my temp guage started to rise while driving this Sunday past, but the fans are wired to come on when the car is running. I was wondering if my water pump went bad or if it was the stat. Coolant was not circulating. I took the stat off,ran the engine and the coolant was circulating.
When I get a new stat,does it matter if its the 180 or 160 degree type,when the fans are wired to stay on?

 

first off..it would help to know what kind of car you own....year, engine, even mods...


why do you have the fans hardwired? has it had an overheating problem? cause that's not a cure...it's a bandaid.

what happens if you wear out the fans while on the road....the car will overheat and you'll have no way to cool it other than shut it off.

it's very possible the stat is bad. seems i remember the stats in the LT1 and later engines are designed to fail in the open position. not sure about the older ones.

a cooler engine can make more power, within reason. lowering the stat temp will allow the engine to run cooler and thus make more power. even with the fans hardwired the engine can only get as cool as the stat allows. so with a 180 stat it will run around 190-195deg consistently. the 160 should run 170-175deg.

more info on your car will help out with a more specific answer

 

Sorry for being so vague.It is a 1994 Z28 Lt1. It had an overheating issue some time ago and was wired for the fans to stay on. They were not coming on when the temperature went high. I think I'll get a switch.

 

i think u should get them wired the way they should be stock, and get a lower thermostat 160'. I got a 160' it works great, even when standing in a traffic jam the fans don't have to go on very often.

 

i think you should figure out why it was overheating in the first place!!!

could be your waterpump is on it's way out, your radiator is clogged, or you have air in your coolant system.

fix that...then return the fans to stock, put in a lower stat and you should be fine.

if you still want a switch for traffic jam situations or for sitting at the track....worry about it then.

as long as you are moving more htan a few miles per hour you should have sufficient flow over the radiator to cool the engine. therefor your fans are working WAY too much.