More coolant issues

[undone]

Hi all,

I've been having a lot of bother with my elise overheating recently - been in mmc 3 times in the past 3 weeks - i think i've had her for about 7 of the last 21 days.

The problem I'm having at the minute is the temp. seems fine when I'm on the motorway (or driving above 45mph) but as soon as i get behind some traffic in the city the temperature seems to shoot up. It's come to the point where I switch off the engine if i'm at traffic lights...

she was in mmc last monday and i got her back friday having been told there was nothing wrong with her.... this weekend it's just been doing the same thing.

any suggestions as to what might be wrong? there's plenty of coolant, plenty of oil yet the engine and oil light stay on when i turn the key and all the other warning lights are extinguished...

[RDH]

Hi all,

The problem I'm having at the minute is the temp. seems fine when I'm on the motorway (or driving above 45mph) but as soon as i get behind some traffic in the city the temperature seems to shoot up. It's come to the point where I switch off the engine if i'm at traffic lights...


any suggestions as to what might be wrong? there's plenty of coolant, plenty of oil yet the engine and oil light stay on when i turn the key and all the other warning lights are extinguished...

What temp does it hit? It will go up to around 100-104 then come back down if in really bad traffic. If the fan comes on it'll bring the temp back down. If the fan doesn't come on then it'll overheat.


Someone more technical should be along soon!

[undone]

What temp does it hit? It will go up to around 100-104 then come back down if in really bad traffic. If the fan comes on it'll bring the temp back down. If the fan doesn't come on then it'll overheat.


Someone more technical should be along soon!

i never remember it getting so high...the fan doesn't seem to kick in at all... i thought that when it hit a hundred it would be pretty bad news... it's not really been in particularly bad traffic - it reaches the high 90s just idling.

thanks for the quick reply.

[tut]

As Rob says you will have to give more details of the figures. It is quite normal in the temps we have had recently that in stop go traffic, or low speeds for a while in city, the temp will go up from its usual 84 ish to the 90's or even into the hundred, but the fan should then kick in and bring it down again.

If this is not happening there is something wrong and in a longer jam your engine would overheat. If the temp is cycling with the fan then that is normal.

tut

[Shug]

That's perfectly normal - the water pump isn't running particularly fast at idle, so the temp creeps up. If you sit the revs at about 2Krpm, I bet you'll see it drop pretty quickly.

Because the coolant system is pressurised, it doesn't boil until 120 degrees, so low hundreds is no problem for short times. It's generally the sort of temp movement that you'd never see in a normal damped temp needle in an ordinary car - it's just 'cos the Elise dash is digital that you notice.

[steve_weegie]

Yup, what they said

I see you've got an S2, so the fan wont come on until the temp reaches 100. This is quite normal, even temps of 105+ aren't anything to worry about. Also, the S2 has poor radiator flow at idle to compound matters, so high 90's are pretty common sitting in traffic.

If you need to start to worry, the temp read out will start to flash at 110+ but unless it does, my guess is you're fine

Cheers,

Steve

[robin]

You need to give us more data.

What model of elise is it (S1/S2, Rover K/Toyota?).

I'm surprised that you know that you switch the engine off because it's too hot but then you don't know what temperature it's actually hitting ...

It's the nature of radiator based cooling systems that temperature must rise when airflow drops, so in itself no surprise that it gets hotter in traffic - the question is how much does it rise!

You say the engine and oil warning lights stay on - the oil light will be on when the oil pressure is low - the oil pump is driven by the engine rotation, so the oil pressure will always be low when the engine is stopped.

The yellow engine light - known as the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp, I think) - will come on when the ignition is first turned on, depending on model.

If this light remains lit while the engine is running, there is an emissions affecting fault that ought to be addressed but is not critical.

If this light flashes while the engine is running, pull over and switch off - it's telling you there is something wrong that is serious enough it might break the engine.

Cheers,
Robin

[tenkfeet]

Yup, what they said

I see you've got an S2, so the fan wont come on until the temp reaches 100. This is quite normal, even temps of 105+ aren't anything to worry about. Also, the S2 has poor radiator flow at idle to compound matters, so high 90's are pretty common sitting in traffic.

If you need to start to worry, the temp read out will start to flash at 110+ but unless it does, my guess is you're fine

Cheers,

Steve

Never seen more than 102.

[neil]

Yup, what they said

I see you've got an S2, so the fan wont come on until the temp reaches 100. This is quite normal, even temps of 105+ aren't anything to worry about. Also, the S2 has poor radiator flow at idle to compound matters, so high 90's are pretty common sitting in traffic.

If you need to start to worry, the temp read out will start to flash at 110+ but unless it does, my guess is you're fine

Cheers,

Steve

Never seen more than 102.

That's because you drive like a granny

[tenkfeet]

Yup, what they said

I see you've got an S2, so the fan wont come on until the temp reaches 100. This is quite normal, even temps of 105+ aren't anything to worry about. Also, the S2 has poor radiator flow at idle to compound matters, so high 90's are pretty common sitting in traffic.

If you need to start to worry, the temp read out will start to flash at 110+ but unless it does, my guess is you're fine

Cheers,

Steve

Never seen more than 102.

That's because you drive like a granny

Will never see it again as next time I drive it will be to pick up its new owner from the train station.

[neil]

What's it getting replaced with?

[tenkfeet]

What's it getting replaced with?

Nothing at the moment , though have ordered a mountain bike .

[meatball]

Yup, what they said

I see you've got an S2, so the fan wont come on until the temp reaches 100. This is quite normal, even temps of 105+ aren't anything to worry about. Also, the S2 has poor radiator flow at idle to compound matters, so high 90's are pretty common sitting in traffic.

If you need to start to worry, the temp read out will start to flash at 110+ but unless it does, my guess is you're fine

Cheers,

Steve

Never seen more than 102.

That's because you drive like a granny

He doesn't even drive his other car like a granny!
Another bike??? Who do you think you are, me?

[undone]

thanks everyone for putting up with my pretty basic questions.

I've never noticed the temperature getting up so high so quickly before and since it's just been in getting the radiator fixed i feared the worst.

Sometimes i think i just wasn't meant to have an elise - someone just reversed into me in asda car park and then left a note with a fake number!

[mac]

Yup, what they said

I see you've got an S2, so the fan wont come on until the temp reaches 100. This is quite normal, even temps of 105+ aren't anything to worry about. Also, the S2 has poor radiator flow at idle to compound matters, so high 90's are pretty common sitting in traffic.

If you need to start to worry, the temp read out will start to flash at 110+ but unless it does, my guess is you're fine

Cheers,

Steve

Never seen more than 102.

That's because you have a car that works mate