heating problems

[Black Lady 2001]

i have a 2001 gpx 3.8 motor 70,000 mi having a problem with getting heat my temp guage reading just above 160 degrees.I do get heat but only on the setting of vents not on any other setting it seem like something is unhook. Anybody know with wants going on with my vehicle i was the thinking maybe a thermostat?? I checked the fluid level it was fine.

[TDCRacing]

If you're thermostat was bad or not working right you would likley be experiencing overheating issues with you're car.


So you're saying you only airflow through the top vents or just heat through the top vents and cold air on any of the other settings.

[SyntheticShield]

Moved to the correct area.

[rfmgtp02]

If you're thermostat was bad or not working right you would likley be experiencing overheating issues with you're car.

Not if it is stuck open

[TDCRacing]

Not if it is stuck open

Incorrect.

The only way you would not have over heating problems if it WAS stuck open is if you were on the highway all the time while driving.And if that WAS the case you would see lower temps then the 160* that he reported.

The whole point of a radiator is to hold the water,Then cool it BEFORE it enters the engine.

If the fans could do the job of cooling all that water by itself then anyone could take there thermostat out in any car and have 0 issues.

[rfmgtp02]

Well he reported that his temp gauge "reads" 160 degrees but i think we all know that the factory water temp gauge is hardly accurate. I had a thermostat stuck open in my 03 blazer and it wouldnt warm up completely and eventually threw a code for it. my driving was not all highway and the engine never once overheated. I honestly have no idea what youre statement about the function of the radiator and fans has to do with the thermostat being stuck open or closed. It it really makes no sense at all. Maybe you should try to explain why a stuck open or removed t-stat would cause a engine to overheat.

[TDCRacing]

If you're thermostat was bad or not working right you would likley be experiencing overheating issues with you're car.

Not if it is stuck open

The statement about how a cooling system and fans on a car works is becuase of the above statement that you made.


If that were the case I would have just took my thermostat out to acheve lower temps instead of buying a 160.



These fans on our cars do pull a lot of air and while I guess it is POSSIBLE that if the fans COULD keep up it may be able to keep it from overheating theres 2 things that would NOT happen.


It would not be a steady tempeture.
It would not be anywhere near 160*


The stock PCM fan on/off settings are-

Fan 1

212*F on
207*F off

Fan 2

226*F on
223*F off





The problem is more than likley in the climate control system. Such as one of the blending doors being stuck on the upper vent setting only.

[rfmgtp02]

Ok well how do you think a 160* temp thermostat works differently than say a 180* or 195*? It opens earlier and stays open more than a higher temp t-stat. The temp. that fans come on at is completely unrelated.

[TDCRacing]

Ok and why do you think you still see temps in the range of 180-195* in the city with a 160* thermostat and only see actual 160* temps when you're on the highway?


Answer that.


Better yet i'll inform you, The reason is because the fans along with the slow moving air from driving 40 mph can't cool it down fast enough becuase the water in the radiator is not there long enough to cool it to the tempeture of wich the thermostat opens at.


You can argue all you want. But i'm going to stop.



All I want to do is help this person with the problem that he is having unlike you who is simply trying to prove a fact wrong.

[Scimmia]

You can argue all you want. But i'm going to stop.

Thank god.

If you're temps are reading ~160, your thermostat isn't doing it's job (or the temp sensor is bad). Replace the thermostat. I'm not sure where TDCRacing is coming from on this, but this is absolute basic auto mechanics. The thermostat is there to regulate coolant flow through the radiator and keep the engine at a pre-determined temperature. Too much flow = too cold.

[TDCRacing]

Too much flow = too cold.

I'll agree to that considering there is enough flow to cool it down. All i'm trying to say is I guess is that it would require more air flow to cool a car with a thermostat that is stuck open than one that is not. In the city that is.

[rfmgtp02]

Thank god.

If you're temps are reading ~160, your thermostat isn't doing it's job (or the temp sensor is bad). Replace the thermostat. I'm not sure where TDCRacing is coming from on this, but this is absolute basic auto mechanics. The thermostat is there to regulate coolant flow through the radiator and keep the engine at a pre-determined temperature. Too much flow = too cold.

Thank god someone with some sense has finally come to this thread. When it is 30 degrees outside in pennsylvania and you have an open t-stat, your engine is not going to warm up. This guy does not live in georgia.

[Scimmia]

And in Pennsylvania in January, it doesn't take much extra flow to make things too cold. You mention 180-195 in the city with a 160, that doesn't happen with the outside temp is 0F.

It's a whole different world up here, I drove around (in the city) in my previous car for a while with blankets on when the thermostat went bad.

Black Lady 2001, from what you describe, it's possible you have another problem beyond the thermostat, but you definitely have a problem there (or the temp sensor, as mentioned).

[Black Lady 2001]

And in Pennsylvania in January, it doesn't take much extra flow to make things too cold. You mention 180-195 in the city with a 160, that doesn't happen with the outside temp is 0F.

It's a whole different world up here, I drove around (in the city) in my previous car for a while with blankets on when the thermostat went bad.

Black Lady 2001, from what you describe, it's possible you have another problem beyond the thermostat, but you definitely have a problem there (or the temp sensor, as mentioned).

I want to thank everyone that replied to my problem. i see i have some work to do to figure this problem out. I thought it maybe a vacuum problem with not letting the heat get to the defrost or to the lower foot level I'll try to figure the problem out as for the temp gage reading 160 I don't think that is a problem or i wouldn't have any heatand i got heat just not where i need it. Thank you everyone for the help!!!!!!

[SyntheticShield]

I'll agree to that considering there is enough flow to cool it down. All i'm trying to say is I guess is that it would require more air flow to cool a car with a thermostat that is stuck open than one that is not. In the city that is.

I'll add this TDC not to take sides one way or the other but to offer what I have experienced in this arena.

I had a MotorRad thermostat, 180* in my vehicle that was a fail safe design, that is to say it was designed to fail in the open position so as not to block off coolant flow.

Id say this happened about two years ago, in the middle of summer, Id have to check my maintenance records to pin down the date. Anyway, I was delivering an order to a customer that lived just off the main road, about two miles down a dirt/gravel road. I drove slower as one would on that kind of road, but I wasnt creeping along either.

I get there, drop off the stuff, visit for a few minutes (he orders A LOT of stuff) then take off the same way. I get back to the highway and as I go to get on the highway, I feel my car shudder a little, like it missed maybe.

I take off and gun it a little and notice it seemed rather spunky for it being as hot outside as it was. Im looking at my speed and I notice that my temp gauge is on the floor, reading as cool as it will.

Im just a couple miles from town and all the stop lights and such but maybe 7 or 8 miles from the parts store. The whole time my temp never got off the floor, car seemed like it wanted to stall, large (400 RPM or more) swings in idle speed, Im sure in response to the extra fuel going into the engine.

But I made it to the parts store, got a new thermostat. No clue whatsoever why the one failed, I never saw temps spike to a point it would warrant the thermostat failing in the open condition. Once it was opened temps never came off the lowest reading even in the stop and go traffic.

I got a new 180* fail save t-stat in there and all was well after that. Never had another incident like that and chocked it up to just a faulty t-stat.