Technical Overheating on idle

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Technical Overheating on idle

mar cu para

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Hi all,


I have a Seicento made in 2001 and i have a disturbing problem.
Whiale the engine is running on idle, the light for system overheating is turning on.
If i am moving i don t have this problem.
I checked the fan and it is working properly.
First i changed the thermocouple, because i thought that it is the reason for the fan is not running. After this i still have the problem
Second i changed the thermosensor from the themostat. i thought that is too old and it s not functioning at the parameters, transmiting wrong measurements. Still have the problem.
Third i changed the thermostat. Still have the problem.
Any ideeas where is the problem and how to solve it

P.S. i don t have oil in the cooling liquid.
The fan is not starting on idle.


Thank you for your time and i hope that i will find an answer to my problem.
 
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I presume the overheat light comes on when the engine is already hot and then idling, not when you switch it on in the morning?

If it's overheating at idle, even with the fan running then either there is no coolant in the radiator (bleed screw in the top "left" corner, as you look at it..) which might imply a head gasket problem (air instead of coolant)... OR the water pump is not circulating the coolant that's nice and cool.

If the radiator feels warm, not hot (keep your hands out of the fan) then it could be the first problem.

Otherwise, when did you last change the water pump? The impelloer can become loose on the shaft.. so the cam-belt turns the pulley but the impellor inside the engine is slipping on the shaft. If you change the pump, fit a new cam-belt and tensioner on there at the same time... then you won't have to worry about it for another 4 years.



Ralf S.
 
Last edited:
I presume the overheat light comes on when the engine is already hot and then idling, not when you switch it on in the morning?

If it's overheating at idle, even with the fan running then either there is no coolant in the radiator (bleed screw in the top "left" corner, as you look at it..) which might imply a head gasket problem (air instead of coolant)... OR the water pump is not circulating the coolant that's nice and cool.

If the radiator feels warm, not hot (keep your hands out of the fan) then it could be the first problem.

Otherwise, when did you last change the water pump? The impelloer can become loose on the shaft.. so the cam-belt turns the pulley but the impellor inside the engine is slipping on the shaft. If you change the pump, fit a new cam-belt and tensioner on there at the same time... then you won't have to worry about it for another 4 years.



Ralf S.

Thank you very much for your answer.
The water pump was on my guess list as the main "suspect"
But i wanted an opinion from one who is more experinced.
It has more than 4 yers ..so maybe is time for a replacement.
 
I'm guessing that your Sei' is fairly low mileage so nobody ever changed the water pump and it's still the original one that came out of the factory 15 years ago. They will last that long time.. but not forever.

Fit a good quality pump like Valeo... I've also seen a lot of Fahren about but I don't have any experience of those.

If the car only does a few miles, it may be worth changing the pump every time you change the cam-belt.. it's just £25 extra... but anyway a new pump will be good for at least 4 years, so it's not bad.


Ralf S.
 
How quickly does it get hot? If the pump is not pumping it will get hot very very quickly indeed. And nor would it keep cool when you are driving.

I suspect headgasket to be honest from what has been said here, i would hazard a guess at between 2 cylinders but best thing to do is compression test it.
 
How quickly does it get hot? If the pump is not pumping it will get hot very very quickly indeed. And nor would it keep cool when you are driving.

I suspect headgasket to be honest from what has been said here, i would hazard a guess at between 2 cylinders but best thing to do is compression test it.


Thank you for your answer.
In fract the problem was easy to solve but i did not have enough patience.
After i changed the thermostat i did not remove all the air form the cooling system.
But after i done this everything is back to normal.
 
Problem solved.


Thank you everybody who helped me with answers for my Sei problem!
The problem was easy to solve but i did not have enough patience.
After i changed the thermostat i did not remove all the air form the cooling system.
But after i done this everything is back to normal.
 
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