Technical Is it the thermostat?

Currently reading:
Technical Is it the thermostat?

Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
1,007
Points
148
Location
Whitehaven
My car has been like this since i got it, it isnt so much of a problem but now that winter is here and i'm doing my driving test next week i'd like to get it sorted.

When i first start my car is takes agessss to warm up and i mean.. at least 5 miles and even when it had warmed up the needle on the temp guage only sits just above the bottom line of the guage (on the line in really cold weather)
ive bled the radiator and fluid is normal and if i leave the car standing for at least 10 minutes the temp guage moves up and the fan kicks in just before it reaches halfway.
I'm pretty sure its the thermostat but just thought i'd make sure by posting on here lol

and how much roughly are they,
 
there about 11 quid

it sounds like it's stuck open the best kind of failure really

most people don't realise the cooling capability's of the radiator when moving with an open stat the fact that it warms normally when stood is fairly conclusive

be careful with the bolts for it they are easy to strip and make sure the surface is clean before fitting the new one use some blue hylomar and you wont have to worry about leaks so much

there is a bleeder on the heater hoses behind the air filter housing you will have to use to bleed the block as this is higher than the coolant tank you will need to get someone to blow on the coolant tank wile you close this one to make sure there's no air
 
its possible it could be the thermostat but even if it was the car will still eventually get to the normal temperature with the thermostat stuch open,., you should check the wiring to the temperature switch in the rear of the head at the timing belt end, also is it possible the needle on the temp gauge could have been removed and refitted wrong at some stage?,.,
 
its possible it could be the thermostat but even if it was the car will still eventually get to the normal temperature with the thermostat stuch open,., you should check the wiring to the temperature switch in the rear of the head at the timing belt end, also is it possible the needle on the temp gauge could have been removed and refitted wrong at some stage?,.,

no not if the car is doing more than 30 mph

as i said people underestimate the cooling capabilities of the radiator alone if you turn on your car and immediately start travelling at 30mph the fan will likely never come on and the temperature will remain under the control of the thermostat think back to cars without any cooling fan

if the thermostat gets stuck open completely it is quite capable of keeping the water temp down near 60degrese

my 999cc uno did exactly this the gauge never left 60 but if left standing still it would warm at the normal rate then fan would cut in if I drove again it would drop down below normal operating temp

if the gauge shows normal temp when the fan cuts in assuming the fan switch is cutting in at it's pre-set temp you can assume the gauge is correct

ps it's a negative temperature coeficient conductor not a switch
 
Last edited:
One on of the old puntos i had I ran it without a thermostat all together and although it would take a bit longer to warm up it would still get to normal temp and stay there as it would if it did have a temp thermostat.,

Have a look at the thermostat and see if its stuck open, if not then take it out and put it in a pot of boiling water and see if it opens and then closes when you remove it and it cools.,(y)
 
cheers for the replys

theres a huge hole in the exhaust making it use more petrol, making the engine warm up faster :)

need that sorted first lol

and some rear bushes
 
Back
Top