jr

When I first start my car the water temps are close to ambient, they quickly rise to about 70C then slowly to about 99C (fans kick on at 94C) then they drop like a rock to 87C. No matter how long I idle or how hard I drive after this cycle is finished it never seems to move past 87C. Even when I park my car and set the turbo timer for ~2 minutes, the water temps never move higher than 87. So do I have a really good cooling system or is something else wrong?

user 84205

I have heard this a few times, and actually my car did it too, and it soon went away, and back to up and down around 86-91... It seems to be working though... 87c is a decent temp too...

jr

Thanks for the reply, seems like a weird thing for it to do though.

user 84205

yeah, seems like stuff like this only happens on an RX7.
I never had these types of things happening on my MR2.

Also I was going to ask earlier, what is your fan mod?

jr

I ran a switch that grounds 2 of the fan relays in the engine compartment so I can turn them on at any time as outlined here - http://rx7.voodoobox.net/howto/fanswitch/fanswitch.html . Side benefits are that they always come on at medium speed, no more low speed, and they also stay on for 10 minutes after shutdown.

TailHappy

Sounds like there's a slight possibility your thermostat's sticking.

user 84205

Tail, wouldnt your temp me higher if it was sticking? The stock sensor is on the motor right? So I would think that would get hottor, not 87c

JR, I cant say much about the fan mod, maybe its working its *** off to keep it at 87c, I know that some thermostats dont open till 87c, so maybe your fans are keeping it soo cool, that the cool water just goes round and round...

jr

I think TailHappy means maybe the t-stat is sticking open. I replaced it less than 10K miles ago, but I think I'll change it again and flush the fluid just to be safe. I'm going to have the bumper off for a FMIC install soon anyway so it'll be easier to drain the coolant. Canman - thanks again for your replies. My fans don't come on till 94C, but when they come on they come on at medium speed instead of low. They shut off a few minutes after the temps drop down into the high 80's. When the car is idling at 87C the fans aren't normally on unless I have the switch turned on.

FD Racer

mine hangs at 87 most of the time too.

jf4828

you guys suck! I can't get under 91 degrees in this damn FL sun even w/ an upgraded radiator.................

user 84205

........

jspecracer7

Same here...in Okinawa

Leadfoot

JR,

I am thinking of going over to that fan mod from the grounded wire at the ECU. I never heard that the fans stay on for 10 min with the relay mod. If that is true, then I will definitely make the switch.

jr

That is what I've been experiencing with the mod as it is setup in my car. I have a post-recall 93 with the fan mod as outlined on Dave's site. I have a single switch setup so I always get fan speed 2, and if the fans were ever engaged for more than 10 seconds while the car is running then my fans stay on for ~10 minutes after shutdown.

smacho7

Mine used to hang right around 85, then ...
it would hang right around -36. Replaced the WTR sensor now it varries as it seems it logicaly should.

not to forcast doom, but ... it i=only is a $60 sensor, and is easy to change.

:~) S

lane_change

iTrader: (20)

Mine also seems to stick at 87'C. I will take it out and it may rise up to 88'C then it goes back down to 87'C and never moves again as long as it sits. I thought something was wrong but I guess most people experience this. Odd? The highest it has been was 96'C and that was when I was in the process of changing my coolant and it was really low so I would shut it down and fill it up some more. How much do our cars hold as far as coolant goes with a stock radiator?

Leadfoot

I had something similar, but the temp would jump up to 99 like a shot and I had to do the A/C trick, then they would drop down really fast. But the damn thing actually settled down, just like canman said. it usually hangs around 85 and sometimes 86 and 87, but usually once it hits 87 I hit the fan switch and it drops back down to 86/85. I am really happy.

I found out that the fan mod where you ground the "extra" wire by the ECU will kick in the fans on demand, so when I am getting into traffic, I just hit the switch.

Here is what I did, I went down and bought a male connector and just plugged it right into the female that was just hanging there behind the ECU. Then I ran the wire (16 gauge) around next to the firewall, and through the back of the console (using ties to make it nice) and then under the console past the shifter. Since the fog lights don't do jack anyway, I ripped them out, giving more airflow to the radiator et al, and used the console switch. I unhooked the fog light console switch from the harness, and using the larger wires, put a vampire clip and spliced into the harness, one side to the "black wire" and the other to a ground right there. Now when I want the fans on, I just hit the switch, and don't have to go to the 3rd speed A/C trick, and when I want to shut down, I just turn it on 2 minutes before and wait 30 seconds after shutting the engine off, and they kick down to med for 10 minutes. This is even easier than the relay mod and works just as good. the best of both worlds i guess.

If you haven't done this yet, it takes less than half an hour including disconnecting the foglights (just unplug the harness and hold the plug out of the way with a tie). You will be really happy that you did.

Blackbeast

I can't seem to find the female connector, maybe previous owner didn't participate in the recall.

In this case, I have to do the relay fax mod huh?

Timmy

Leadfoot

Blackbeast,

NO, the recall is free from the factory, find out if the recall was preformed and if not, get it done. Then you should find the connector. It is a black wire that is way behind the ECU, It was easy to find when I took the ECU out to install the PFC.

The ECU mod is the easiest and you get the 10 minute cool down too. whenever I see traffic ahead that is stopped, or get on the surface roads with lights, then I just flip the switch and it stays 86/87, sometimes 85, but if I have been on the boost or the temps are really high and I have been in the 90,s, when I get off the freeway, I hit the switch and sitting at a stop light, it drops down to 87! I love this mod! Never a worry, on demand, and if I am going up a hill and the temp hits 89, then I kick on the fans and it drops back to 86/87. Sometimes it will stay 88/89 and sometimes 90 on the freeway if the intake temps are around 67 or so (really hot day) even with the fans on.

Badog

I have my fan set to come on at 87C (datalogit setting in the PFC screens one cannot normally access.)

Try pulling your fan fuse and see if you get the same behavior (you won't) but don't do this for very long!

If I let my idle for a period of time, it will always come down to 85-87C. I have boths fans come on at 88C.

patricksFD

is there any worry of the fans getting overworked and breaking conisdering on most fds they are almost 10 years old

Leadfoot

Cheaper to buys fans than a new engine.

BTW, anyone know what fans cost now?