Afternoon all, a bit of advice needed please.
Just flushed and refilled the coolant system in my '99 Elise S1. Following refill, I ran the engine at 2,000 rpm without the header tank cap on and bleed the system at both ends. So far so good, but when taking it for a drive, I noticed the temp was running cooler than. Now sits about 82 then drops to 80 on acceleration. Temp increases if I put the heater on. Not too bad I know, but decided to bleed from the rad end again to see if there was a airlock.
My concern comes from when I increase the revs in neutral to check the fan kicks in, the temp won't go above 84 and there seems to be some non petrol fumes coming out the exhaust. Again, temp increases slighlty if I put the heater on. It will get hotter (slightly) if left at idle. Everything was fine prior to the change of coolant so I don't think it is sensor related.
Anything to worry about or is just a case of different fluid behaving differently?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Stephen
Temp after coolant change - advise please!
Re: Temp after coolant change - advise please!
Hi Steve,
Couple of issues - the temperature rise on the dash when the heater is turned on is fake - it's to do with the way the electrics work in the elise - increasing electrical load at the front of the car will always make the indicated temperature change.
Dropping temperature on acceleration is common - though it could be caused by an airlock, that would usually be accompanied by quicker heating up on idle (where no coolant will flow through the radiator if there's an airlock).
What should happen is the following:
From cold start the temp should read nothing, then at around 60C it should start to indicate the current temp.
On the idle the indicated temp should then rise to the mid-to-high 80s (depending on which stat you have fitted and how old it is).
In less than hot weather on an S1 the temperature might never rise much beyond this as the heat loss through the coolant rails, radiator and chassis can be enough to balance the waste heat produced by the engine.
To get beyond this you need to be committed - hold the revs at 2000 RPM and watch the temperature gauge. After a while it will start to rise again (there's a lot of capacity so it will plateau at the stat operating temperature for quite some time). It should rise up to somewhere around an indicated 100C, then the fan will kick in and it should drop 6-8C before the fan goes off again.
It is impossible for the engine to run at 2000RPM in neutral for any length of time and not have the cooling fan cut in eventually - there is just too much waste heat to dissipate any other way.
I wouldn't worry about steam just yet - water is a byproduct of burning petrol and it will condense in the exhaust while the system is cold, only to re-evaporate when the system gets hot. Unless you've been very unlucky you cannot have broken the head gasket by flushing the cooling system
Cheers,
Robin
Couple of issues - the temperature rise on the dash when the heater is turned on is fake - it's to do with the way the electrics work in the elise - increasing electrical load at the front of the car will always make the indicated temperature change.
Dropping temperature on acceleration is common - though it could be caused by an airlock, that would usually be accompanied by quicker heating up on idle (where no coolant will flow through the radiator if there's an airlock).
What should happen is the following:
From cold start the temp should read nothing, then at around 60C it should start to indicate the current temp.
On the idle the indicated temp should then rise to the mid-to-high 80s (depending on which stat you have fitted and how old it is).
In less than hot weather on an S1 the temperature might never rise much beyond this as the heat loss through the coolant rails, radiator and chassis can be enough to balance the waste heat produced by the engine.
To get beyond this you need to be committed - hold the revs at 2000 RPM and watch the temperature gauge. After a while it will start to rise again (there's a lot of capacity so it will plateau at the stat operating temperature for quite some time). It should rise up to somewhere around an indicated 100C, then the fan will kick in and it should drop 6-8C before the fan goes off again.
It is impossible for the engine to run at 2000RPM in neutral for any length of time and not have the cooling fan cut in eventually - there is just too much waste heat to dissipate any other way.
I wouldn't worry about steam just yet - water is a byproduct of burning petrol and it will condense in the exhaust while the system is cold, only to re-evaporate when the system gets hot. Unless you've been very unlucky you cannot have broken the head gasket by flushing the cooling system
Cheers,
Robin
I is in your loomz nibblin ur wirez
#bemoretut
#bemoretut
Re: Temp after coolant change - advise please!
I've found bleading small air pockets out the system after it's up to temp and pressurised works much better. Although can be hot on the hands. 
No expert though, just own experience.
No expert though, just own experience.
Re: Temp after coolant change - advise please!
When you say that your putting the heater on - are you turning it from hot to cold or are you putting on the blower. Either way I would have thought that this would have decreased your temp.
I don't think it's anything to worry about to be honest - it's not a huge difference that your noticing and would be more concerned if the car was running hotter than colder - it maybe that the fluid you've put in (water & antifreeze in the correct ratio) is "wetter" than what was previously in the car, hence it's running cooler.
HTH
Mac
I don't think it's anything to worry about to be honest - it's not a huge difference that your noticing and would be more concerned if the car was running hotter than colder - it maybe that the fluid you've put in (water & antifreeze in the correct ratio) is "wetter" than what was previously in the car, hence it's running cooler.
HTH
Mac
S2 Elise (cobalt blue with stripes) - toy spec
Caterham 7 - hillclimb spec
Yamaha Thundercat - 2 wheeled toy spec
Caterham 7 - hillclimb spec
Yamaha Thundercat - 2 wheeled toy spec
Re: Temp after coolant change - advise please!
Thanks for the replies guys.
Mac, on your point. I am turning the blower on at hot. I thought this would bring the temp down, always has in the past but as Robin says, I probably havent got it hot enought yet and the jump is down to the electrics. No idea what or how long the old coolant was in for. I mixed the fresh stuff up 50/50.
Thanks again
Stephen
Mac, on your point. I am turning the blower on at hot. I thought this would bring the temp down, always has in the past but as Robin says, I probably havent got it hot enought yet and the jump is down to the electrics. No idea what or how long the old coolant was in for. I mixed the fresh stuff up 50/50.
Thanks again
Stephen