Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Technical Stuff (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/)

-   -   What to do if your Engine Overheats on the road (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/131650-what-do-if-your-engine-overheats-road-27.html)

^^ If the car isn't overheating after the work done, you don't need to worry. You don't have to take any further action.

In any case keep a close eye on the temperature gauge always.

Thanks for the suggestion. There has been no further overheating warning. However, the engine note (sound) has become coarser than before. Do you think the overheating incident could be the reason behind this?

Took the car out today morning, to drop my wife to her office. After reaching the half way, I realized the temperature gauge was already near the red mark!
At this time, the signal was red. So, thought of turning the ignition off to let it cool for some time.

But just when the signal turned green, the car refused to start. After a lot of attempts I managed to start it again. By this time, traffic following me got impatient and they were honking relentlessly.
There were no garages nearby, and no place to pull over. So, I had to continue driving. During this time, I saw the needle coming back to where it should be.

This was a temporary relief. Because after a few minutes, it again started to approaching red mark. There are no garages (not that I know of) on the Baner road in Pune.
So, first thing I did is to drop my wife to her office, and immediately headed to Bosch service center on Baner-Pashan link road.

The technician did not wait to open the radiator cap. To my horror, there was no coolant left in it! As he started pouring water in the radiator, needle came back to the normal position.
I asked him if it's OK to take my car back to home (which is ~15 KM away from the garage), he advised me against it. As per him, there must be a leakage in the radiator for such a drop in fluid level.

How can this be possible? If it is really a leaky radiator, how come there are no stains in my home parking?

Pouring coolant in a hot engine is the worst thing that you can do, as cold water in a hot engine may crack and/or warp the block and the head.

As I am used to Ambassador and Fiat, I regularly check the coolant in my cars. One reason for finding no traces of leakage may be a faulty radiator pressure cap and/or leak between the radiator top and the coolant reservoir. That would leak only when the car heats up and the coolant travels between the radiator and the coolant reservoir.

Just a minute ago, I got call from the garage. As per them, whole radiator assembly needs to be replaced. He mentioned the mesh has gone bad, and it's leaking from 4-5 places.

He quoted Rs. 3900 for the radiator assembly, which didn't seem right for me.
I quickly called Hyundai Mobis, and they tell the price is Rs. 2968.

So, definitely this guys is trying to fleece me!

I have a '07 Alto. THE AC's efficiency started reducing drastically last year. I did a complete overhaul of the AC unit but to no avail. Recently, the temperature readings starting fluctuating a lot. Like it will either be too cold or too hot. Figured that there is an issue with the thermostat. Then found that the fan is also not running optimally. Once it got so hot that I had to get down and open the bonnet. I saw my fan die slowly. Had to call a tow truck and took it to the garage. Fan assembly and thermostat were changed. Immediate change in AC's effect was noticed ; it was just freezing inside! Total damage was 4500 bucks!

Must have a terrifying experience. Regarding your question, I am puzzled. If there was no coolant, there must have been an indicator light such as check engine light. Im my Chevrolet Beat I faced the same issue. Disappearing coolant and no visible leak. I suggest a head gasket replacement or use distilled water available at most petrol pumps. Turn on the car and carefully check the engine bay with a strong flash light. There maybe a minute leak causing the coolant to evaporate before it drops to the ground but there will definitely be a moist patch.

Hope this helps.

The leakage may be present only when the system is pressurised. Hence when its parked and cool, there is no leakage.

I'm not too sure, but I think Santro does not have a check engine light (or it does not work in my car, at least). I have verified it myself by pulling the connector of MAP sensor :)
BTW, would CEL glow when the engine overheats? I always thought the temp gauge would serve the purpose.
It was the radiator. There were few cracks on it, and almost all of the coolant leaked. The garage in question was definitely trying to fleece me, hence I poured in water (as per the instructions from my FNG) and drove to my trusted FNG. The radiator was replaced at a much lower price. No problems since then!

I am assuming CEL = Check Enine Light. It would but not directly, Because once the engine over heats, there are other components which may trigger the CEL. It varies from car to car. My Chevrolet Beat, even without coolant at times or just distilled water, it would never overheat. And for a long time I couldn't locate the Temperature gauge.

When I asked the half confused service center person, he said that the CEL will light up.

We have a 2005 Swift Lxi that is used by my dad and run around 61k.

Recently it was serviced with an oil change and few other suspension components replaced. I take it out once in few months for a short drive on the highway to stretch it's legs since otherwise it just sees single digit distances everyday.
This evening, post sunset I was doing some good speeds on a short highway drive and it was all fine. The last bit before I took a turn to return was a bit on the higher side.
Soon after, I was cruising a lower speed is when I noticed the temperature was showing close to the danger mark(red) and was increasing. Just before I noticed this, the AC cooling had stopped and I was turning it on and off to check if it improves. I lowered speeds immediately and turned off the AC and I was thinking the thermostat has stopped working again which had happened few years ago. In few minutes of driving at lower speeds, the needle went back to its normal position and I drove around 40 kms back with no issues. I turned on the AC once I entered city and was stuck in a jam as well. The cooling was back and the engine temperature did not increase till I got back home.

I remember the same had happened on my Figo 1.2 once when I was driving it hard and it never happened again. The car had run only some 40-45k kms then.
I'm wondering if this is because the radiator is clogged or something else. The radiator has never been cleaned. On my old 800, cleaning the radiator helped in lowering the temperatures to normal when it used to overheat at city speeds.

I checked the engine bay for any splashed liquid as well as the coolant level and it was fine. Should I be getting something else checked?

^^^
Related to the above post, this morning I went to check if the coolant level was fine and found a small puddle of coolant which had come out from the coolant tank. I guess it happened after the engine was switched off since I didn't notice it yesterday.

There are two things that you should do :

1. Check if the coolant level in the radiator is low. If it is there is a leak some where.

2. If there is no leak and the coolant level is fine, then it is time to service the radiator. With time the radiator pipes get clogged and cooling efficiency reduces. This is most noticeable when driving with AC in city traffic, as that is when the thermal load is maximum and air flow minimum.

Coolant levels in the radiator and coolant tank are normal.
That is the weird part. In city, with AC on, the temp is normal. After the overheating last evening after the hard highway drive, it hasn't happened again, including today during the day and in another jam.

Were you able to hear the radiator fan working when the car was overheating.