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Supreme Being
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:29:18 PM
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Well...I know in the past, the fans have come on with the a/c off. 80 C is 176 F so I imagine that the rad has seen that temp before. I'm not to worried about it at this point since I don't sit around in traffic with this car but I'm pretty sure something's not right.
Richie Yosten
98 Alpine White M3 Coupe
08 Slate Tundra SR5 DC
Dad's Trailer...
01 John Deere Green GT235 48" Cut (w/ Cup Holder Option)
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 5:38:05 PM
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| I want to reiterate the important point of my previous post(s). Your radiator will not reach temperatures high enough to turn on the aux fan while you are driving at SUSTAINED SPEEDS. (Not yelling just emphasizing.) My suggestion was/is to let the car idle, monitor the temp with either a IR thermometer or the temp gauge and wait for the aux fan to come on. If you have a mechanical fan and the ambient temp is low enough, then the aux fan may not come on.
Jeron
BMW / PCA / Apex HPDE Instructor
97 M3/4 Byzanz/Magma; 2001 330i Silver/Gray; 97 R1100RT; 91 F-150 5.8l
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Supreme Being
Group: Administrators
Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:29:18 PM
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Visits: 830
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| Before I drove the car around I bled the coolant and I read 200 on the gauge for a moment. The car had not moved an inch yet...and no fan. So it spent a fair amount of time over 176 sitting still in the garage while I bled the system. I'm not sure if I mentioned that before. Again...that temp comes from the hot side of things but with no air flow I'd expect the switch to come on. I don't have any data to argue with you on this...just that it was common to hear the fan running while stopped at a light before the valve dropped. This does give me an excuse to get an a new diagnostic tool though... Edit: I do not have a mech fan...a Spal puller is in it's place and uses the same switch as the aux fan the way I have it setup.
Richie Yosten
98 Alpine White M3 Coupe
08 Slate Tundra SR5 DC
Dad's Trailer...
01 John Deere Green GT235 48" Cut (w/ Cup Holder Option)
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
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| Jeron, I'm missing something here. If anyone drove a car aggressively and then stopped and tried to take the radiator cap off they would be burned with scalding water and antifreeze. The temperature would be above boiling at 212 F. How does this fit with what you are saying? Thanks.
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Supreme Being
Group: Administrators
Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:29:18 PM
Posts: 170,
Visits: 830
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I'm pretty sure he's talking about taking the temp from the fins on the rad near the aux fan switch. There are some aftermarket fan solutions that come with a thermocouple in a bulb that is held in place resting on the fins of the rad. It's not the best place to take the coolant temp...but it does work and probably isn't too far off.
Richie Yosten
98 Alpine White M3 Coupe
08 Slate Tundra SR5 DC
Dad's Trailer...
01 John Deere Green GT235 48" Cut (w/ Cup Holder Option)
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 5:38:05 PM
Posts: 841,
Visits: 2,240
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| Getting burned by taking the cap off radiator is not because the coolant is boiling or above 100c, its because the coolant is under pressure and spews out when that pressure is released at the cap. Many times recently, I've pulled my radiator cap off immediately after coming off the track while the engine was running. I cant remember what we are discussing so I'll just detail what I've been trying to say. There are two different areas of coolant in your car, the engine and the radiator. The engine coolant stays at a relative constant temp, within 10 degrees of the thermostat. The radiator temp varies widely depending on the amount of air passing through it. With sufficient air flow the radiator temp will stay "cold" and never reach the fan switch temp. If the radiator temp ever reaches the thermostat temp you will overheat because the radiator is not able to keep up with demand. My point was that you cant drive around at 40+ mph speeds and expect the fan switch to tick on because the radiator temp will be far below 170. Since both the Spal primary and the aux fan are tied to the fan switch and there is no fan on the radiator until the fan switch trips then it wont take more than a couple of minutes of idling for the rad to reach the fan switch temp.
Jeron
BMW / PCA / Apex HPDE Instructor
97 M3/4 Byzanz/Magma; 2001 330i Silver/Gray; 97 R1100RT; 91 F-150 5.8l
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