[Kevin1990]

Hey guys,

One thing about my 90´ Voyager.

The complete engine / transcooling system is new. New WaPu, radiator, fan, coolant temp. sensor and sender and of course the coolant (Alu protect from BASF). Thermostat is the original one, works fine and clean.

BUT, the fan starts running not until the gauge shows arround 2/3 of the scale. I was used to hear it running exactly in the middle of the scale (90°C).
It also runs almmost forever to cool it down.....but i guess that´s a common problem with those much too small radiators....

I don´t have this problem on my Saratoga or AWD Voyager.

So is it normal that the fan starts running that late?
Of course, the gauges aro not that exact, but i claim that it works properly.


Greetings from oversea, 90 °F over here (damn heat)

Kevin

 

[valiant67]

That is how the 3.0s in the two 1994 LeBarons I owened worked as well. Always seemed to get hotter than the middle of the gauge before the fan kicked on. Of course, if the AC was on, the fans were always on and kept the car slightly below the 1/2 mark.

 

[Kevin1990]

Well OK thanks!

The AC is shot in all of my vehicles, 2 of theam are leaking, the Voyager´s compressor is seized.
But the 1st Gen. Minivans got an external fan for the AC.

The gauge stops between the 1/2 mark and H(ot), then the fan´s activating.
But it takes forever to cool it down, or lets say it almost can´t get the temp. under 1/2. (90°F while driving).

The car already got it´s 2nd fan motor and 2nd trans, always been driven in heavy city traffic.

Is that cooling issue a common problem on the first gen. or should it be that way? It doesn´t overheat, but it will be a hard and short life for the new fan motor...

 

[Kevin1990]

A little update here...

There´s definatly a problem, maybe caused by the temp. switch.
The fan starts running at 99 °C / 210 °F. Temp. switch is new, "Borg Warner" from Rockauto. Fan´s OK, relay is new (works).

It get´s too hot in city traffic, just driven it once, i´m not going to try it again, cause of overheating (water boiling).

Is there a "cooler" temperature switch aviable? I´d be happy if the fan starts running arround 85 - 90 °C / 185 - 195 °F.


Maybe someone tried before...

Thanks again!
Kevin

 

[valiant67]

There is little use of running the fan at a cooler temperature. The thermostat (assuming it's the proper one) will open at 190-195º. Running the fan before the thermostat fully opens to circulate the water won't have much effect other than to over-cool the stagnant water in the radiator. I can see maybe turning the fan on at 195º, but I don't think delaying it to 210º is a big deal. That's still below the boiling point for pure, unpressurized water.

 

[Kevin1990]

Oh i forgot...yes it will force the fan to run before the thermostat opens....but it´s like the same thing going on in the AA Bodies right? The fan on my saratoga starts running right after opening the thermostat....but only in cold wheater (AC is dead)....but that´s another thing, already has been discussed.

The problem is, that the fan almost can´t cool the water down in city traffic, it runs for 10 minutes or more even to get it under 195.
That´s why i thought a temp. switch which´s turning the fan on earlier, never allows the water to get that hot.

AND, yes i know, 23 yo gauge....: I´ve been driven arround 10 first gen minivans, all of them kept the temp gauge arround 1/3 to 1/2. Fan started running at 1/2, 195° i guess....my Minivan is the first one climbing up to almost Hot before cooling down. I guess that´s the only reason why i´m curious about that....

 

[chuzz]

Probably a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Are your running a 50/50 blend of anti-freeze and distilled water in your cooling system? Sometimes it's the simple things that we overlook.

 

[Kevin1990]

Probably a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Are your running a 50/50 blend of anti-freeze and distilled water in your cooling system? Sometimes it's the simple things that we overlook.

Well, not stupid, i didn´t thought at this point..............i mixed it not 50/50, maybe arround 70% antifreeze / 30% water.....freezing point is arround -35° C / -30 °F. We get arround -15 - 20°F here.....

Should be OK or not?

 

[chuzz]

Well, Kevin, for the most part here in the U.S. a 50/50 blend is what is recommended. I'm not sure about where you are, but it sounds to me like you have too much antifreeze. It's thicker than water and will hold the heat longer. You might try switching to a 50/50 blend and see what happens. That's all I can think of.

 

[Kevin1990]

I´ll definatly try that now, but it´s still a problem, that the temp. switch activates the fan that late. I get arround 10°C less in my 3.0 Saratoga, of course, antifreeze might be mixed arround 50/50......but it starts running short before the Hot mark...the upper radiator hose gets hard as a rock, and of course that hot.....but the head gaskets are still OK, as the pressure test showed...

 

[AllanC]

The complete engine / transcooling system is new. New WaPu, radiator, fan, coolant temp. sensor and sender and of course the coolant (Alu protect from BASF). Thermostat is the original one, works fine and clean.

