more guage questions

[angusfaldo]

My Griff 500 runs like a dream. Well except for the fact that the pressure dial now shows me running at over 90 PSI. Give me some comfort fellow owners. Neither of the oil lights come on, the temp is fine at 88 degrees, the oil level is perfect and everything else runs fine. But I get more than 90 psi even when the engine is off but the ignition is on. Am I looking at a dodgy sender or dial? Thanks folks

[IPAddis]

In the thread somewhere else about cooling, someone said that the gauge shows full deflection if one of the wires is cut. Might be the same problem? Usual disclaimers apply re: driving a TVR with gauges showing non-standard readings.

quote:My Griff 500 runs like a dream. Well except for the fact that the pressure dial now shows me running at over 90 PSI. Give me some comfort fellow owners. Neither of the oil lights come on, the temp is fine at 88 degrees, the oil level is perfect and everything else runs fine. But I get more than 90 psi even when the engine is off but the ignition is on. Am I looking at a dodgy sender or dial? Thanks folks

Ian A Griff 500 Edited by IPAddis on Monday 16th July 14:29

[angusfaldo]

Thanks Ian. I spoke to an engineer earlier today. He warned me that it is a common complaint with Griffs, as the sender sits in one of the least hospitable parts of the engine bay, among all that heat. When they fail he said that the needle flies all the way across to the right. Safe to drive to the garage for a replacement. Incidentally, who WAS that pale blue Griff 4.0 who passed me on the A414 near Hertford at the weekend at about 150mph??! What a racket! I dreamt about it last night..

[Driller]

Angus ,if I may ask, are your fans on or off at the 88C temp do you know? eg when coming off motorway and stopping at lights. Thanks, Driller Ice Blue Griff500

[angusfaldo]

Hey Driller I followed some of your other strings on temp and cooling. I can keep you busy for hours with my Griff's cooling history if you want...! The fans run really well now and keep my temp at a static 88 degrees regardless of the weather. In this hotter weather they only run when the car is static or very slow and the temp does creep up a tiny bit on the motorway. I used to suffer huge problems with it boiling over. That was down to the crap plastic plug thingy connecting the fans' wiring to the otter switch. It had started to arc and the connectors had broken down. With the added resistance going through the connectors they kind of welded everything up. I rewired it. Once working properly the fans blew the fuse every week or so, so I wired each fan to seperate fuses. I checked the front of the rad recently (from underneath the number plate) and removed bowls full of bugs. What IS it about Griffs that attract bugs! It was badly clogged and this helped regulate the temp, I'm sure. I hope this answers your question. Having a reliable colling system changes the way you use your Griff. Until it works properly every tailback is a potential car breaker. I talk from experience having had a few visits to the hard shoulder on the M25 when the Bricket Wood roadworks were in place. If you think I can help further let me know. Angus

[tilling]

This overheating on Griffs sounds like a very common problem, including the one I bought last week. So far I have tightened up the f/belt and replaced the otter switch, this has made a slight difference but it still runs with the gauge half way between 90c and the red zone. I noticed that if the cigar lighter is on the gauge reads higher by a few degrees (No jokes about the extra heat from it :-) ) What do you think the plan of attack should be from here?

[angusfaldo]

You are right, it is a common problem. The later Griffs have a better wiring system for the otter switch and suffer less from placing the electrics in such a hot part of the engine bay. But the airflow into the rad is still poor. I hear people talking of a number of problems and symptoms. They include clogged up radiators. A lot of Griffs suffer from this and you need to take it out and flush it through. Then there are the fans and their wiring, which depending on the age of your car probably would benefit from using seperate fuses for each fan and a rewired otter switch plug. Then there's the grill (wire mesh) in front of the rad and the air intake under the number plate - worth checking it is free from debris. If these are all fine and you water and oil levels are good then you might want to think about the guage itself. Griff (and most TVR) guages are notoriously unreliable. If your guage says it is running at 90 plus then don't assume it is telling the truth... If you are still unhappy with it running a bit hot then one solution is to bypass the otter switch with a kenlowe fan over-ride switch. Some people wire them into the less than useful dash light on/off switch just left of the steering column (not too hard to do this and better than having an alien switch in your cockpit). Other factors can contribute such as timing on the engine and the fuel you use. I assume you are running it on 97 ron petrol? Griff owners and cooling. Go together like Manchester United fans and season tickets! I can put you in touch with an excellent independent Griff cooling specialist down the A3 about 20 miles off the M25 if you need to take it further.

