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continuing saga


david lewis

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hi all,

I am still working on the cooling /heating system on my 13/6o and yesterday fitted a new radiator and electric fan which seem to work fine.

today I drove to the white lion breakfast meeting ( great turn out )

I am a bit concerned that the temp gauge sat at 3/4 up the gauge and sometimes nearly into the red--is this normal?

the thermostat has been changed and the system flushed through and the car does not seem to boil up.

I am wondering if the sensor could be duff or perhaps the voltage stabiliser even though the fuel gauge seems fine.

what does team think.

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David

 

If you didn't have a temperature guage, would you be worried?

 

Just because a temperature guage is reading high, it doesn't mean that your engine temp is high.  My TR7 always reads low, but it is steady, so I don't worry about it - it's just the way it is, the engine always reaches full temp.  The sender, or the guage could be faulty; in my case, probably the sensor.  From top to bottom the temp guage only reads about 5 degrees anyway.  So if it's slightly high, it might only be 1 degree, or so.

 

My advice is to continue driving the car for a while and keep an eye on it and see if the engine is ACTUALLY getting to hot, then try and fix it, if there's a problem.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

Regards

Mike

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Agree entirely. There are some sensors that will fit a herald etc, but are wrong in terms of resistance etc. Think they may be a landrover part. These get supplied as suitable purely because they fit! A good triumph specialist should sell the correct part.

 

As an aside, years ago a friend had a siilar issue. I took the herald, and indeed it read high. I used a capillary gauge which confirmed that the car was running at the correct temp. I rummaged and found a combination of sender and gauge (yep, they read a bit different too) that read dead centre, and my friend was happy with the car  from then on. But I never did anything about the actual temperature (as there was nothing wrong!)

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Hello David.

 

I feel that there are a number of sections to this.

 

Firstly, what was the gauge range reading prior to the new rad & electric fan conversion ?? This is your start point. 

 

Secondly, when the car is being driven and you are getting the ram-air action through the rad - what is your gauge reading at its lowest point ??

 

Thirdly, where is the needle on the gauge when the electric fan cuts-in ??

 

Is this "new" rad actually BRAND NEW or reconditioned or something else / in between ??

 

Note that the elec-fan will not bring the gauge temp down to the same level as the ram-air effect.

 

I presume you have your elec-fan between the block & rad - if this is so, are the blades of the fan pulling air through the fan; rather than spinning in the wrong direction ?? 

 

Is the thermostat the correct one for UK conditions - i.e. normal temp running ??

 

Do you have the correct rad cap in place and is it in good condition ??

 

If you have a multi-meter with a temp gauge facility, place the probe on top of the thermostat housing and this will tell you at what stage the thermostat opens and shortly afterwards the fan will fire up - note the temperature on those two readings. I would suggest doing this test on a "cold" engine, your readings will be more accurate.

 

With those readings you can then check that the thermostat is opening at the temperature that it should (as stamped on it give or take a degree) AND at what temp the elec-fan is cutting in; which of course will confirm if you have the correct temp fan sensor either fitted or if it's faulty.

 

If all of the above are within the correct range, then you can move on to testing the voltage stabiliser and checking the accuracy of the gauge - perhaps checking the gauge first is the easier of the two options. If you can, try and get a calibrated temp gauge to do your testing.

 

I know the above is a bit long-winded, but you can at least eliminate specific items as you progress.

 

Finally, doing nothing is probably not the way forward especially as your gauge is at the hot end of the scale and the fact you have a gauge is the very reason you are investigating this !!

 

Good luck & hope that helps ??

 

Regards.

 

Richard.   

 

 

 

 

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wow --so much info,the gauge reads about the same as it did before I fitted the recon rad etc. and whether the car is cruising at 60mph or in traffic makes little difference ( new rad fitted because it was leaking ).

there does not seem to be much difference to the gauge reading whether the fan is working or not,the fan is wired the correct way around and pushes the cooler air from the front through the rad.the fan is set to run at about 93C and runs for a few minutes after the engine is shut off which I think is normal.

I think I will order a new temp sender and report back after it is is fitted

thanks to all for your help.

ps what temp should the engine run at ?

cheers

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You need a sender gtr108 or equivalent, if its been fitted withba early moving iron gauge sender

it will read hotter than actual

as will a failed stabiliser if giving output of 12+volts.

 

many have changed everything to find its a wrong sender.

They used to be colour coded but that seems to have dropped.

 

simple and cheap, get a cheapo stick thermometer from your chemist and stick it in the filler neck

To see what you are actually getting.

 

also check earths on both gauges and stabiliser

 

check the cfm and flow area of the electric fan is anywhere close to the mechanical original, many are much less

 

pete

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Following on from Peter's update, it will also be worth holding the stick thermometer against the thermostat housing to see how hot the engine coolant is running.

 

The benefit of that, is you will have a temperature reading with the rad cap on and whilst the system is pressurised.

 

You should see a difference in in the temperature.

 

Needless to say that if your thermostat opens at say 82 degrees for example, then you know your engine coolant must at the very least be this. How hot it becomes will be shown with the thermometer on the thermostat housing.

 

As Peter has suggested go for a new & correct sender - if this does the job then everything else is academic.

 

Good luck.

 

Richard.

 

 

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