Well the other night i was going up to the mall and there was a lot of traffic so i was sitting for a little bit. Well i look at my tempature gauge and it's about 3/4's the way up. So i get a little worried. Well traffic cleared up and after about 5-10 of normal driving it was back down to 180-200. It normaly runs around 180-200 so it was back to normal. Im just wondering how i can keep it down in traffic and stop this from happening. Should i change out my fluids? This is the first time i have had to sit in a lot of traffic so i haven't noticed it till now. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

It sounds like to me(I am no expert, but am having the same problem)that you should see if your fans are running. Maby it is the coolant temp. sensor.?

 

i had the same problem on my formula... the main fan didn't work... i got one from a junkyard and it worked fine... have the fuses and relays checked.. i'm not sure what's where... i didn't check mine and luckily i didn't buy the fans for nothing. You should look under the car to see if they're on when the car heats up. Also turn on your A/C or defogger that should put the other fan on and your temp should drop.

 

by 3/4 of the way up do you mean the mark that corresponds to around 235? If so, that is completely normal. The stock computer tune doesn't turn the secondary fan on in traffic until ~235 F. You can get a manual fan switch, or you can get a custom tune to take care of this problem. I have also heard that some people get good results using Water wetter products. They supposedly increasing the heat transfer capacity of the water...

Jonota

 

Backing up jonota here - stock tune doesn't turn on the secondary fan until about 235. And if memory serves me right even the primary fan doesn't come on until 220 or 225. My T/A used to get to 225-230 all the time in traffic during summer here. You can get a man. fan switch to turn the fans on or get the car programmed to kick the fans on earlier. And like mentioned earlier if you turn ont he A/C or defogger the fans will be forced to kick in so that's a good way to test if your fans are working.

 

Ok each mark represents 20 degree's correct? Well on my guage it starts at 160, then there's another mark that represents 180 (i guess) and then there's the half way mark which would be 200. And then there's the 3/4's mark which i guess represents 220? And then the fourth mark which is 260 and is in the red. My needle was inbetween the half and 3/4's mark more so leaning towards the 3/4's mark so i guess maybe it wasen't as hot as i thought after all. Is this normal for sitting in traffic? I do have a hypertech programmer could i program the second fan to turn on at a certain tempature? And if so what tempature do you recommend?

 

This is "normal" if you mean is it supposed to do that. I have never been a big fan of any equipment whose temperature cycles like that. It was one of the first things I was concerned with taking care of. I HATE it when it heats up then cools down then heats up. Your hyptertech programmer should have a selection for lower fan temps. I believe there are 3 choices... you can initially choose to keep it stock, or change it. If you choose change it, you can select between 160 and 180 thermostats. If you select 180 your fans should keep you right around that, probably not more than the 210 mark.

Jonota

 

Each tick on the gauge would be roughly 25°. What you describe sounds normal for a stock programmed car. On a 1995, low speed fans come on at 226° and high speed fans at 235°. Also allow for any inaccuracies in the gauge reading. Having your fans come on at a little lower temp will help keep it from swinging so high when you are stopped in traffic.