[Aroy]

Originally Posted by sundabs

I have a 2006 Baleno with a heating problem. The problem started around 2 years back (2011). It heats only after I drive continuously after about 75 - 100 Kms. I then wait for around 30 -45 minutes with everything shutoff. Post that I can do another 60 odd kms. Never been able to test it beyond that because I would be back at my destination.
SO basically no Service centre has been able to resolve this issue, as they cannot simulate it.
I have checked the radiator and all pipes for leaks, non found. Replaced the gasket. No coolant found in the engine.
However in City, (CHENNAI) peak afternoon, drives with the AC without any issue. The Temp guage remains at the 1/2 way point.
Any ideas will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

From what you describe, there is a problem only when the vehicle is driven for a long distance. The heat in the cooling circuit which is cooled in short journeys, builds up and cannot be tackled on a long term basis. Are you driving at very high speeds on the highway?

I would check the following, in order of probability.
. Check the spark plugs. If they are clean fine. If they are black with soot then carbon is sure to be depositing. If the tips are worn, then you have run them too long. Change them. At times worn spark plugs result in late firing (retarded spark) which heats up the engine pretty fast.
. Radiator fins blocked with leaves and dirt, that will restrict air flow.
. The radiator pipes blocked. The only way to check this is to take it to radiator specialist who will dismantle it and check for blockages. If the radiator has not been serviced in five years or more, then the pipes slowly block due to corrosion/deposits.
. Carbon deposits in the cylinder. They will reduce cooling on a long journey. This symptoms are slow starts, misfiring at high speeds and in extreme cases black smoke (though that is generally the cause not the symptom). A heavier fuel consumption can also be there. The best method is to use a fuel additive.

[Slush_Traveller]

On one of a discovery channel show I saw if an engine over heats and you need to cool if off. You need to start the heater of your car, because it disperses the heat of the engine into car cabin and it cools off the car engine. .experts your view on this ?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Slush_Traveller

On one of a discovery channel show I saw if an engine over heats and you need to cool if off. You need to start the heater of your car, because it disperses the heat of the engine into car cabin and it cools off the car engine. .experts your view on this ?

Yes, that is well known trick and works well. If your car is overheating, switch on the heating to max! The heater works of the same cooling circuit as your car radiator. So effectively what you are doing is introducing another heat convertor into the circuit. It does mean it will get hot in the cabin of course. And it doesn't help in all cases, but especially cases where your radiator is partly blocked and thus has a reduced heat dispersion capacity switching the heating on can be very effective.

Jeroen

[sundabs]

Originally Posted by Aroy

From what you describe, there is a problem only when the vehicle is driven for a long distance.
========= A heavier fuel consumption can also be there. The best method is to use a fuel additive.

Aroy, Thanks for your wonderful tips.
Plan to do the checkpoints and actions advised by you in the next couiple of weeks and then plan a trip to Pondi.
HAve a good one!!!

[jaspal singh]

Dear Friends,

Recently my car has been facing overheating problem which is yet to be resolved. its an Petrol i20, the newer model.
Car showed signs of overheating as temp needle crossed 110 mark on afternoon of 7-June. At this point cooling from AC dropped drastically and i promptly tooK the car to Capital Hyundai's Sec 2 workshop in Noida. Job Card for overheating problem was prepared and i was asked to come next morning which was a sunday.

Reached workshop at 10 am and they started work on the Car. Initially they concluded that the engine temperature sensor is faulty and was replaced under warranty. We went for a testdrive but the problem still existed. Scanner showed Water temp as 110 C which should ideally be in the range of 98-100 C.

They then took the car to washing bay and the radiator was washed under high pressure. I waited at the reception and was told after 1 hr that the problem has been resolved and the radiator was the culprit. they again replaced the old temperature sensor stating it was fine. we went for a small TD at around 3 pm and the car behaved normally. Car was delivered to me and they charged Rs 630 + vat for cleaning the radiator etc.

