[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

11-Apr-2019 :
Chilling like the day I bought the car.

Glad to hear that the AC is working perfectly and hope it won't be giving you trouble anytime soon. One need to have all the time and patience to maintain old cars. I see some beautifully maintained Balenos in my area, maintained ones are still a looker like old City and Lancer.

Cheers.

[--gKrish--]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

My question : Inspite of the fuse being blown, how come the Eject button alone worked fine on the ICE ? Does it have a small button cell inside just for emergency purpose to eject stuck CDs ? Like the button cell that powers CMOS in a PC?

As far as I know, there is no button cell inside the head unit.

In addition to the ACC power line ( which gets powered only when the key is turned to ACC/ON) there is an 'always on' 12v supply to the stereo (for the clock and CMOS). In your case, only the ACC fuse was blown and maybe the Eject function was designed to work with the 12v supply.

If you haven't got it fixed yet, try checking the connectors at the back of the stereo. Our Zen had a similar issue and apparently a loose connector was causing it.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by --gKrish--

As far as I know, there is no button cell inside the head unit. In addition to the ACC power line (which gets powered only when the key is turned to ACC/ON) there is an 'always on' 12v supply to the stereo (for the clock and CMOS). In your case, only the ACC fuse was blown and maybe the Eject function was designed to work with the 12v supply.

I think you might be right.

Originally Posted by --gKrish--

If you haven't got it fixed yet, try checking the connectors at the back of the stereo.

It was the fuse. Since the electrically-operated ORVMs & the cigarette-lighter also weren't working, it became clear that the fuse is at play - all of these can't go kaput at the same time.

I checked the fuses in the engine bay, but all were good. Then checked the ones under the driver dashboard - a pain to access. Saw that one fuse was blown. Replaced it with a spare fuse and ICE/cig-lighter/ORVM start working fine.

Meanwhile did a 600-km round trip (Cochin -Ooty) last week. The Kerala part of the drive was boring though, given the speedcams every few kms in the Trissur - Palakkad stretch. :(

The BlackBeauty at Ooty


The new-gen speed cams. One good thing is they are easier to spot - the older ones were positioned on the side of the road & easy to miss.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The BlackBeauty at Ooty

At the onset, apologies, for I have nothing substantial to contribute to this thread. However, I must say, BlackBeauty looks beautiful, and doesn't look half her age! Black is my favourite colour on cars, and I drive a black Santro myself!

It's my dream to buy a Baleno sedan with my own money when I start working. Prices here are ridiculously low (say 40-50k for a Baleno sedan of any vintage), but it's not due to high supply. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a single Baleno sedan today on the streets of Kolkata. Therefore, my aim will not be to buy a clean car, but to buy one with clean paperwork at the very least. If I'm buying the car for dirt cheap, I can build it up from scratch with whatever money I save (I guess).

There is exactly one Baleno sedan in my town Barrackpore as of today (yes, I keep track ). It is a black VXi, with multi-spoke alloys and is immaculately kept. Hope the owner keeps it around for a few years and sells it to me when I start earning

That being said, I wish you many more happy miles with her. Hope you will get her re-registered next year and continue driving her instead of putting her up for sale!

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by boniver

I must say, BlackBeauty looks beautiful, and doesn't look half her age!

Thank you.
Though to be frank, apart from her being all dusty after the long drive, it has been a long time since I spent time/effort on some TLC (a good wash followed by a nice wax). A to-do for me in the coming weeks.

There are lots of Balenos in Kerala and most of them are immaculately maintained - a black one I see regularly in Cochin has a perpetual shine on her.

Originally Posted by boniver

It's my dream to buy a Baleno sedan with my own money when I start working. There is exactly one Baleno sedan in my town Barrackpore as of today. It is a black VXi, with multi-spoke alloys and is immaculately kept. Hope the owner keeps it around for a few years and sells it to me when I start earning

I wish you luck in getting the Baleno. Do note that some parts are quite costly - so factor in that. I have in the last few months alone spent around 50K for the A/c and the brakeMasterCylinder.

Originally Posted by boniver

I wish you many more happy miles with her. Hope you will get her re-registered next year and continue driving her instead of putting her up for sale!

Thank you. And yes, that is the plan - to get the baby re-registered next year and have her around for another 5 years, if not more.

[supremeBaleno]

There wasn't anything to post here after the a/c was fixed, till this week when I got a nasty scare while on a normal outing in the city.

We had got around to watching the movie Kumbalangi Nights only a week ago and while we loved the movie, the locale it was shot in just blew our mind. And to think its just 12kms from Ernakulam and we didn't know. So me, wife & kids visited the place on 29-Sep Sunday, spent a few wondrous hours there taking in the beauty of the place.

