LS2/A4 "Sudden" Temp Increase?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,021
Likes: 2
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'11-'12
LS2/A4 "Sudden" Temp Increase?
Wife's 05 LS2, A4 vert has LS7 exhaust, VR cold intake and a CoW tune with 160 tstat. For years this combo has run well below190 cruising and around town, even in summer.
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Providing the most proven supercharger kits for your C5/6/7 609-752-0321
Make sure your fan is working, it is common for the connection to burn up over time. (near the fan itself)
edit* just saw you did that sorry.
edit* just saw you did that sorry.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11,549
Likes: 27
From: Southampton NJ
Wife's 05 LS2, A4 vert has LS7 exhaust, VR cold intake and a CoW tune with 160 tstat. For years this combo has run well below190 cruising and around town, even in summer.
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 292
Likes: 1
From: Edmond OK
Same issue
I have the same issue. 2005 A4 temps cruseing is 194-198. Get off interstate and immediately temp goes to 205 and continues to run 205-212. Stop and go traffic it is 210-214. About 10 higher than normal.
Let us know what you find.
Brian
Let us know what you find.
Brian
Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 11,792
Likes: 255
From: Ossining New York
St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Please call me tomorrow.....
Wife's 05 LS2, A4 vert has LS7 exhaust, VR cold intake and a CoW tune with 160 tstat. For years this combo has run well below190 cruising and around town, even in summer.
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
Over the years I've changed the fan settings slightly for different users in different climates.
I'd like to check yours....
There's many things that can change over time resulting in different temps...
Everything from a plastic bag or dog/cat dander and leaves stuck in your radiator to small stones and sand...
You can't imagine what comes out of people's radiator/condensers when we have cars apart....
Get it on a lift and check the simple things thoroughly first....
Lots of people in warm climates don't use enough antifreeze (cause it don't FREEZE where they live)
but water promotes rust which causes problems and when there's less antifreeze then the water
tends to evaporate sooner causing more air in the system (which promotes rust) and just simply
less coolant in the engine....
Have a close look at the car and let me know what you find.
Stay TUNED!
Chuck CoW
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Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,021
Likes: 2
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'11-'12
Well, I finally got around to pulling the front AC/Rad shrouds apart blowing them out and cleaning the grit out of the condenser and radiator fins. Made sure there are no vacuum leaks from the Mild to Wild add on I installed. The fan is running well, the connector is in great shape. Since it's Easter, I will have to wait to pull the thermostat and change coolant but that's next.
Anyone know if adding the full LS7 exhaust would lean the mixture out beyond the ECU's abillity to compensate?
Anyone know if adding the full LS7 exhaust would lean the mixture out beyond the ECU's abillity to compensate?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,021
Likes: 2
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'11-'12
Well, pulled the t-stat and hot water tested it with a good thermometer. It never opened at 160/165/170 etc, all the way up to boiling the water....think I found my culprit! That and I will change the antifreeze...
Will have to put the stocker back in till I can find a new 160...
Will have to put the stocker back in till I can find a new 160...
Last edited by C2C6Z06; Apr 13, 2012 at 03:28 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,021
Likes: 2
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'11-'12
Yup, that was it. even with the stock 187 t-stat it's running an even 194 on a 60 degree day, heats to 201 at a light then immediately back to 194 when I start moving again.
Will have to get with Chuck for a new 160...
Will have to get with Chuck for a new 160...
Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 11,792
Likes: 255
From: Ossining New York
St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Wife's 05 LS2, A4 vert has LS7 exhaust, VR cold intake and a CoW tune with 160 tstat. For years this combo has run well below190 cruising and around town, even in summer.
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
I got in to drive it last month and noticed the temp is running at 208 cruise and sometimes to 214. Oil temps are normal. Nothing seems to have changed otherwise to cause this. I have checked coolant, air filter, belt tension, fan operation, blown out radiator/condensor etc and all looks ok.
Any ideas why this has happened????
For such an in-expensive part and such a simple device, the thermostat
carries HUGE responsibility with today's hot running motors.
People don't give them as much credit as they deserve, and when
they fail, people tend to moan about it.
Having sold thousands of 160 stats over the years, there have
been a few that outright failed, but it's the smallest fraction of 1%
compared to how many we sell. While they can fail from natural causes,
they fail sooner when the environment is too hot or the fan profile
in the pcm is too high or too low.
When the fan is run TOO MUCH / TOO LONG / with a fan profile that
is set TOO AGGRESSIVE the result is the melted fan plug below.
People in warm climates should check once or twice a year if you
notice your fan runs frequently.
If the connector fails, get some good quality "BUG" connectors or
quality industrial electrical crimps and crimp/solder the wires together
and clean paint off the chassis where it grounds to be sure it never
happens again....
A stat could fail if you have the beginnings of the FAN WIRING CONNECTOR
problem.
Good luck with it and let me know if you need anything from me...
Chuck CoW
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
overheating
My 2008 convertible has an SLP 160 thermostat which went bad two months ago. I replaced it with another one. In the meantime the temperature readings went haywire, the warning "engine hot, air conditioner disabled" came up and the temp gauge on the dash went to the lowest reading and the heads-up temp went to the highest. The dealer read the codes and said the thermostat wouldn't work because the engine was never reaching the temperature it needed. (this never happened before with the original 160slp tho). Then the battery failed and the guy who dyno-tuned it said the bad battery may have caused a low voltage reading to cause the readout/gauges problem. Upon replacing the battery, the problem went away...two months later and now it's back but the temp gauge on the heads-up reads normal and the dash is low same message about hot engine, I'm lost can anyone help??!!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 967
Likes: 1
also make sure your belt isn't slipping or damaged
i've seen that before on various cars
and agree with chuck, check to make sure there isn't debri
i've seen some ummmmm yuckie stuff in the AC condensor/rads when i worked at the shop
changing antifreeze when needed is also good and so overlooked too
and i'm a BIG fan of redline water wetter, its corrosion protection is simply AWESOME from my experiences
also make sure you don't have air trapped in the system
one of the reasons i prefer stats that have air bleeds, or i'll drill a small hole in the stat to aid in purging air
there's a few tricks you can do to help that
i've seen that before on various cars
and agree with chuck, check to make sure there isn't debri
i've seen some ummmmm yuckie stuff in the AC condensor/rads when i worked at the shop
changing antifreeze when needed is also good and so overlooked too
and i'm a BIG fan of redline water wetter, its corrosion protection is simply AWESOME from my experiences
also make sure you don't have air trapped in the system
one of the reasons i prefer stats that have air bleeds, or i'll drill a small hole in the stat to aid in purging air
there's a few tricks you can do to help that
