning hot air into cold for the passenger compartment- you're just pumping the hot air from the engine bay straight into your face... which therefore reduces the load on the cooling system somewhat.
11-06-2006, 03:36 PM
#7
Say What? hot air in the cabin does not come from the engine compartment, it comes from blowing cold
air across a heat exchanger (small radiator) inside the HVAC system.
The hot water from the radiator goes through this heat exchanger, and the hot air goes into the cabin.
The reason you turn the heat up all the way is to bleed off this hot water from the radiator and the engine, therby helping to cool the water in the radiator.
hot air from the engine compartmet does not go into the cabin.
The hot water from the radiator goes through this heat exchanger, and the hot air goes into the cabin.
The reason you turn the heat up all the way is to bleed off this hot water from the radiator and the engine, therby helping to cool the water in the radiator.
hot air from the engine compartmet does not go into the cabin.
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11-06-2006, 04:02 PM
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Re: Say What? hot air in the cabin does not come from the engine compartment, it comes from blowing
Thats understood. I just find it strange that I have to cool the engine temp through the heater core. I am not sure if there is a temp switch or if the fan at the rad is not functioning, which in turn is creating this miss read.
Just seems odd.
Just seems odd.
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