Guest tom Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Ello Brett been following this one with some interest as i had EXACTLY the same issue myself, changed 2 fan switches, thermostat, etc etc however i'm ashamed to say i gave up long before you have, i simply bridged the fan connectors, ran a line into my cockpit and under the heated rear window and fog lamp switches, where i had a free hole, put in a switch and simply use the fan manually. not a perfect solution but it does give you the control. so if all else fails theres another solution! will keep following this up All the best mate Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alan H Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Alan I've been having a think about your line of thought about the temperature gauge at cold.... With the ignition totally off, the needle sits at approximately 6-5 oclock (below the minimum) and then when the ignition is switched on the needle rises to 3oclock and then red is at approx one oclock. (my gauge is vertical - facing right) However, I've not had the car all that long and the other day I noticed that the temperature needle never moved. When I checked the connector on the back of the dial I noticed it was loose. Once I pushed this on properly the needle started moving and it was then that I noticed it starting to go into the red. BUT.....I had not had any issue with the car boiling over / overheating it was merely the fact that the needle was always going into the red and the fan was never cutting in. Since I've had the needle moving again I have always switching the car off once the needle gets to the red or drive the car with the connector bridged and the fan always on. If the needle is showing INCORRECT and I left the engine running the needle will rise off the clock beyond the red....and maybe the fan will eventually kick in - I've always stopped the car at red. If the need is CORRECT the fan wont ever kick in and I am going to damage the engine letting the needle go beyond the red. Is there anyway I can prove the accuracy of the needle ? What would happen first with if the needle is correct and I allow the needle to go beyond the red ? Will I be able to determine that the engine is overheating e.g. blow out into the reservoir etc ? I've never witnessed this so I am unsure as to what to expect but dont want to do any damage Cheers ! Brett ok brett forget wot the temp gauge says and drive the car and get stuck in some traffic.and let the reading rise and the fan should cut in.i suspect as previous ly mentioned that either the sender unit is faulty or the gauge.if it is really over heating then it will start ejecting water fron the rad cap as it boils..let me know the outcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brett Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I am going to really give this a go on the weekend ! First of all I will fit my spare dials and see if I get a lower starting reading that what I get now...so if anybody can give me some advice on positioning the needle on the spare dials... What I need to know is the initial setting of the needles. Do I merely, turn the ignition off and fit needles to a guessed lowest position or is there a minimum place that the needle will go down ? I have a feeling that the needles will spin round and round the clock so there is no minimum position you have to just guess where it is.... If this doesnt prove to be any better than what I have now with the the existing dials i.e. the cold start temperature still begins at 3 oclock then I am going to fit the new thermostat (took the old one out last night and currently I have not fitted one) and am un-bridge the thermo switch and then totally ignore the temperature gauge and will use the car physically over heating rather than turning the engine off on red which is what I am currently doing. I promise to give you the next installment update - positive or otherwise ! Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sjc Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 would position it exactly where it currently sits, probably just below cold with engine off, leave the perspex off the dials, if it does go to 3 oclock as soon as you start, pull it off and put it back to cold again. if the sender is faulty and letting current through when cold I dont see no reason why you cannot reset the dial in this way. At least you will be able to see if the engine continues to get hotter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brett Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Hi guys ! Well at long last the problem is sorted but to be truthful I am not totally sure which solution resolved the problem ! If I just run through the problem/solutions again then may this discussion might help somebody in the future 1) When I bought the car the I noticed the temperature gauge never moved. 2) Inspection identified lose connector and needle now working 3) Needle from cold was going to 3 Oclock and was in the red within a few minutes of idling. I never had any boil over symtoms I just stopped the engine when the car got to the red 4) However when needle in red and fan had not operated. Car driven with fan constantly on (switch bridged) 5) Testing of the fan proved that it worked OK 6) Thermo switch replaced with brand new, fan never operated, needle still going into red 7) Thermo switch replaced again with alternate new but fan still not operated and needle going into red 8) Thermostat removed and system completely flushed and refilled with plain water (no antifreeze). Needle still still climbs to red but because I had no boil over symptoms I took a chance and kept the engine running. The fan kicked in on the exit of the red just before needle went off the clock!) 9) New thermostat refitted and system refilled with antifreeze mix fan now operating on the exit of the red 10) Discussions on this forum identified, that at cold, the needle should not be at 3 oclock so I removed needle and repositioned it at the minimum dial setting (cold) 10) Now all is well, needle is operating properly and fan is kicking in great ! So in summary I personally think it was a combination of the thermostat and the needle not positioned correctly. I dont think there was anything wrong with the thermoswitch because I was getting the same symptoms with the original as with the new. Whilst I keep an eye on the situation I have cabled a bulb into the interior of the car, powered live on the off side of the thermoswitch i.e. it now comes on when the fan has cut in...useful whilst I keep an eye on things! On a final note I just want to clarify: a) My petrol gauge moves alot when I am driving (goes up then down depending on climb of hill etc) is this normal ? The petrol gauge never falls when the iginition is switched off it always shows current reading. Is this normal ? c) In order to ensure the temperature gauge reads minimum when engine is cold (as part of the above problem solving), I had to position my needle so low that when the ignition is switched off the needle falls almost touching the edge of the dial fascia. (I notice there are no stays like with a rev counter and a speedo). Is this normal ? My SINCEREST thanks to EVERYBODY who contributed to this posting, it was great to have some support, suggestions and sympathy during the saga !!!! Best Wishes Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 On a final note I just want to clarify: a) My petrol gauge moves alot when I am driving (goes up then down depending on climb of hill etc) is this normal ? yes, as far as i know this is normal - everyone o#ve spoken to seems to have the same thing. it could be worse, my 106 was really REALLY bad at this. The petrol gauge never falls when the iginition is switched off it always shows current reading. Is this normal ? Again, ssmes to be normal, mine doesn't go off when the ignition's off c) In order to ensure the temperature gauge reads minimum when engine is cold (as part of the above problem solving), I had to position my needle so low that when the ignition is switched off the needle falls almost touching the edge of the dial fascia. (I notice there are no stays like with a rev counter and a speedo). Is this normal ? this i'm not so sure about - mine's quite a long way down but not as far down as yours by the sounds of thimgs. have a look at the attached pic anyway. glad you got it sorted, i've just had to fix mine again, its still not working right but it'll do til i can afford to do everything else! is this one for the wiki section do we think? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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