hey folks,
i need some help with this problem. i haven’t been on this group for a
while since i changed jobs so this may have been discussed before.
my ’91 Jetta GLI has started running considerably hotter lately. it’s
temp normally hovers around 220 degrees. however, now whenever the car
is idling for more than a minute, the temp starts rising rapidly. the
fan starts kicking in at about 240 degrees. sometimes the temp goes even
higher. after turning the engine off, the fan continues to run for at
least 15 minutes to cool off the radiator which appears to be draining
the battery. the car usually won’t start after this episode and needs a
jump start. i had the battery checked out and it check fine. i believe
the problem is that the engine gets so hot that it takes the fans too
long to cool the radiator and drains the battery. has anyone else had
this situation?
i just moved to Atlanta and need a good mechanic. can anybody recommend
a good one or recommend a VW dealership to go to. i didn’t have much
luck with Lewis Welch VW in Morrow. thanks.
ira bartley
email: ira.bart…@mailport.delta-air.com
I have a 92" GLI-16V. I live in Philadelphia. My car runs at about 236
during highway travel in the winter and at about 240 in the summer with
the air on. It is very suceptable to getting hotter when sitting in
traffic or when the air is on. I think I’ve seen it as high as 254, ouch.
WHen I see it that high, the air goes off and I consider turning it off
rather than let it cook. Otherwise the car runs great. The oil is usually
a nice golden honey color (change every 5-7k). So, 220 to 245 sounds
normal to me!
My previous car was an 84′ GTI. I installed an oil cooler on it and wish I
had done the same on my Jetta. My GLI now has 42k on it, and I’m gonna
stay with the factory setup, even though I don’t like the heat xfer unit
much.
Let me know what you learn…
ira bartley wrote:
> my ’91 Jetta GLI has started running considerably hotter lately. it’s
> temp normally hovers around 220 degrees. however, now whenever the car
> is idling for more than a minute, the temp starts rising rapidly. the
> fan starts kicking in at about 240 degrees. sometimes the temp goes even
> higher. after turning the engine off, the fan continues to run for at
> least 15 minutes to cool off the radiator which appears to be draining
> the battery. the car usually won’t start after this episode and needs a
> jump start. i had the battery checked out and it check fine. i believe
> the problem is that the engine gets so hot that it takes the fans too
> long to cool the radiator and drains the battery. has anyone else had
> this situation?
Ira…
Some time ago, I had a very similar problem with my 88 16v GTi.
The biggest part of the problem was a bad or insufficient ground.
I replace all of my battery cables with 2 AWG wire and replaced
the alternator cable with the 4 AWG kit from AutoTech. I decided
not to go with the factory harness mainly because of the price,
something like $75 per. I think I got out of the whole deal for less
than $40. On all the connector ends, I liberally applied a no-corode
gel, which has eliminated all corosion, which is all to common in Central
New York. I think you will find that this will solve your problem..
In addition to relacing the cables, I replaced my temperature sensors
for the analog gauge and for the MFA oil temp.
The reason your car needs a jumpstart after these events is because
of the bad ground. The current from the jump car combined with your
battery is enough to over come the bad ground where you battery alone
is not.
regards
Marc Stress
Marc Stress wrote:
> ira bartley wrote:
> > my ’91 Jetta GLI has started running considerably hotter lately. it’s
> > temp normally hovers around 220 degrees. however, now whenever the car
> > is idling for more than a minute, the temp starts rising rapidly. the
> > fan starts kicking in at about 240 degrees.
I think I will deliver the same answer for every overheating question I
see from now on. Perhaps I will save someone from the hell that I
experienced. If your car is getting hot under the hood…check the
water pump impellor. Don’t know if I spelled it right. I replaced mine
with a thrid party piece of crp and the plastic (PVC?) impellor flew
apart slowly. The car was running hotter than usual for about three
week and then boom. the impellor let go completely and the coolant just
sat in the car. Needless to say I never thought to check the water
pump.
–
Colin MacNeil
Licensing Agent / Technology Manager - International Computer Group
macn…@mailserv.digiverse.com (Canada)
Skyen…@aol.com (New York, California)
http://www.digiverse.com/macneil/macneil.html