Drove the 00 SS A4 up tp Spring Carlisle yesterday. Drove >50 miles up & car was flawlwss. While sitting in traffic for about 15 min. waiting to park, within < 2min. the temperature went from its standard 210 all the way to the right, check gages light came on & it started to puke its guts out into the overflow tank (Steam). I pulled down a side street & let it cool for 1/2 hour. All was fine after that & drove it home later that day. I'm thinking the thermostat closed on me & willl change it today. Anyone had this problem before? or is there something else I should check? The thermostat is the orig., I flushed the cooling system last summer.

 

Is the fan coming on?

 

I was not sure when it happened ~ I mannually ran them w/ my Snap-on scanner afterwards & all was fine ~ I changed the thermostat this evening ~ the old one looked fine........... I'll run it tomorrow & see.

 

That is typical of the fans not working. Even though the scanner can turn them on doesn't mena that they were working when it over heated.

 

Al,

Thanx. What should I look for/check on the fan operation other than cycling them w/ scanner? Also, do you know the temperatures for the first fan start & then second? For this type of failure, both would have had to fail ~ correct?

 

1st check is to turn the AC on max, that should turn both fans on. If that works then the fan circuits and fans are OK.

 

OK ~ No fan start when I put the AC on With the key on, When I cycle the fan relays w/ scanner, I can hear the relays click, but the fans do not start ~ they should ~ right? I checked both fan motors jumped off the battery & both work. What Temp should the first fan signal be sent at? Temp for the second signal? How can I tell if my PCM is sending the signal?

Thanx.

 

Sounds like bad relays to me.

 

Yep if the relays click but the proven to work fans don't come on then the relays or the wiring to the fans is faulty.

 

Al & Chrome ~ Thanx!!

I'm starting to hate this car!!! I had 2 BAD relays (Fan 1 & 3) What's the odds? Got it all back together & noticed a drip from the water pump So back in I go. I guess it did not like overheating. I checked my fans & according to my Snap-on MT 2500, they kick on at 226F and off at 218F. That appears too high. I'm also adding in the SLP overide switch, however, that may be useless, since the dash gage hardley moves off 210F, so when to start manual will be a guess. whats the best temperature settings to start & stop the fans? Also, what do I need to buy to make the change?

Thanx.

 

1998, I believe, was the last year that had a "real" temp gauge that gave accurate readings. The temp gauge in ours, once warmed and if operating properly will always sit at about 210.
You actually only get 3 readings: (1) cold on start up, (2) once warm moves up to 210 and (3) if you're overheating will shoot way up.
I had my fans reset when I had my SS dyno tuned to come on/off at:
(#1) 184/175 and (#2) 194/175.
I verified that these readings were accurate thru my scan tool, even though the temp gauge showed a reading of just a hair under 210.