Overheating in Traffic 1980 Fuel Injected

[tima01864]

Is the bottom of the radiator hot? That is where the switch is, If it is not then there is an air lock. You need to follow the above to clear it.
If the switch is suspect jump the wires at the switch, Fan should kick on. Follow the wires up to the connectors and clean them. Check your fuses. This is my experience with this issue.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

As Tima01864 suggested, I'm also thinking you've got a big air bubble somewhere. It sounds like the thermostat is not opening as it should, and that is often due to a large air bubble around it (rather than coolant).

Try this: Let the car cool down completely. Start it, and feel the temperature on all the radiator hoses. Top, bottom, and especially the three hoses going to the thermostat. And the body of the thermostat. Use caution when putting your hands around a running engine. You can also use an IR thermometer if you have one.

If it's heating up normally, the hose that goes from the T-connection at the front top of the engine to the thermostat should get hot first, and both hoses to the radiator should remain cold for 5 minutes or so. Then, the hose from the other side of that T-connection, to the top of the radiator, should get hot. After another minute or so, the bottom radiator hose should get warm. Along the way, feel the top and bottom of the radiator as Tima suggested. They should eventually be about the same temperature.

If the engine doesn't warm up in this manner, let us know.

-Bryan

[PaulC]

My carburetor equipped 79 seems to have the opposite condition but not really.
Driving around in the current heat wave here in New England the temp stays a tick below 190 and the fan never comes on .
I'm thinking this is OK but have i just awoken the gods of overheating?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

My carburetor equipped 79 seems to have the opposite condition but not really.
Driving around in the current heat wave here in New England the temp stays a tick below 190 and the fan never comes on .
I'm thinking this is OK but have i just awoken the gods of overheating?

Paul, I think your cooling system is operating just right.

My experience is that ambient temperature doesn't change the engine temperature as much as you might think. Yes, it takes longer to warm up the engine when it's 20 degrees outside, and yes, it will run a little hotter when it's 100 outside, but the engine should stick pretty close to 190 degrees. Stop-and-go traffic or climbing a long hill: different story, and it can creep up under those conditions. Shouldn't be more than 210 at most, and the fan should kick on before that to keep the temp down.

-Bryan

[maxm50]

Agreed with Bryan. My 1980 fan almost never comes on when I’m moving at 10mph or more. You get tons of airflow through the radiator just by moving. It only comes on if idling while stopped or in stop and go traffic.

Separate but related comment: I have been wildly impressed with the all-aluminum radiator I installed from Autoricambi. It’s gorgeous and fit very well (except for needing to bend the lower radiator support arm a touch).

[evrenosogullari]

I think everyone was 100% right about the air bubble....

After flushing the inside of the radiator, I refilled it with antifreeze from the cap, then unscrewed the little bolt at the "tee" joint and finished pouring it through there. When it can't take anymore antifreeze, I squeeze the tubes, making a gurgling sound that gets some air out and allows me to replace it with more antifreeze. When its completely filled / overflowing, I put my finger on the opening then put the screw back on. On a side note, the color of antifreeze that came back at me from inside the tube was pretty dirty, wonder if thats a separate cleaning process.

Fan also seems to be working fine now. I wonder if the fact that it wasn't filled completely with antifreeze was affecting the fan.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Fan also seems to be working fine now. I wonder if the fact that it wasn't filled completely with antifreeze was affecting the fan.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that was the problem, and congrats on getting it fixed. Given the condition of the old coolant, you might want to drain and flush again after a few hundred miles. There is a lot of stuff in the passageways that slowly works its way loose.

-Bryan

[tima01864]

On a second note. I followed the procedure in the shop manual. It works like a charm. I believe filling the radiator slowly, Almost a trickle displaces air, One trick. But this is on an 83 2L.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

On a second note. I followed the procedure in the shop manual. It works like a charm. I believe filling the radiator slowly, Almost a trickle displaces air, One trick. But this is on an 83 2L.

Good idea, and it works on the older cars too. Add coolant, squeeze the coolant hoses, let it burp, add more coolant, repeat several times until no more burping. Sometimes I can get another quart in the system that way.

-Bryan

[evrenosogullari]

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[evrenosogullari]

Hi All
Dumb question #3295032

Engine is overheating again. Bought a new thermostat. Took out the old one then forgot to note exactly how it went in.

I think its in backwards right now because only one tube is getting incredibly hot and then smoke starts coming out.

Can someone point me in how to orient this thing? Thanks

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Can you describe the problem a bit more? Which hose is getting hot? Does the car quickly warm up but then immediately overheat, or does it seem to warm up normally as you drive it but then just keeps slowly rising?

Since the external appearance of these 3-neck thermostats can be very different, it's hard to tell from a picture how yours is set up. Maybe someone will recognize this particular thermostat and be able to help.

The foolproof way to tell is to remove the thermostat, make sure it's at room temperature, then pour water into each of the three holes. Two of the holes should allow water to flow from one to another, and one hole will fill up with water but nothing comes out. This latter hole is the one that goes to the LOWER radiator hose, and once it's connected, the other two should be apparent based on which way they point.

Note that the 2L engines were undercooled to begin with. When everything is working as it should, they do OK, but on a hot day with some cooling system issues, the engines can overheat.

-Bryan

[PaulC]

Watch this for the orientation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BqyZ3_rWEQ
They have a bunch of other helpful videos also.

Page 10-161 of the shop manual also shows the correct orientation.

[evrenosogullari]

Thanks
I managed to get it going in the correct direction thanks to this, and finally all three tubes have been getting hot thanks to some burping posts

However still overheating

With some advice from Matt at Vick, I figure that the radiator may just be old and not operating optimally

Now I’m replacing the fan switch and radiator just to be sure

Looking for a guide for installing it as I’m not sure what these 2 fluid lines at the bottom are. Otherwise it seems pretty straightforward

[PaulC]

Coolant lines for the automatic transmission fluid.