Delivery date-8-June

the very next day ie 9 June it was a hot sunny afternoon in Delhi and the problem resurfaced and this time the temp needle touched the red mark. 130c
AC also stopped working .

waited for the car to cool down and managed to take the car at the workshop at 4pm . They did not give me a computerized Job card this time as it was late. But i guess they did not want to register the car for same problem on database as they had delivered the vehicle previous day. I have the copy of Manual Job card given on 9-June which shows KM reading higher than on the Billing Invoice given on 8-June

Car was finally given on Tuesday-10-June without any computerized invoice and even the gate pass was manual. we went for a 20KM long testdrive with the Scanner attached and the car did not overheat. I was told that the Thermostat valve had become sticky and it has been cleaned

But my nightmare has begun again as the problem has reoccurred. Today again the temp needle touched 110 mark and AC stopped working.

Now i am suspecting a major hassle which Capital Hyundai has not been able to diagnose . Car's warranty is expiring on 7-July and i suspect Capital hyundai is deliberately doing wrong diagnosis.


Note-
1) Problem occurs only when car moves slowly with AC on
2) Car has done 40000km
3) Has been maintained as per service schedule.
4) its not related to coolant and water level as they were found to be normal


Below are few pics showing temp and KM readings.

Pic 1-2 Reading on 9-June after the car was delivered on 8-June with KM reading lower than this.( mentioned on the invoice)

Pic 3-Reading today.

Friends please suggest what should i do next and possible cause of the problem.

Regards,
Jaspal

[Ray32825]

Jaspal, One does not clean a thermostat, one replaces it if it's faulty. Sounds like you have bad thermostat or your radiator fans are not working. I have sent you a PM

[Ricci]

Jaspal,

Whether the fan is working or not can be more easily verified. Also, when the car overheats, do you physically inspect the engine bay, if it is hotter than normal ; are there any leaks ?

I would suggest , you check if the engine coolant pump is working, and drain the coolant entirely, refill fresh and observe (or ask the mechs to comment) if the refilling is normal - reason being, debris could choke the flow of coolant through the radiator.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by jaspal singh

Note-
1) Problem occurs only when car moves slowly with AC on

Is the fan kicking in?
This seems to indicate the fan either not working, our maybe on its way out, out maybe the sensor for switching the fan on automatically not doing its job.

Does the car have one fan or two?
Next time, when it happens, try putting the heater on at full and see if it starts making a difference.

[saket77]

Agree with the popular opinion here. I too believe that the radiator fan is not kicking in when required. So, either the relay is at fault or the fan or its wiring has gone bad. Any chances for rat menace in your car? Have you noticed the fan working recently? If this aspect is fine, then it may be a stuck thermostat, which is stopping the coolant flow.
Also, since your car is overheating frequently, keep an eye on the water-coolant level. Some amount of coolant is bound to evaporate as it boils with the overheated engine. Please get it checked at another service center and get is rectified ASAP as this can cause major and irreversible permanent damage to your engine.

[Ray32825]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Jaspal,

Whether the fan is working or not can be more easily verified. Also, when the car overheats, do you physically inspect the engine bay, if it is hotter than normal ; are there any leaks ?

I would suggest , you check if the engine coolant pump is working, and drain the coolant entirely, refill fresh and observe (or ask the mechs to comment) if the refilling is normal - reason being, debris could choke the flow of coolant through the radiator.

Ricci, if the water pump was not working it would've overheated within minutes, irrespective of whether the car was moving slowly or a 20km drive on the highway.
The only way a radiator can get clogged up is if there is no coolant/antifreeze in the system, leading to rust buildup. The best way to clean a rusty system is not just to drain the water/coolant and replace with fresh stuff, but to use a radiator cleaner or flush. This is best done with the thermostat removed so that the coolant(with the cleaner) is not restricted in it's rate of flow - velocity.
Jaspal indicated that the coolant levels were fine - I hope people in India are not running their cars with plain water like they used to.