[tilling]

Thanks for the advice. I think my best course of action is to remove the rad and clean it out and change the thermostat at the same time. We'll see what that does

[Driller]

Angus sounds like YOU are the Griff cooling system expert to me! Thanks for the info. You're right-the cooling system does affect the way you drive your car and can be a constant worry therefore spoiling the fun of it. Mine is about to go back to the dealer to have them look at it. I've not had any boiling over probs but close enough to 100C in cool weather for comfort. I may just be oversensitive, I had an MGB which was always overheating and it was a real pain in the arse pulling over all the time so I'm always looking at the temp gauge in the Griff. Again the main worry is that the fans are on all the time and yet the temp is still at 90C or more so no room for error. Apart from this and a few other very minor niggles though the car has been an absolute DREAM and dealer very good. Driller Ice Blue Griff500

[angusfaldo]

Driller it does sound like your rad is clogged. If the fans are running fine but the engine is not colling then it suggests that the air flow is not getting to enough water going through the radiator. I don't believe that bad tuning/oil levels etc would contribute to you running at a constant near-100 when the fans are on. When it is sorted (and I'm sure the dealer will see you right) you can sit in traffic with pleasure because: a) you won't worry about temp: and b) you'll be able to hear the radio! Off topic but - how many Griffs do you reckon we could get in one place, one sunny Sunday afternoon? Reckon we could do the 50? Just imagine the noise! Angus

[tilling]

Hi Driller, if its any consolation my Griff is exhibiting the same symptoms. Last night I took out the rad (easy job - not)and flushed it out, did not see any sludge though. I removed the stat and checked that - working fine. Refilled the system, not an easy task as it is difficult to get all the air out. Came to work in it this morning, for the firt 15 mile or so it sat at 90C then it fluctuated between 90 and the red. I can cofirm the feelings of apprehension watching the gauge all the time! On thing I have noticed is that when I use the heater fan or the cigar lighter the temp reading goes up, also the petrol gauge needle flicks about a lot, I wonder if I've got a bad earth to the gauges that is causing a miss reading?

[tilling]

50 Griffs sounds good! any ideas where and when?

[tilling]

Just spoke to the factory, they said that Griffs usually run at 90-94c in traffic and that the gauge can read upto 8-10% out. Only way to check for a real problem is to fit a digital thermometer in the hose from the Stat to the swirl pot and see. Anyone know the best place to get a digital thermometer with a remote probe?

[philshort]

I'm using WaterWetter (Chim 500), but unfortunately I started using it at the same time I fitted an alloy rad. My car certainly runs cool now though, but can't say if its the WaterWetter, the rad, or both. Except in heavy traffic it runs just over 70c on the guage. It actually drops below that on motorway runs so I might have to fit rad blinds!!

[Midnight Blue]

Hi Phil, I'm looking for an aluminium rad for my Griff 500, where did you get yours, and how much did it cost you?

[angusfaldo]

Where can I get WaterWetter TVR5000?

[Driller]

been away for a bit. Angus, my cars done 30,000 and is 2.5 years old does that change the possibility of a clogged rad? Also took it out today twice for the first time in three very wet days. On the first run car stayed at 80C, yes 80C on the run and never went over 88ish even in traffic. Then took it out later on after a few hours-bang straight up to 90-92C on the run/bit of traffic. Is this the 8-10% come to haunt me? Tilling sorry to hear you're "clock watching" as well, but I'm sure we'll get this sorted. Seriously considering water wetter but will wait to see what dealer can come up with first and will keep you posted. Driller Ice Blue Griff500

[angusfaldo]

Driller Same with my '96 Griff, which has 17000 on the clock. It will run slightly cooler and then slightly hotter during different runs on the same day in the same weather. I'm never bothered by that. TVR guages stick. My rev counter sticks at 1000 rpm. When you tap it, it drops below. The fuel guage is, well, hmmm! So I wouldn't be overly concerned about different readings during the day. Common sense tells you that your engine can't really run at temps which differ that much. I'd be more concerned with the consistently hot temp readings you get. Let us know what the dealer says, I'm very interested. Angus

[tilling]

Before I start to get too paraniod about this I thought it might be a good idea to see what people consider the symptoms of overheating to be other than the indication on the gauge. The swirl pot cap does not leak water, there is no boil up, the car appears to run OK, so what other indications would there be of overheating. BTW bought the Steve Heath book from Amazon, ordered it Thursday, got it Saturday, £32 well spent and nice one Amazon.com!

[edward]

quote:BTW bought the Steve Heath book from Amazon, ordered it Thursday, got it Saturday, £32 well spent and nice one Amazon.com!

word of warning - have been told that a page or two isn't quite what it ought to be - ie apparently the way described to fit then belt isn't right. Cant confirm either way as haven't tried it - best to pick brains from here to back up any procedures from the book I reckon.