FurryWrecker911
SCCoA Member
Hello again!
After my adventure with getting the supercharger working I'm now having some temperature issues with the car. This is going to be a long one so bear with me...
When I first got my 1989 TSC back in June/July of this year I noticed the temperature gauge would fluctuate over the "TEM" part of "TEMP." I asked a buddy of mine about it and he said his Nissan 300ZX does the same thing. Called it a "linear gauge." I didn't think anything of it trusting his judgement and my brother's Focus would sit in the middle area too (his didn't fluctuate though). I had it for a week or so before driving it from southern PA to Lorton VA to auto-train it to Florida, and the temp gauge did its usual thing of fluctuating back and forth during the 3 hour trip.
While I had it up in PA and down in FL I have been periodically swabbing junk out of the radiator cap and noticed some black gunk along the walls of my expansion tank. I took it to a garage for a slew of related and unrelated problems that needed addressed. Part of the trip was to solve a leak which they claimed to be the thermostat, and they flushed the system twice while they were there. They ALSO said my radiator fan wasn't working due to a faulted fan control module, so they hardwired the fan to always run in the meantime.
I got it back and my temp gauge never passed the 1/4th mark with the fan always pulling... until today.
I got my supercharger working in my car today and took it out for a test run. It pulled nice and hard, but before I could even make it 3 miles down the road I noticed I was sitting on the T in TEMP so I eased up and took it easy coasting at 45-50 mph in 4th. The needle rose to the E. I thought "Oh great. The puller fan's fuse popped, didn't it?" Nope. Pulled over and the fan was still pulling strong. Shut the engine off for 4 minutes then fired it back up and brought it back home. Behold, the fluctuating has started again even though the fan is constantly pulling.
I already have a list of issues relating to the cooling system. First off I'm STILL loosing coolant from somewhere (It's stops seeping if it hasn't run for a week. Looks like it's originating from the lower end of the motor. Water pump gasket maybe?), the expansion tank has black junk caked on the walls, and I do have a replacement fan module nicked from the junkyard, but I have to turn it back over to the garage for them to undo their hardwire kit. Really... the coolant issue could be caused by any one of these creating a slew of issues further down the line I'd imagine.
Chronological TL;DR version:
-Car temp gauge fluctuating over the word TEMP when I got it in June/July. Noted system was circulating garbage
-Took car to garage in late July for several things. One was stopping a coolant leak. Garage diagnosed a bad fan module and hard-wired the fan to always run. Put in a new thermostat. Performed 2 coolant system flushes
-Car still leaking coolant from lower end of engine. Stops after sitting for a week. Temps stay low at the 1/4th mark
-Fixed supercharger today. Temp gauge fluctuating again. Noted garbage flowing through system again. Still leaks from lower end. Hardwire fan still runs, but is fighting a loosing battle.
So here's my questions:
-Where is the needle supposed to sit?
-How is the temp gauge supposed to act?
-What all should I check/do myself before taking it back to the garage?
-Does the car have an OBD port that can give a second reading of the coolant temp?
-Is there anything I can put in the coolant to break down the junk that's grown on the surfaces over time?
-Anybody know how to test a fan module with a multimeter? (It's the black box that mounts in front of the air filter box)
Thanks. This is a multiple problems problem for me. Any help would be appreciated.
Side note: My washer fluid tank has a leak somewhere too, but that drains out from full within a few days. I suspect the tank is cracked. Do I really need to take the supercharger pipe off to get to the connectors on the tank to remove it?
After my adventure with getting the supercharger working I'm now having some temperature issues with the car. This is going to be a long one so bear with me...
When I first got my 1989 TSC back in June/July of this year I noticed the temperature gauge would fluctuate over the "TEM" part of "TEMP." I asked a buddy of mine about it and he said his Nissan 300ZX does the same thing. Called it a "linear gauge." I didn't think anything of it trusting his judgement and my brother's Focus would sit in the middle area too (his didn't fluctuate though). I had it for a week or so before driving it from southern PA to Lorton VA to auto-train it to Florida, and the temp gauge did its usual thing of fluctuating back and forth during the 3 hour trip.
While I had it up in PA and down in FL I have been periodically swabbing junk out of the radiator cap and noticed some black gunk along the walls of my expansion tank. I took it to a garage for a slew of related and unrelated problems that needed addressed. Part of the trip was to solve a leak which they claimed to be the thermostat, and they flushed the system twice while they were there. They ALSO said my radiator fan wasn't working due to a faulted fan control module, so they hardwired the fan to always run in the meantime.
I got it back and my temp gauge never passed the 1/4th mark with the fan always pulling... until today.
I got my supercharger working in my car today and took it out for a test run. It pulled nice and hard, but before I could even make it 3 miles down the road I noticed I was sitting on the T in TEMP so I eased up and took it easy coasting at 45-50 mph in 4th. The needle rose to the E. I thought "Oh great. The puller fan's fuse popped, didn't it?" Nope. Pulled over and the fan was still pulling strong. Shut the engine off for 4 minutes then fired it back up and brought it back home. Behold, the fluctuating has started again even though the fan is constantly pulling.
I already have a list of issues relating to the cooling system. First off I'm STILL loosing coolant from somewhere (It's stops seeping if it hasn't run for a week. Looks like it's originating from the lower end of the motor. Water pump gasket maybe?), the expansion tank has black junk caked on the walls, and I do have a replacement fan module nicked from the junkyard, but I have to turn it back over to the garage for them to undo their hardwire kit. Really... the coolant issue could be caused by any one of these creating a slew of issues further down the line I'd imagine.
Chronological TL;DR version:
-Car temp gauge fluctuating over the word TEMP when I got it in June/July. Noted system was circulating garbage
-Took car to garage in late July for several things. One was stopping a coolant leak. Garage diagnosed a bad fan module and hard-wired the fan to always run. Put in a new thermostat. Performed 2 coolant system flushes
-Car still leaking coolant from lower end of engine. Stops after sitting for a week. Temps stay low at the 1/4th mark
-Fixed supercharger today. Temp gauge fluctuating again. Noted garbage flowing through system again. Still leaks from lower end. Hardwire fan still runs, but is fighting a loosing battle.
So here's my questions:
-Where is the needle supposed to sit?
-How is the temp gauge supposed to act?
-What all should I check/do myself before taking it back to the garage?
-Does the car have an OBD port that can give a second reading of the coolant temp?
-Is there anything I can put in the coolant to break down the junk that's grown on the surfaces over time?
-Anybody know how to test a fan module with a multimeter? (It's the black box that mounts in front of the air filter box)
Thanks. This is a multiple problems problem for me. Any help would be appreciated.
Side note: My washer fluid tank has a leak somewhere too, but that drains out from full within a few days. I suspect the tank is cracked. Do I really need to take the supercharger pipe off to get to the connectors on the tank to remove it?