I'm melting!!!
Discussion
Evenin'' folks,
Having had two 4.0 Chimps over the last two years, my second one seems to have a couple of problems...
1) Temperature gauge goes up in traffic and around town to about 100C - 110C (sometimes a bit higher!) and stays there, which isn''t good. Seems very hot. My last one never really went above 90C. Fans kicks in at around 95 but don''t seem to do much. This is worrying me... could this be killing the old girl?
2) The dreaded ''starter motor overheating'' problem! Drive for more than 10 minutes and then park up, can''t start it again for about 15 minutes! Very embarassing! If it''s a cold morning or I''m starting the drive to work, it''s all fine! Probably related to point 1!
3) Oil pressure when starting from cold goes up to about 50-60psi. Is that too high? After the engine warms up it drops to the normal 30psi.. so I don''t really think it''s a problem, unless anyone can tell me otherwise! Oil is filled to just below full.
I''ve been reading a few other posts about the same type of problems. The car is under warranty so I''ll speak to the dealer about changing the otter switch and perhaps putting in something to stop the heat building up in the starter motor.
Does anyone know of anything I can do myself to make life easier?
Thanks!!
- ChimeraWolf
wolf,
oil pressure sounds healthy, it will be high when cold and drop as it warms due to it becoming thinner. Overheating sounds like a general inefficiancy in the cooling system, if it's a high miler the rad might need back flushing but needs dealer intervention as it could be anything from a badly positioned number plate to a stuck thermostat. Get your starter changed under warranty, it's had it
Edited by apache on Wednesday 26th September 14:14
My Griff suffered the same symptoms of
the starter motor dying when hot but would occassionally work after a long run.Do not be fooled it is knackered,make sure your dealer checks the condition of the starter supply cable as well,mine was also rewired and re-routed.Worked a treat after that.
Thanks for your help.
Something kinda funny happened last night on my way back from a night out down in the city...
Driving up to Old Street roundabout, the police pulled me over saying that they were doing spot checks and that because it was a nice sports car, they like to make sure they haven't been stolen. After the copper confirmed I was who I said I was... the beast wouldn't start because of the dreaded overheat!
So there I was sitting stuck on the roundabout for about 5 minutes trying to start her up. Then, for some strange reason the alarm started going off! I'm surprised they didn't stop me again! Looked like I'd just nicked it!
Now for some strange reason, the alarm keeps going off for no reason. It went off about 4 times outside the office and keeps going off when parked in my garage at home.
Is there any way of turning off the alarm but still being able to lock the car?
Cheers!
- ChimaeraWolf
- P56 SAH - Black Chimaera 4.0
Try checking the boot and bonnet microswitches - the bonnet switch on my Chimaera was tending to go open circuit giving spurious alarm triggering at all hours of the night!
If your alarm makes an audible 'bleep' when arming it can signify that one of the triggering methods is already triggered (ie door, bonnet, boot open or over sensitive microwave sensor)
Exercise and lubricate the microswitches - I can recommend teflon based aerosol cycle oil from Halfords - seems to persist longer than straight forward WD40 .....
[quote
If your alarm makes an audible 'bleep' when arming it can signify that one of the triggering methods is already triggered (ie door, bonnet, boot open or over sensitive microwave sensor)
My alarm started to make and audible beep too on arming/diarming. Unfortunately this seems to be indicative of imminent alarm failure, fortunately mine was replaced under dealer warranty.
It wasn't due to it having been triggered as nothing had been touched, it would unlock the car (with the beep) and then when you open the door all hell broke loose!
'96 Chimaera for the record.
Hope everything is sorted soon for you.
dont bother pulling fuses, mine did this and the only way I could shut the damn thing up was to remove the siren and dump it in a bucket of water (it has an internal/infernal power supply)took it out the next morning and it was still going!Apparently water running down the bonnet onto the siren buggers it up
Edited by apache on Friday 28th September 15:31
It's a strange problem...
I'm leaving my baby unlocked most of the time, not the best solution! At least its safe in the garage at night and nobody is gonna take it outside my office.
Weird thing is though that sometimes its fine. Sounds like the exact tsame thing that happend to Mark. I get the audible beep sometimes when disarming the alarm. I'll get the dealer to check it out and let you know what happens!
- ChimaeraWolf
- P56 SAH - Black Chimaera 4.0
Edited by ChimeraWolf on Sunday 30th September 18:51
Got the beast booked in for Monday to sort out the overheating/starter motor problem and have a look at the alarm! They're also going to upgrade the old style Fiesta lights to the new cluster for free!
My clutch has started making a weird creaking noise too. Not a healthy sound, so they can check that out for me.
Means that I'll be stranded for a night though as I have to leave 'er there!
- ChimaeraWolf
- P56 SAH - Black Chimaera 4.0
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