Thread: I think I'm in trouble

ok the eruption is the loss of coolant flow letting the coolant in contact with the block boil... thats bad... if it starts bubbling as soon as youve started it from cold thats worse. the fact that it takes 10 minutes gives me some hope for you yet..




on the fans find the plug that runs them, disconnect that and bypass the entire fan circut go straight to the battery with some wire capable of dealing with 15 amps

once the fans are spinning go again.... and in theory it should go forever BUT keep an eye on the coolant for bubbles.

Check to see if the radiator is cold ( or not that hot anyway) - if it is not very hot then it's almost a definite stuck thermostat. If not then suspect the fan relay. Simples wa to check is to bridge over the relay heavy current terminals - look for the big wires

If the head gasket is blown, there will most likely be water in the oil ( milky stuff under the oil filler cap is a giveaway)

Reasoning it out, the temp gauge and or ecu sensor should be after the thermostat - so should read the hot water and the fans would be controlled by the ECU through a relay. If the sensor is not sensing hot water, fans won't come on. The fans should also come on with the a/c - through a pressure switch, which would be wired to a relay, so that brings it all back to the relay again.

If you want to spend money, go tell the mechanic that you have blown the head gasket, and he will fix it and slip in a new thermostat or fan relay as well and you will be up for a few $000 rather than a couple of hundred at the most.

Hey Carlos,

I'm with djam1

.....or...


look on the engine for a switch like this
TEMPSWITCH3.jpg

unplug a wire and see if the fan works.

call it limp mode

Thanks everyone, I'll start by wiring the fans to the battery and test the relay (replace it with one of the other ones there)

Come to think of it, the radiator and hoses were not that hot either, in fact, after I got it home and water come out of the overflow tank, within 5/10 minutes I was able to remove the radiator cap without any issues.

There is also no water in the motor/oil so I'm hopeful as the idea of spending lots of $$$ is not really appealing right now... I just did that on the Disco's cooling system just two weeks ago

sounds like an airlock.......


is the waterpump working.......?

Originally Posted by DEFENDERZOOK

is the waterpump working.......?

My first thought.

Some vehicles have the thermoswitch for the fan at one corner of the radiator. If water is not circulating then the fan may not get switched on.

G`day wrex


The fans not working are probably the initial cause .

The coolant leaking out under when you first saw it ..... is the system releasing the excess pressure because it overheated ...... this is how it should work/be .

Your description , without the cap on of the coolant erupting when you shut it down and the earlier internal system knocks/bangs ...... describes as DEFENDERZOOK says ... an airlock .

A head gasket may give a similar type of eruption but it would need to have the cap on to build the pressure up , this is why i think airlock more possible from your description the time frame and the gauge .

I`d suggest the reason the fans aren`t working has to be found but are secondary .

The eruption cause is the primary .

It may be as simple as bleeding the system a certain way , could be a quark of the make .

May be a stuck , closed thermostat .

May have electric water pump and links with the fans .

Have no idea , don`t know the vehicle under bonnet .

You may even find that is has self bled overnight and if the coolant level is lower than it was last night , if you topped it up , this may be the case ?

If the level has dropped , before you start it , first check the sump for a higher level and if it has a dip stick the auto level if it cools using the radiator .

Cheers

Whats the best way to remove an air lock?