[Ricci]

@Ray - Jaspal didn't mention the time taken to overheat. Yes I know a complete failure of the pump will result in overheating in minutes, but in the absence of time frame, I can only guess. Second, I could be clearer, since failed part implies 100% non-functional ; I meant more like failure or malfunction, where the pump isn't flowing the coolant at normal pressure.

I doubt anyone fills only water in the radiator these days, most people don't even bother manual checks, so I presume all top-up/replacement is done at dealer with correct coolant and water mix. I didn't know they removed thermostats - why would they do so and risk further warranty denial ?

You're right about the flushing part, I missed that. Re-filling after complete drain should however indicate the presence of a clog.

[Ray32825]

Rici, I removed the part about the thermostat removal, because that was in the 80s, when I got my first car (Padmini) and after which my dad got a Standard 2000. But that was a long time ago (before a lot of readers here were born) and thermostats were easier to get to and mechanics were just that, mechanics. Today they are technicians.
Most water pumps as you know are mechanically driven and the only way that they can not function properly is if the V-belt is slipping on the pulley or if the impeller is freewheeling on the shaft/has broken/rusted completely and disintegrated.
Nowadays, quite a few modern cars have plastic impellers and I have had them fail on a few vehicles - Fords, BMWs etc. Some manufacturers use electric motors for the coolant but that is usually for the heater and the engine still has a mechanical water pump. However, there are electric water pumps available for racing and street use, but I have not yet installed one on any of my vehicles.
Regarding the radiators, if you have one that's full of rust the best thing to do is to remove it from the vehicle, lay it flat on the ground, let it soak with some white vinegar or rust remover and then back flush it. I always had great results with Prestone radiator cleaner, but they don't make it anymore and the ones sold by Napa and the Gunk cleaner don't seem to be as good.
If owners don't check their fluids and neither do the drivers, then they are asking for trouble.

[jaspal singh]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Jaspal,

Whether the fan is working or not can be more easily verified. Also, when the car overheats, do you physically inspect the engine bay, if it is hotter than normal ; are there any leaks ?

I would suggest , you check if the engine coolant pump is working, and drain the coolant entirely, refill fresh and observe (or ask the mechs to comment) if the refilling is normal - reason being, debris could choke the flow of coolant through the radiator.

Fan is working normally and kicks in immediately with AC.
Even without AC, the fan switches between low/high mode normally. Your second point regarding physically inspecting the engine is interesting as i have noticed that with even Temp needle above 110C mark, the air being blown by radiator,condensor fan is not that hot. Even my friends felt that the air temp to be normal.
This situation suggests that overheating is taking place in Engine but the same hot coolant is not reaching the Radiator section. Please correct if i m wrong?

Any ways, will be visiting Hyundai workshop today. Will update.

Originally Posted by Ray32825

Jaspal, One does not clean a thermostat, one replaces it if it's faulty. Sounds like you have bad thermostat or your radiator fans are not working. I have sent you a PM

Thanks ray.

Fan is working normally , and even i suspect the problem is related to thermostat. Will take the car to workshop today.

Regards

[Ray32825]

Well done Jaspal, sounds like your diagnostic skills are better than the mechanic's. It looks like they lied to you about cleaning the thermostat - probably did not even open the system.
If I was you, I would have them drain the cooling system installed a new thermostat and run a radiator cleaner/flush through the system. Drain and refill once more with fresh coolant.
Also check with the service advisor to see if there is a procedure for bleeding/burping the system to get rid of any air and make sure it is performed.
If you have any questions, or need any help with anything, don't hesitate to PM me.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by jaspal singh

This situation suggests that overheating is taking place in Engine but the same hot coolant is not reaching the Radiator section. Please correct if i m wrong?

To my knowledge, engine temperature is measured by measuring coolant temperature (engine temperature itself is not measured, and that varies depending on where you measure) , there is no other temperature measurement as far engine is concerned - maybe apart from oil temperature which is not always displayed. Some amount of convection flow would be there, but if the coolant pump is malfunctioning, yes the coolant will not circulate as normal.

Let's see what ASC diagnosis is.