Then sis & kids drop in for the 2-Oct holiday and since they want to see the place, we decide to do an encore. We first drop in at Dominos MG.Road for lunch. As I walk to the Pizzeria after parking the car, an auto-driver parked on the roadside hails me. Wondering what he wants, I walk over to him and he tells me that he was behind me from the Atlantis railway gate and noticed the radiator leaking fluid. I look back at the car and see drops of water dripping, but I tell him that its the a/c outlet and normal.

After Pizza, we drive on to Kumbalangi. We are just 2 kms before the place, when the engine dies. I think maybe I let go the clutch in a higher gear in slow-moving traffic & try to start again, but no use. I slowly push the car to the side. The fuel gauge is in the red reserve area, but I know from experience that there is enough fuel to go 35 odd kms. Since temp gauge is at normal position, I don't suspect over-heating.

I think maybe the fuel gauge is off and go buy 4 litres of petrol from a petrol-bunk 2kms away, after pouring which the car starts at first crank and off we go. We reach Kumbalangi and park at the side of the narrow road. I try to start the car again to move it a little more to the edge of the road, but it won't start.

Now I am worried. This isn't a petrol issue & its a holiday and I am deep inside a place with a very narrow road that might be tough for a tow-vehicle to reach. I open the bonnet & slowly open the radiator cap. No trace of coolant in the radiator, though there was in the reservoir tank. So over-heating was the cause, but then why didn't the temperature gauge show it ?

Anyway, I decide not to spoil the outing for the family and off we go on a 2-3 hour walk in the Kumbalangi village. On returning, the engine has cooled down and I pour water into the radiator. It takes in 2.5 litres & then water starts dripping out from the thermostat case / housing area. Due to lack of light, I can't see the leak, but we clamber in and drive off. As if by some divine intervention, just at our apartment gate, the car stops and then won't start. I push it inside and park it.

The leak was from here.


The leak area in the big picture.


The next day I trace the leak to a break in the thermostat case - the metal (cast-iron?) has kind of corroded off at a point in the edge. I call MASS and they say the part is available at Bangalore and can be got here in few days. But in the meantime I need the car for a 200 km highway round trip. I ask my FNG mechanic if I can do this trip by MSeal-ing the break - he says it can be tried.

Time for some DIY and getting the hands dirty :
I unbolt the thermostat case & the damage is now clearly visible. I MSeal it and let it cure overnight. Next day I fix it back and then again add water to the radiator to test my fix. The sealant plugged the hole fully & I was feeling all proud about my DIY capability. Till I noticed a drip-drip at another position of the joint.

That area had no breaks whatsoever and so the only culprit could be the gasket which looked worn off. I buy a new gasket from the MGP store at Vyttila, fix back the thermostat case and voila, no leaks. Need to anyway fuel the car, so combine that with a test drive and after a 5km drive, the temp gauge is at normal position, there is no leak whatsoever and the radiator water level is good. The main test will be the 100km drive today evening.

The break area clearly visible after unbolting thermostat case.


After MSeal-ing the break.


Only question I have is why did the tempGauge not show overheating ? The sensor is mounted on the thermostat case. Since the leak was at that point, the sensor couldn't get a correct reading ?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The next day I trace the leak to a break in the thermostat case - the metal (cast-iron?) has kind of corroded off at a point in the edge.

The thermostat housing is made out of aluminum. The part which seems corroded can be a case of cracked and broken part due to improper tightening/overtightening of the part. Also improper seating can cause stress overtime and cause the part to fail. Have experienced this once with my 800. I cannot think of any other reason for this part to fail.

Also get your ECT sensor checked.

Regards,
Shashi

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

... after a 5km drive, the temp gauge is at normal position, there is no leak whatsoever and the radiator water level is good. The main test will be the 100km drive today evening.

The 100km drive from Ernakulam took the usual 2.5hrs & was without any issues. Traffic was sparse being a Sunday and the drive was good.

Since I didn't want to open the radiator when hot, checked it today morning. Water wasn't seen at top - filled up around 1/2 litre of water. The reservoir was also empty, topped it up too. There is no leak at the thermostat case area, but obviously there is some issue with the cooling system. Will have this also checked while fitting the new thermostat case that has been ordered.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The thermostat housing is made out of aluminum. The part which seems corroded can be a case of cracked and broken part due to improper tightening/overtightening of the part. Also improper seating can cause stress overtime and cause the part to fail. Have experienced this once with my 800. I cannot think of any other reason for this part to fail.

This is the first time the thermostat housing has been opened up - factory fit. Maybe due to corrosion over the years - saw some muck inside the part when I opened it up.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Also get your ECT sensor checked.

Yes, will have this also checked.

And thanks for the help with the part# of the thermostat housing.

[autoholic]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Only question I have is why did the tempGauge not show overheating ? The sensor is mounted on the thermostat case. Since the leak was at that point, the sensor couldn't get a correct reading ?

