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TR4 Electrical Failure


Brian Sculpher

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4 hours ago, classiclife said:

I would expect that Brian. Once the engine is switched off the coolant will no longer be under such great pressure and as such the water will be syphoned; which is the whole idea of a header tank / expansion bottle.

Sounds normal in my book.

Regards.

Richard.

Hello Richard,

As I have now pre-ordered a temperature sender inclusive of infra red pyrometer would you know the normal operational range of the coolant?

Best Brian 

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Hello Brian,

The normal operating temperature is going to be governed to a certain extent by the thermostat, efficiency of the radiator and the cooling mechanism - which in your case is the electric fan.

Different cars operate at slightly different temperatures as there are numerous points to consider - even altitude has a direct bearing. Additionally you will be testing the car in static mode and as such will not have air ramming effect to maintain a constant temp.

If I were going for an average figure then I would say in the region of about 86 degrees with a 4 degree difference +/- it really is a difficult call to say.

The other point worth mentioning specific to your car, is you are running a hot climate thermostat; if you were running a normal stat then the above figure I quoted may well be realistic.

To be honest Brian, it's a difficult call to give specifics - perhaps John or other learned contributor can throw some additional info your way on the particular point you have raised.

Regards.

Richard.

 

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Std TR4 thermostat is 82 centigrade - if a wax-type. If you have the older bellows type it is quite a lot lower, I think around 74.

My  4  usually runs around 1/4 of the way up the gauge in moving traffic, in very warm weather that changes to around 1/3. In stop-start traffic it will get the 1/2 or a little more.

An IR thermometer is handy to check temperature of radiator  input and outputs to confirm it’s doing a decent job of cooling - I’m running an alloy rad with the long  expansion neck, cools fine and looks nice :) . You can use the same too to check there aren’t any hot-spots elsewhere.

Always worth remembering that these cars weren’t built to sit idling in traffic for ages, your car will soon tell you if it’s running too warm

...... Andy 

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Hi Richard / Andy,

Results of works undertaken earlier today.

Temperature sender replaced = temp gauge needle risen just before normal level half way prior to electric fan cutting in. Pyrometer (laser thermometer) used on warmed up engine = neck of rad optimum heat omitted at 88/90 degrees C, noting an allowed variable of +/- 2 degrees. I believe as I’ve used a thermostat (hot climate) coupled with the electric fan switch operating on at 82 C of 68 C all the readings appear compatible with an engine cooling correctly.

Finally I would be interested if you and all of the helpful responders are in agreement with my current conclusions.

Best regards Brian

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Yes looking good but the only thing I think needs verifying is the fan operating temperature because it worries me that it may start too soon. Dont forget that the temperature gauge indication is not linear so will change quite a lot with driving conditions such as going up a long hill in warm conditions. This is normal (modern cars have the reading artifically 'stabilised' by the electronics) and obviously the reading mustnt go too high but the fan shouldnt start while the car is going any faster than a crawl. If it does its not achieving anything as the airflow is already more than the fan can produce so is a waste and not always easy to detect above the normal vehicle noise....

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Also Brian will your fan run on after turning off the ignition? Its quite a nice thing to have as the system temperature usually goes quite high when stopping after a good run and is effective because the thermostat is still open so coolant flows by natural circulation.....

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