Engine Overheating

[Rayleigh]

My Chevrolet Vivant has a few times overheat (temperature pass 3/4 mark or very near H).

 

Have sent it twice to Starsauto but it still came back again. The last time, last weekend's trip to Malaysia.

 

It usually overheat in the mid afternoon , when movement is slow due to slow moving traffic etc and aircon dial set to 2 or 3.

 

But then coming back from second link at 7.30pm, last Monday, the temperature still went up in the jam. We now have to make do with turning aircon OFF and winding down the windows when this happens....

 

Do you guys Optras and Aveos, have this problem ?

 

 

I had this problem when i took delivery of my new matrix. I went down to komoco, they bought me up to the servicing floor for the senior technician to diagnose it. It turns out the steel wire between your accelerator and the throttle is too tight. therefore under stationary, the value (to fuel) was not cut off. And it is true. Need no major servicing, just loosen the steel wire under the bonnet and the problem is solve.

 

Your problem should be the same as mine. Damn frustrating. If you have a camera, took pictures of it and show it to the technician. They will be able to understand it better. When I first brought this problem to komoco, they fail to understand it and thus the problem was not solved. Second time I went down, I bring along the pictures and shown them. And viola. Problem solve.

[Guest Aveo_powered]

Alamak, my fault. Forgot to elaborate on that part.

 

huh? both fan off when you off the air-con? are you sure?

 

Yes, both fans will go off when you off the air-con. This happens only when you start the engine from cold and during the warming up process.

 

though the radiator fan must always on, or the engine will get over heat espacially you caught in the jam

 

When you are caught in a jam, both fans should be on regardless whether your air-con is on or off.

[Sotong_kia]

[reply]

though the radiator fan must always on, or the engine will get over heat espacially you caught in the jam

 

When you are caught in a jam, both fans should be on regardless whether your air-con is on or off.

 

 

Beh tio leh..

 

I drove home, engine warm, (as in normal temperature lah, 1.5 marks) off the aircon, engine running, the fans are both OFF ???

 

look around for another radiator fan, but dun have leh

[Guest Aveo_powered]

Dun worry lah, your car sounds fine to me

 

If both fans are off after your drive home, it simply means that the engine hasn't run hot enough to activate the fans.

 

If you really want to test it out, try getting stuck in one of the causeway's massive start-stop jams, then with the engine still running and a/c off, go look under the hood. By now, both fans should be running.

[Sgrac3r]

thank Aveo_powered, Ace_T for the elaboration.

[Eskimo]

My case was not overheat at all times, only in a jam when I have lots of start-stops. Once out of it and cruising the temperature gets back to normal.

 

[reply]

 

I had this problem when i took delivery of my new matrix. I went down to komoco, they bought me up to the servicing floor for the senior technician to diagnose it. It turns out the steel wire between your accelerator and the throttle is too tight. therefore under stationary, the value (to fuel) was not cut off. And it is true. Need no major servicing, just loosen the steel wire under the bonnet and the problem is solve.

 

[Godfinger]

Hi

 

You see as you drive and move the car, Air from outside will blow

pass the radiator and thus dissipating the heat from it faster then

stationary. When not moving, the radiator is relying on Radiator

fan to cooled doen the radiator.. These fans are thermostatic controlled

and they will only be turned on when the preset temp is meant..

 

Some cars have lower preset temp and some cars have higher..

But no matter what, the preset temp must not go beyond half mark so

it would consider mild overheating..

 

Aveo have two fans and Optra have two too. One is for radiator and one for

A/C.. But I have notice that with A/C 'on', the fan is running at low speed

and radiator temp goes higher then the fan run at max speed.

 

Can feel the fan running at high speed as there will be a strong vibration when

it runs high.. That explains why new Aveo only come with one large fan as compared

to ex-model of two medium fan.

[Eskimo]

Thanks for the explanation. Starsauto have actually added one more fan in to make it two. Wonder how they managed to do it with just one....

[Vinceng]

Today my car got stuck in causeway jam. and within 20 mins, the engine temperature red icon came on. Air con was switched off in jam.

 

No leak on radiator or hoses. Water came out of the spare radiator plastic tank (it was full). Radiator had water loss. Topped up 2 litres of water, and drove home. No issues. Just now, 12 hrs later, checked radiator and beneath engine bay for leaks. No leak.

 

Done a complete check before trip. Radiator was full, coolant changed in Dec last year. Engine oil was full, changed few mths back.