On the 3.0 L Mitsubishi V6 the coolant temperature sensor and sendor are combined into 1 device. It attaches horizontally in the area of the thermostat housing. Is this the part that was replaced? Do you have the correct sending unit for your vehicle? Some mini-vans used a warning light and some used an indicator gauge with a needle. You need the correct sending unit for a vehicle with a gauge.

BUT, the fan starts running not until the gauge shows arround 2/3 of the scale. I was used to hear it running exactly in the middle of the scale (90°C).
It also runs almmost forever to cool it down.....but i guess that´s a common problem with those much too small radiators....

90 deg C is 194 deg F. That would be the opening point for the thermostat and I have never encountered a Chrysler build vehicle, front wheel drive with electric cooling fan that would engage the radiator fan when the thermostat opened.

Do you have the 4 speed, computer controlled automatic transmission? Chrysler had a heat generation problem with these 4 speed automatics due to software allowing more clutch slippage during shifts versus the convention hydraulically controlled 3 speed automatic transaxle. Later models monitored the transmission temperature and would engage the radiator fans not because the engine needed cooling but because of the heat load on the transmission radiator cooler. But I don't think that feature came until the mid-1990s.

On my 1988 Caravan with 3.0 L V6 the radiator cooling fan would not engage until the temperature needle had traveled about 2/3 to 3/4 from C to H. Then it would very slowly drop until about 1/2 reading on the gauge and then the fan would stop running.

The radiator fan is barely adequate in cooling the engine. At highway speeds engineers rely on the ram air effect of the vehicle moving forward and the forced air flow through the radiator providing sufficient heat rejection from the radiator.

 

[AllanC]

Well, not stupid, i didn´t thought at this point..............i mixed it not 50/50, maybe arround 70% antifreeze / 30% water.....freezing point is arround -35° C / -30 °F. We get arround -15 - 20°F here.....

Should be OK or not?

If you measured the freezing point of the coolant solution and it is -35 deg F then you have a 50% mixture of ethylene glycol and water. That is a typical recommendation for adequate freeze and corrosion protectiion. If you had the 70% mixture of ethylene glycol / antifreeze to 30% water mixture, the freeze point of the solution would be around -70 deg F. So your coolant mixture is adequate.

Was the radiator back flushed BEFORE it was installed? I have seen new radiators shipped with packing slips and other assorted pieces of paper stuffed into filler necks. If that is NOT removed before installation it can clog and restrict coolant flow.

 

[Kevin1990]

Yes sir, i got the correct sending unit. It´s got the temp. sensor, which is activating the radiator´s fan and the small sending unit showing me the temperature on my gauge (needle unit, no warning light).

It´s a 1990 EU version, already has got the newer rear axle, parking brake cable from the 2nd. Gen. and 15 inch wheels.
It also has a factory, 2nd transcooler and a replaced transmission from Chrysler Vienna, arround 110 000 on the clock.
It does not have a transmission temperature control unit, but i guess the transcooler´s also heating up the radiator...

Anyway, nice to read that the gauge is moving over 1/2, but those are pretty high temperatures, as i said, i´m used to my AA Body, never reaching the half on the scale (90°C - fan activation) while driving.

Greetings Kevin

If you measured the freezing point of the coolant solution and it is -35 deg F then you have a 50% mixture of ethylene glycol and water. That is a typical recommendation for adequate freeze and corrosion protectiion. If you had the 70% mixture of ethylene glycol / antifreeze to 30% water mixture, the freeze point of the solution would be around -70 deg F. So your coolant mixture is adequate.

Was the radiator back flushed BEFORE it was installed? I have seen new radiators shipped with packing slips and other assorted pieces of paper stuffed into filler necks. If that is NOT removed before installation it can clog and restrict coolant flow.

Mixture of antifreeze and water should be OK now, got - 30 °C right now.

Yes it was, i already made that mistake once cause i couldn´t see the packaging material in there. Also every water hose was replaced.

 

[peterjon1]

Just to be sure, have you verified the actual temperature with a thermometer? It is possible the gauge is inaccurate, though for sure the coolant shouldn't be boiling unless there is a bad radiator cap not holding pressure.
If you have a laser thermometer, you could look for hot spots, and temperature differentials across the radiator.

 

[Kevin1990]

Yes sir, i did.

The radiator cap schould be OK, spring is in good shape, so is the gasket.

I sed my laser thermometer, measured on the upper radiator hose, thermostat housing and the radiator itself.

 

[gusc]

The maint manual for my '88 GC 3.0 says this is normal. It bothered me too until I looked it up.

 

[Kevin1990]

The maint manual for my '88 GC 3.0 says this is normal. It bothered me too until I looked it up.

Yes sir, they just went a little higher, but running with the same temp. than newer years.