Overheating problem

92 Saturn SC.

I have having a bit of a overheating problem. Here is the lowdown:

Cools fine when moving well.
Radiator fan is blowing like a Son of a gun.....
(Had that problem last summer and replaced the fan motor.)

The Temperature gauge climbs steadly when stopped at a light. A/C does not
cool well either.
Temperature under the hood seems high when I open hood after arriving at
home.

My first thought would have been the radiator fan motor. But, it is blowing
strongly when I have the AC on.

My 2nd thought is the thermostat???

Ideas?

- Mike

 

Did you check your coolant level as well? I'm not sure what your gage is
reading or what your definition of hot is. If its going above 210 F then
yeah you might have a problem. You can bring it down by turning your
heater on full blast. Use your heatercore as a small radiator untill you
get this figured out.

 

A reading of half to 3/4 on the temperature gauge is the normal operating
range. Unless it gets into the red part of the gauge without the fan
turning on, it's not overheating. The a/c not cooling well may be related
to your refrigerant, which may need a recharge. Regardless, if you don't
know the last time the coolant and thermostat were changed, that may be a
good idea.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

The A/C only lacked cooling when the temp gauge was 3/4 or higher.

I was able to get the car up on the ramps today. Found a plasic bag between
the A/C radiator and engine radiator. Radiator fan now make the Temp gauge
drop.

As they say, look for the simple things first!

Any way, I'm going to change out the thermostat anyway.....(It is orginal to
the car.) IF I CAN GET the dang bolts off. I had to buy some spray to
loosen them. They won't budge! Also going to flush the cooling system
while I am at it.

 

*ding*!

Last time I had a problem, I found the car had sucked in a bag, which
was covering the radiator. Bad airflow = bad cooling.

If you don't mind getting a bit messy, it's one of the few fast things
you can check for by the side of the road, and also quite common.
finding a bag, pulling it out, and watching a problem go away in a few
seconds, is a great thing!

Also, if you want to 'lock' the fan on, you can unplug the A/C
compressor clutch and 'turn on' the A/C. The A/C won't come on, but the
fan will - and it'll stay on.

Don't assume that air blowing from the fan = nothing stuck on the front.
Check anyway - it doesn't take much at all to screw things up.