 

Could it be linked to air con thermostat? Cos my air con termostat is faulty, and someties air con is not cold, cos ice has formed in the condenser, and I need to switch to fan mode to allow the ice to melt before switching to airocn mode again, then air con is cold.

 

What could have caused the engine to overheat?

Edited September 29, 2013 by Vinceng

[Heartbreakid]

Could be fan not working

[LoverofCar]

Today my car got stuck in causeway jam. and within 20 mins, the engine temperature red icon came on. Air con was switched off in jam.

 

No leak on radiator or hoses. Water came out of the spare radiator plastic tank (it was full). Radiator had water loss. Topped up 2 litres of water, and drove home. No issues. Just now, 12 hrs later, checked radiator and beneath engine bay for leaks. No leak.

 

Done a complete check before trip. Radiator was full, coolant changed in Dec last year. Engine oil was full, changed few mths back.

 

Could it be linked to air con thermostat? Cos my air con termostat is faulty, and someties air con is not cold, cos ice has formed in the condenser, and I need to switch to fan mode to allow the ice to melt before switching to airocn mode again, then air con is cold.

 

What could have caused the engine to overheat?

I got same issue before on my previous car....root cause is blockage inside the radiator... no leak but the flow inside was affected.......coolant start boiling at reservoir..........most car will cut off aircon compressor when overheating... so aircon only blowing hot air....AD solutions is to change radiator....

Edited September 29, 2013 by LoverofCar

[Pisces69]

Today my car got stuck in causeway jam. and within 20 mins, the engine temperature red icon came on. Air con was switched off in jam.

 

No leak on radiator or hoses. Water came out of the spare radiator plastic tank (it was full). Radiator had water loss. Topped up 2 litres of water, and drove home. No issues. Just now, 12 hrs later, checked radiator and beneath engine bay for leaks. No leak.

 

Done a complete check before trip. Radiator was full, coolant changed in Dec last year. Engine oil was full, changed few mths back.

 

Could it be linked to air con thermostat? Cos my air con termostat is faulty, and someties air con is not cold, cos ice has formed in the condenser, and I need to switch to fan mode to allow the ice to melt before switching to airocn mode again, then air con is cold.

 

What could have caused the engine to overheat?

 

 

Did u check if your radiator n AC fans r working?

 

Looks like that is yr problem.

[Zapp]

May be choke or water pump faulty.

[Chucky2007]

Thermostat? That's the cheapert cause of the problem

[Yeobh]

The fastest way to check cooling system status especially the thermostate is to use an infrared thermometer.

 

Edited September 30, 2013 by Yeobh

[Kangadrool]

The fastest way to check cooling system status especially the thermostate is to use an infrared thermometer.

 

 

 

wah, uncle you sibei power. W/S will just tell you to change this and that. Change until your problem resolved. Nobody (except the small dying breed) seems to be doing diagnostic nowadays.

 

One day, when organs farming is feasible commercially, doctors will be asking patients to change this and that parts until problems resolved.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Kangadrool

[Yeobh]

Automotive diagnostic skills are being practice only by a very small group of professional mech that believe in giving customers value for money. They have to invest in time to do reading/studying and invest in diagnostic manual & tools. By being professional they will loose out to those " mech working under the cherry tree" and offcourse theyalso do not want to attract tight budget customers who do not want mech to make a decent profit.

Frankly without customers who understand the need for shops to make reasonable profit to cover both direct and indirect costs, no mech will be able to opt a professional shop ( unless they are from Santa Clause Group of Companies)

 

PS " Nobody (except the small dying breed) seems to be doing diagnostic nowadays " The dying breed are those not keeping up with time and technology. Mech who practice diagnosis testing are growing day by day and they are the future.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Yeobh

[Adrianli]

Today my car got stuck in causeway jam. and within 20 mins, the engine temperature red icon came on. Air con was switched off in jam.

 

No leak on radiator or hoses. Water came out of the spare radiator plastic tank (it was full). Radiator had water loss. Topped up 2 litres of water, and drove home. No issues. Just now, 12 hrs later, checked radiator and beneath engine bay for leaks. No leak.

 

Done a complete check before trip. Radiator was full, coolant changed in Dec last year. Engine oil was full, changed few mths back.

 

Could it be linked to air con thermostat? Cos my air con termostat is faulty, and someties air con is not cold, cos ice has formed in the condenser, and I need to switch to fan mode to allow the ice to melt before switching to airocn mode again, then air con is cold.

 

What could have caused the engine to overheat?

 

Might be the radiator thermostat or fan motor.