IMO, the temperature guage is not showing overheating because it measures the COOLANT temp. So without the coolant, no temp reading. As I have encountered radiator fan breaking down and in that situation the coolant temp surely increases.

[supremeBaleno]

Did the return 100km drive yesterday evening/night. Coolant level in the radiator remained same after the drive - possibly the cool weather and rains reduced the load on the cooling system. Also no leak at the thermostat housing joint.

Awaiting the part from MASS after getting which need to swap it in and get the whole radiator flushed, refilled with coolant and ECT sensor checked.

Originally Posted by autoholic

IMO, the temperature guage is not showing overheating because it measures the COOLANT temp. So without the coolant, no temp reading.

You are right.

[supremeBaleno]

The car wasn't used for last few days and when I took it out today noticed that the idling is kind of rough / shaky.
Normally the car idles at ~750rpm (without a/c) and at ~1000rpm (with a/c).

But when this issue is seen, it is the reverse - it idles at ~1100rpm (without a/c) and comes down to ~800rpm (with a/c).

Any idea as to what the possible cause could be ?

The car is going in for an unscheduled service tomorrow at my FNG to cover the following tasks :
- Thermostat housing replacement
- Radiator flush and new coolant
- Wiper blades replacement
- A brake jam sound - on moving car after few days

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The car wasn't used for last few days and when I took it out today noticed that the idling is kind of rough / shaky. Normally the car idles at ~750rpm (without a/c) and at ~1000rpm (with a/c).
But when this issue is seen, it is the reverse - it idles at ~1100rpm (without a/c) and comes down to ~800rpm (with a/c). Any idea as to what the possible cause could be ?

Took the car to my FNG Gulf Automobiles and learnt that this could be caused by any of the following reasons :
1) Faulty or old spark plugs
2) Any of the ignitors gone bad.
3) A stuck IAC valve
4) Throttle body needing cleaning

In the case of my car, as the spark plugs had done 45K kms, they were replaced. While replacing them, it was noticed that there was engine-oil around them, due to the spark plug seals going bad.

The oil was mopped up before removing the old plugs (to avoid oil getting into the cylinders), new spark-plug seals installed and then new plugs screwed in.

The "valve cover packing" was also replaced with a new one.

One of the ignitors was faulty and was replaced.

With the above fixes, the issue was 99% fixed, but there is still a very rare 1% occurence, that would need to have the throttle body cleaned and/or IAC valve checked later.

Other repairs done :
- Thermostat-housing replaced with new part
- Radiator flushed and filled with coolant
- Wiper blades replaced

After all the work was done, the engine was started and let run till the radiator fan kicked in. And then we noticed coolant leak from where the plastic top of the radiator meets the metal radiator.

Could be an effect of the car running overheated without coolant after the coolant drained off from the rusted thermostat-housing.

For now, since a new radiator wasn't available, this has been MSeal-ed off.

Parts cost :
Valve cover packing + spark plug seals (4#) + spark plugs (4#) + Wiper blades (2#) - Rs.1140
1# Ignitor - Rs.800
Coolant - Rs.250
Distilled water - Rs.100
------------
Parts total : Rs.2290

Labour : Rs.1000

Thermostat housing (Rs.1365) + gasket (Rs.100) - bought from Indus Kochi.

Grand Total : Rs.4755

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

TAnd then we noticed coolant leak from where the plastic top of the radiator meets the metal radiator.

Could be an effect of the car running overheated without coolant after the coolant drained off from the rusted thermostat-housing.

For now, since a new radiator wasn't available, this has been MSeal-ed off.

I think you are talking about the radiator top tank.



I was recently stranded on a highway for couple of hours when the engine started overheating and found the coolant has drained out. Found the coolant leaked through a large crack on this part. Drove in lower rpm until we found a mechanic. He said he can get the top tank but needed some time. He took his bike and came back to Bangalore (about 2 hours ride back and forth) and got the top tank and fitted. He charged 2300/- but we had no other option.

So far it is okay, but I would like to change the radiator itself after a while.

In the process, saw that the radiator fins were clogged and cleaned up them too.



Did you try changing the thermostat gasket?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

2) Any of the ignitors gone bad.

I have seen your query on the MGP thread, what do you mean by ignitors? Do you mean coil packs by any chance?

Actually the term Igniter in Maruti MPFI cars refers to that unit which sits above ignition coil in cars with distributor ignition.



And Baleno is distributorless. Hence I didn't get your query. Kindly reply here or in the MGP thread.

Thanks!

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

I have seen your query on the MGP thread, what do you mean by ignitors? Do you mean coil packs by any chance?

I think Supremebaleno is mentioning about ignition coils. I have also placed an order for a pair of it (some 1100-1300/- is what I remember they told over phone). Please correct it Shashi.