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

Reply to
Mike
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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.

Reply to
Blah blah

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 ]

Reply to
Lane

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.

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Reply to
Mike

*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.

Reply to
Philip Nasadowski

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