over heating problem
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 349
Likes: 1
From: Columbus OH
over heating problem
I have a 2000 that I have never had any problems with over heating until being in a parade on Memorial Day. I was almost to the red line and my DIC said 253 degrees
. Thank god the end of the parade was near when it got to that point. I have had the car for about 10 months and don't know much of the history. One thing that I noticed is that the overflow tank is compleatly full. Could this be the reason for over heating? The radiator looks clean from when it was raised over the winter.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
.
. Thank god the end of the parade was near when it got to that point. I have had the car for about 10 months and don't know much of the history. One thing that I noticed is that the overflow tank is compleatly full. Could this be the reason for over heating? The radiator looks clean from when it was raised over the winter.Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 626
Likes: 0
From: Fresno CA
2- Things to do...
1 -check for debris in front of your radiator. These cars are notorious
for vaccuuming up road trash.
2- Did you have your A/C on while in the parade? It will help keep
your car cooler. Your electric cooling fans will run and keep air
circulating while idling along at slow speeds.
1 -check for debris in front of your radiator. These cars are notorious
for vaccuuming up road trash.
2- Did you have your A/C on while in the parade? It will help keep
your car cooler. Your electric cooling fans will run and keep air
circulating while idling along at slow speeds.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 349
Likes: 1
From: Columbus OH
I had the A/C on as I have heard of that trick. In fact I was passing it on to other people that had never been in a parade.
If the thermostat was stuck would the car have been fine after it sat for about an hour? Our club had a picnic after the parade and the car was fine on the way home.
As for debris it was clean about 1 month ago. But I will try to get one of the kids to crawl under there and take a look so that I don't have to raise the car.
Does anyone think that too much coolant could be a problem? If it has nowhere to expand to could it cause a slow down or blockage?
If the thermostat was stuck would the car have been fine after it sat for about an hour? Our club had a picnic after the parade and the car was fine on the way home.
As for debris it was clean about 1 month ago. But I will try to get one of the kids to crawl under there and take a look so that I don't have to raise the car.
Does anyone think that too much coolant could be a problem? If it has nowhere to expand to could it cause a slow down or blockage?
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 138,535
Likes: 177
From: Poor pathetic little excuse for a boy
is right. I have been getting up to 235 and feel that is too high. Not sure what effect having too much coolant would have but get it to the correct level and see what happens.
Also pull the top radiator "cap" and look in between the radiators. I just did this and found a bunch of crap. I power hosed it and seem to be running cooler now. This photo is from the engine bay looking down.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 593
Likes: 9
From: San Antonio Texas
You also might want to "burp" the system to see if you can get any air out. There are lots of threads regarding this and some very recent. If there is air the system will not circulate and could explain why your reservoir if full. Might be worth doing. It is simple and shouldn't take long, maybe 30 minutes top.
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Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Have you verified that the fans are in fact running? Both fan grounds go through the ground pack on the top right forward frame rail directly adjacent to the hood riser.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Chester County Pennsylvania
2025 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
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All of the previous posts are great ideas and you should check for all of their suggestions. You didn't say if you changed the coolant (Dexcool) when you bought your car. It's a 2000 and no matter how you slice it, mileage or years, the coolant needs to be flushed and replaced, unless you have proof it has been done within the past 5 years or 100K miles. Make sure you use Dexcool and you also use distilled water. Or you could go to your friendly local Chevy "stealership" and they will do it for you.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,052
Likes: 97
From: Southeast, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
2- Things to do...
1 -check for debris in front of your radiator. These cars are notorious
for vaccuuming up road trash.
2- Did you have your A/C on while in the parade? It will help keep
your car cooler. Your electric cooling fans will run and keep air
circulating while idling along at slow speeds.
1 -check for debris in front of your radiator. These cars are notorious
for vaccuuming up road trash.
2- Did you have your A/C on while in the parade? It will help keep
your car cooler. Your electric cooling fans will run and keep air
circulating while idling along at slow speeds.
first rule of a parade, run the a/c to get the fans on right away regardless of the temp.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,447
Likes: 1
From: Katy TX
2- Things to do...
1 -check for debris in front of your radiator. These cars are notorious
for vaccuuming up road trash.
2- Did you have your A/C on while in the parade? It will help keep
your car cooler. Your electric cooling fans will run and keep air
circulating while idling along at slow speeds.
1 -check for debris in front of your radiator. These cars are notorious
for vaccuuming up road trash.
2- Did you have your A/C on while in the parade? It will help keep
your car cooler. Your electric cooling fans will run and keep air
circulating while idling along at slow speeds.
How will the A/C keep your car cooler? When I turn mine on, my temps go up at idle until I start moving and then the temps drop.
A/C off at idle in 96* heat, I see 189-192*. A/C on at Idle, it goes up to 215-220*. Both fans turn on.
On the highway in 96* heat, A/C off: I see 181-183* temps and A/C on 187-189* temps.....
Last edited by All_Motor_C5LS6; Jun 1, 2011 at 05:49 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Kelso Washington
St. Jude Donor '09, '13, '15
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,431
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From: Iowa City Iowa
By turning on the A/C you initiate the dual fans on the radiator. These fans are thermostatically controlled and w/o the A/C turned on they will not come on until the engine is getting pretty hot. To put it simply, having the fans on earlier due to A/C being activated is more beneficial in controlling the engine temp even though the drag of the A/C does indeed add heat to the engine. It's simply a trade off to get the fans running sooner in the heat cycle!
Supporting Vendor
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From: SacCityCorvette.com in Sacramento Ca Join us on Facebook!
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Sound like the thermostat may not be opening all the way.
Here is a product we offer for the next time your in a parade or anytime you want to turn on your high speed radiator cooling fan without having to run the A/C and waste fuel and wear and tear on the A/C system trying to cool the world down.
It works great and will also help keep your automatic transmission running cooler too. It only takes 5 minutes to install. Check the installation video on this page too.
http://www.saccitycorvette.com/COOLITv2.html
Here is a product we offer for the next time your in a parade or anytime you want to turn on your high speed radiator cooling fan without having to run the A/C and waste fuel and wear and tear on the A/C system trying to cool the world down.
It works great and will also help keep your automatic transmission running cooler too. It only takes 5 minutes to install. Check the installation video on this page too.
http://www.saccitycorvette.com/COOLITv2.html
