TaffyTim 6 Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) Ive just come back from a little trip to Devon and want to ask some advice as my car did play up a little. The car is a MI16 converted with MI16 loom and 1.6 gear box and one of thoes oil heat exchangers. The main worry I have is that I might have damged something from overheating when I was stuck in a traffic jam for half an hourt. I kept my eyes on the water temp gauge for 20 mins and the needle was stopping at the last but 1 mark before the warning light box (so in order theres was the needle on a mark, then the last white mark then warning box). I was also a little concerned as we werent really moving and it was all down hill work so my oil was hot and the pressure gauge was on its first mark. I thought that the car had stabalised itself so i took my eyes off it for 5 mins but when i looked back down the water temp warning light was on and the needle was halfway between the last white mark and the red box of the warning light. I instantly switched off the engine and continued down the hill. When i hit some free moving road i noticed that the temp was hotter than normal and in still traffic it was rising too high for comfort. After a stop off the car carried on the same behaviour so i pulled into a garage put a letre of oil into it as the dip stick was on the min mark and put a letre of antifreeze into it as it looked low. This is why im worried, as there appeared to be very little, if any liquid in the cooling system. The letre of antifreeze didnt touch the sides and it must have taken at least another letre of water to get the level to stay in the expansion tank. The colour was als a bit concerning as the antifreeze that i used was blue, this is the colour of it now. When filling the oil there was also mayo stuff in the filler cap, and on my old 1.9Gti there used to be a wire mesh in the cap but this car doesnt have that. I do have theories but dont want to admit them as i might just be getting engine paranoia. So I would apreciate peoples thoughts on this event to either put my mind at ease or to help me prepare myself for my next bill off Miles. Edited August 18, 2006 by TaffyTim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
travill 0 Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) I would check all your pipes for a leak and good connections. If you have a leak somewhere you can lose water causing a problem. or just the pressure loss can cause a problem as the temp runs out of control with the water being able to boil. Your fans working? Edited August 18, 2006 by travill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Higgy 0 Posted August 18, 2006 I would say if your head gasket has gone you have been unlucky. I got stuck in traffic a few weeks ago in my 205 Mi when it was roasting (fcuking A303!), i did not realise at the time but my fan switch had broke. Same situation as yours, the warning light came on the first time, then later on in the journey in traffic I saw some puffs of steam coming out from the bonnet so turned it off again. My coolant/oil was full (just did engine swap), and I think the saving grace was that I had the heater on full heat/full blast while I was in traffic so I was managing to get the heat out (nearly cook me though!!). I've done 700miles since and the engine seems fine. I dont want to put a downer on things, but I've only had mayo problem more in winter so if your seeing it now Higgy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alastairh 47 Posted August 19, 2006 These engines can give out miss readings of head gaskets going due to the breather system hence some times you can get mayo in your cap, well thats the way i've understood it. As said your fan not kicking in, the switch broke, or maybe the connecters are damaged etc, or even the fan is dud. But to test the head gasket, buy a £15 compression tester, dissconect the coil and injectors. Turn the engine over 10 times on the key and see what it produces. Im sure Miles will help sort it though. Alastair Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 1 Posted August 19, 2006 If you dont give it a good ragging now and again you will get mayo as the oil wont be getting hot enough to burn off the moisture. You can test the fan by bridging the brown multi plug thats not pluged in, normally found dangling by the fan switch. Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miles 331 1 Cars Posted August 19, 2006 If your around anytime pop up and I can take a quick look, Have a smell in the expansion bottle for Fuel or Combustion type of smell, Check the oil (Any sign's of water on the dipstick or a higher level), this will help to diag a gasket problem As said the fan's on these car's can be a mare, One minute they work then they don;t, Only real way is to use all new wiring and earth points then it will be fine for another 10-15 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_W 3 1 Cars Posted August 19, 2006 Or put a manual override switch in via a relay. My thermo switch works fine but I like to be able to put the fan on manually, it also useful when parking as you can switch it on so that when you switch off the fan won't come on automattically after you've parked up and drain the battery/set the alarm off!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TaffyTim 6 Posted August 19, 2006 Ive just been out for a drive to get it hot and to see if the fan is still coming on and it isn't. The Temp gauge went in between the last but one and last mark, and when i was outside the car with the engine running it wasnt coming on, and didnt come on when engine was switched off. I cant do the electrical tests to see what bit is wrong with the fan as the numpty that i bought the car off off has put alot of the bodywork together with cable ties!! The slam pannel wont come off as its cable tied to the grill which is cable tied to god knows what else. This was one of the bits I was going to get Miles to do (as i have another grill), along with move the fan into a better place (ie not sticking out where the middle bar of the grill should be!!). As if i try and undo a bodge then Im only gonna mess it up even further. So Im goning to be driving a bit carefully until I can see miles next nad keep the temp down. Its not dangerous to drive without a fan as long as the temp stays down is it? The smell of the liquids seems fine and there is no water on the dip stick. I cant do a compression test a the moment as my sockets dont reach into the mi16 to get the plugs out. Ill need to get hold of a longer set. This is frustrating as when the car works it goes like a dream, why are mi's such a pain in the ass? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Higgy 0 Posted August 20, 2006 Its not dangerous to drive without a fan as long as the temp stays down is it? Its fine as long as you dont get stuck in traffic!!! From what I have heard, above say 40mph the air flow changes so that if you had a fan on or off it does not make a difference. my recomendations are rip out the resister (small silver tube thing) and bridge the wires so you only have full speed fan mode. Then take off the electrical connector that attaches to the radiator, then bridge the middle pin with either the left or the right pin (connector on car's loom, not radiator plug). If your fan motor is working then the fans SHOULD come on full blast!! When I broke down this is what the breakdown guy did for me. He instantly knew what to do on a 205. Funny thing was he looked at the wiring and said someone has been fiddling around, then saw the 16v engine why are mi's such a pain in the ass? You cant have that much pleasure without some pain. Stick with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miles 331 1 Cars Posted August 20, 2006 For bridging the fan just use the Fan Diag plug a brown 5 way plug with 3 wires in, 1 Power, 1 goes thru the resistor and the other is direct to the fan, Saves pulling wires off Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TaffyTim 6 Posted August 20, 2006 (edited) From what I have heard, above say 40mph the air flow changes so that if you had a fan on or off it does not make a difference. [/qoute] Thats good, today it seemed to be staying at the half way mark, so it seems ok to drive. You cant have that much pleasure without some pain. Stick with it. Suppose it'll make me apreciate the car when its running with no problems, not that i think thats possible for these type of cars For bridging the fan just use the Fan Diag plug a brown 5 way plug with 3 wires in, 1 Power, 1 goes thru the resistor and the other is direct to the fan, Saves pulling wires off Think i'll just let you sort it when you see the car next if thats ok. Did you get the pm about the new shocks? (Cant get this quote thing to work, oh well im sure you all know what im trying to do) Edited August 20, 2006 by TaffyTim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
