Yolandi Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 so about a month ago i flushed my rad with holts 2 part, until then it was running on straight water and now its 50/50 red antifreeze-coolant and deionised water, on water it ran fine at exactly the center of the gauge, after it ran hotter, about 75%, and came up to temp very fast, i thought this was strange but didnt question it and eventually it slowly settled back to halfway, about a week ago its started rising slowlyand now is runnning normally at 75% and sometimes creeping up to the end of the white range on the gauge when going up hill or driving hard. today i noticed a weird thing with it, with the heater on full it very quickly rises from 75% to bordering on red, obviously this is worrying, knocking the heater off and it drops back to 75%-border of white within 1 or 2 mins, also when i turn on the heater the volt gauge drops to about 10.5v, the lowest i have ever seen it! any ideas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 oh forgot to mention, 200tdi 1991 defender 110, replaced the water pump with aftermarket end of last year, 118,000miles, gauge and sender stock i think from when it was built Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 You would have been better off using a home made concoction, of rolled oats, egg white and mud. All you will have done is gooed up your radiator, take it out, have it flushed and do the same for the block and heater core, if you have a leaking gasket, replace it and once you have all the crud flushed out refit the radiator, and fill with the correct coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 which part gooed it up? iv drained the coolant a few times since changing it for hose changes, belt changes etc. and it seemed fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 If adding electrical load (i.e. heater fan) changes the gauge reading then you have an electrical problem, probably an earth fault. Check your earths, particularly the engine block one. Doesn't preclude an actual overheating problem, but worth checking first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 ok ill check it tomorrow when its light out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 My old 91 camel 110, used to have a fair old drop on the volts gauge when you putbthe heater on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 How well did you flush it and are you sure it was straight water before. We had an interesting problem at work a customer had topped up his antifreeze and the system turned to jelly. It turned out this can happen if you mix red and blue antifreeze the heat exchanger was almost solid. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan bomber Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 You have a bad earth if the temp gauge rises with the heater on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 i drained rad and block when i got it because it needed work done (pump, hoses etc.) the original coolant was green, that was in dec and since then its only had water from the tap in it, flushing it i followed the instruction on the bottle: drain, fill with water, drain, fill with water and part 1, run to temp for 30mins, drain, fill with water and part 2, run to temp for 20mins, drain, then i filled with 5050 coolant and battery water. it was leaking coolant from the top rad hose for a week or so that i didnt notice but thats fixed now and i replaced the difference with batt water again. the coolant/antifreeze i used was ethlyne glycol based (long life red) where exactly am i looking for the earth? i cant see a braided strap anywhere which is what i was expecting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 first place is a collection of earths for the dash under the bonnet on the bulkhead by the clutch m/cyl. , then there is one close to the nearside engine mount - engine to chassis , then the main battery earth to rear of gearbox . Running one from the bulkhead earth group to the engine will sometimes sort it out . cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil110 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 It might also be worth checking the earth on the casing of the gauge. I had an occasion where the knurled nut on the gauge clamp had worked loose. The temperature gauge was all over the place, including going to the top of the red within minutes of starting the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 ok checked the earths of the gauges and they're all ok, jet washed the rad to get out all the rubbish between the fins and back washed it with the jet washer and this helped for a bit until yesterday when it started to get very hot, slightly off red and today it heated up to the far end of the white range very quickly with normal driving, feelinng the front of the rad the core wasnt very hot, iv heard at full temp it should be too hot t touch at the top? but mine was just mildly warm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 You need to disseminate as to whether the issue is actually the engine getting too hot, I'd recommend you get yourself a ok infrared thermometer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monster Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Would the plain water have rusted up the insides of the cooling system? I imagine the water was quite brown when you drained it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 it'll run hotter using plain water, get the right coolant mix in there, did you clean the bunch of earth wire terminals on bulkhead back to clean shiny metal, then once refitted cover with vaseline to keep any moisture off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted April 2, 2016 Author Share Posted April 2, 2016 The water wasnt amazingly brown when it was drained and the mix in there at the moment is near enough 50/50 water and comma long life red, if i get an ir thermometer what part should i be aiming at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo1200 Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Isn't red for more modern engines and can be harmful for older engines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted April 2, 2016 Author Share Posted April 2, 2016 Im not sure, iv read some other engines it can be problamatic but for landrover lumps its ok? Iv ordered a temp gauge with numbers and one of thoes metal pipes you slice into the rad hose for the sender so i can see exactly what the coolant is doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 All the colours got changed around recently, my Audi is now green(!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandi Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 I did make sure that it was ethylne glycol based not OAT if that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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