After getting my car back from the shop and paying $1032 for a new water pump and opticrap install i noticed my cars temp gauge never goes above 160. The fans are constantly running. Ive only had the car about a week now,and i bought it used so i dont know what mods the guy before me did to it. But is it good for the car to be at 160 all the time with the fans constanly running? There isnt a fan switch or anything they just run automatically. Should i switch to a 180 instead being i live where it gets very cold in the winter? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Is the Service Engine light on? The fans will normally run when when there is a code detected. Fans don't normally run all the time. Another possibility is that the previous owner wired them to be on all the time. It's not necessary.

 

The SeS light isnt on but do you think i should swith to a 180 thermo?

 

No, I think you should find out why the fans are on all the time.

 

Make sure this is hooked up...I forgot to plug this in after my cam install and my fans were running constantly...this was my culprit. Also, is there any way you can get ahold of the person you bought the car from and get all the info about your car and what he may have done to it...mods, ect...

http://shbox.com/1/temp_sensor1.jpg

 

Yeah, my guess is something didn't get put back or hooked up. Not uncommon especially after the particular work you had done to the car.

 

For $1,032 you deserve things to be working right. Take it back and demand that they fix it. Changing the t'stat won't change the way the fans work.... they'll still be running all the time until you find out what is causing the problem.

 

That's always an ***-kicker there.

Take it back to the guys that f__ked it up in the first place?

 

For $1,032 take it back, tell them to fix it, and stand there and watch them fix it. If you don't feel you're knowledgable to judge the quality of their work, take someone who knows and have them watch. I've done it both ways, with work involving expensive "warranty" repairs.

 

Wish my car ran @ 160 all the time lol.

 

no you don't. Too

 

Thanks for the help. Arent the fans only supposed to come on once the engine reaches a certain temp? I have noticed that they are not on all the time but only after i have been driving around for a while,but the temp gauge never goes above 160. Should i put in a 180 thermo? Shouldnt the SES light be on whenever you put in a 160 degree thermo?

 

No. There would be no reason for it to do that.

 

The fans come on:

-when the coolant temps exceed the temperatures set in the program (226degF for 1st fan or low speed, 235degF for 2nd fan or high speed - depends on the year)

-when the AC is on (and the AC is on whenever the "defrost" is on also)

-when certain PCM trouble codes are active

-when you attempt to short the ALDL pins to flash the SES codes (only flashes the codes on 93's but will turn the fans on all years)

What diaganostic do you feel installing a 160degF t'stat would trip? As long as the coolant gets hot enough to trip the PCM into closed loop (120-140degF) it could care less what temp rating the t'stat is.

 

I just remember some posts over at firebirdv6.com saying you might get a SES light when installing a 160 thermo,granted this was on my 96 3.8L.