hot under the collar

[poptosis]

Got stuck in traffic. Temp rose from 82 (normal opperating temp) to 92 over the corse of halk an hour. I presume this isnt a problem but should I be cutting the engine constantly to retain the temperature as close to 82 as possible.

[NJS25]

This is NOT a problem

Don't worry unless things go much higher. Mine tops out at 102 in traffic on a hot day. If you really want to scare yourself trying going for a long blast on a hot day, then turn the engine off (cutting the fan) and turn it again a minute or so later

The system is pressurised, as a result the water will not boil at 100C. I believe 120C+ would be more likely.

Every car is different and you will get to know yours. Mine runs at 89-92C, but I would not be concerned at seeing 104C in the certain conditions.

If things continued to rise beyond this, it would suggest the fan is not working, you should hear it kick in around 100C.

The temp. gauge shows water temp. not oil, more often than not if you have a serious problem it won't be the gauge that tells you!

Hope this puts your mind at ease.

Regards, Neil

[james24]

Mine never stays at 82! Most of the time it stays at around 92-94 and as Neil said I wouldn't worry if it went up as far as 104.

I never thought I'd have a car where I look at the temperature as much as the speed!

[mister kevlar]

Yep i asked about this last week, mine was at 80-84 then its dropped too 77-79...was told not to worry to much to..like the other guy said i think i clock this more than the speedo !

[cuzza]

NJS25 said:

If you really want to scare yourself trying going for a long blast on a hot day, then turn the engine off (cutting the fan) and turn it again a minute or so later

Agree with everything you say but if your fan cuts out when you turn the engine off you have a problem. The fan should cut in when required ignition on or off.

[NJS25]

Its OK Cuzza.

Fan works fine. My mistake, I know what I meant to say, which is not what I said!?

What I meant to say was after a run when the fan has not cut in, you can turn the ignition back to see some higher temps. eg 104C.

Indeed the fan will work with or without ignition.

Neil

>> Edited by NJS25 on Monday 16th February 22:15

[fergusd]

NJS25 said:

Indeed the fan will work with or without ignition.

The elise fan does not run when the ignition is off.

If would be pointless for it to do so as there is no coolant frow from the engine to the radiator when the engine is not running. There is no point in wasting battery power cooling the water in the radiator without coolant flow.

SOME cars circulate water with an electric pump after shutdown, some use a percolating effect to do the same, some of these cars even have a thermo switch operated fan on the radiator which runs with the ign off, but none of these apply to the Elise.

Coolant temps up to 120C are fine, the system is pressurised to deal with it.

Generally you would rarely see 110 as the cooling fan will dump the energy in the system long before you get to that stage, but take the car to altitude, on a hot day in the alps, and thrash it up hairpin bends in second for 20 miles . . . and you can just about manage it . . .

Fd

[NJS25]

I'll get my coat.

[Arno]

fergusd said:

NJS25 said: Indeed the fan will work with or without ignition. The elise fan does not run when the ignition is off

True, but there is 1 exception: A/C equipped Elises.

If they get really hot (around 105 to 110 degrees C) and you switch it off then it will run the fans (A/C cars have 2, non-A/C cars have 1) and a small auxiliary waterpump until it drops to below a certain level.

Still won't happen very often (if at all) on most cars but it is capable of doing it.

Non-A/C cars do not run the fan after engine shutdown.

Bye, Arno.

(confirmed car anorak )

[sydneyse]

If i do not run the air con on my s2 111s in Sydney summer traffic (hey its hitting 40 celcius here these days!) the elise would hit 104. however, with the aircon on the fans start coolong at 88 and keep the car between 88-92.

[dragstar]

Arno said:

(confirmed car anorak )

yeah, but we love you anyway