[Viraj.515]

Our Ford Freestyle Titanium Plus 1.5 TDCi is currently being used by my sister for her commute to work. She called me in the morning and told that the dashboard has lit up with two warning light. On checking, I found that the warning lights were “engine overheat“ and “service indicator”. I also noticed that the temperature gauge was still on the colder side. She told me that she felt a coarse engine start than usual with black smoke. Also, the engine was running coarse and not smooth as usual. I thought it was due to cold-start because the engine temperature gauge was also on cold side but the engine overheat warning beside that was strange.

I immediately called my SA and explained him the situation. He asked to drive it down to the service centre. The car was 30km away from the service centre. I asked my sister to drive it down below 1500rpm.

I noticed the radiator fan working for approximately 5 minutes even after turning off the engine.

Upon inspecting, FASS found that a rat had damaged a cable. I suspect it to be some temperature sensor which sent wrong signals to the ECU. This lead the engine to run on richer mixture considering the engine to be on colder side.

After sorting the cables, the car is starting normal and running fine.

The car is just 11 months old. I’ve concerns over the engine which faced overheating. What could’ve been damaged? What should I do to check for any internal damage? What should be done to ensure the long term reliability regarding the damage caused due to this incident?

[Swapnil4585]

Yesterday I was driving inside the city, when I suddenly saw the temperature gauge move up towards the "H" mark. I could luckily stop the car on the roadside. It had just started to move up from its normal point. The air conditioner was also off. So I believe there won't be much damage.

I opened the hood and found the coolant level to be normal. No steam, no signs of any leakage. In fact I had got the radiator flushed, chemically cleaned and coolant refilled just a month back. So those levels were pretty fine. The ELM327 was connected at the time and it showed the coolant temperature at 96 degree Celsius. The normal temperature range for the 1ZZ FE engine in question is 89 - 95 degrees.

I waited for about 20 minutes with the hood open. Thereafter I checked again on the scanner and the temperature was around 59. So I drove her slowly home. During this, the gauge came to its normal position and stayed there only.

What could have gone wrong?

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by Viraj.515

I’ve concerns over the engine which faced overheating. What could’ve been damaged? What should I do to check for any internal damage? What should be done to ensure the long term reliability regarding the damage caused due to this incident?

If the car wasn’t driven much, you shouldn’t have to worry. Besides, a rich fuel air mixture should’ve made the engine run cooler anyway.

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

What could have gone wrong?

Check if the cooling fan/s behind the radiator are functioning normally.

Were you stopped at a red light when she overheated, or? I’ve had the exact same happen thing to me in my Micra (overheating when stopped, normal on the move). When I got the issue diagnosed, turns out the cooling fan wasn’t turning on at all & the motor needed to be replaced. Got the boiling coolant replaced (flushed) & off I went.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by ChoosetoCruze

Check if the cooling fan/s behind the radiator are functioning normally.

Were you stopped at a red light when she overheated, or? I’ve had the exact same happen thing to me in my Micra (overheating when stopped, normal on the move). When I got the issue diagnosed, turns out the cooling fan wasn’t turning on at all & the motor needed to be replaced. Got the boiling coolant replaced (flushed) & off I went.

No I was crawling in bumper to bumper traffic, trying to take a U turn. My first suspect is the fan. But then after I started driving after I had pulled to the roadside, the fan was also working.

Anyway, I am going to call on an electrician to check all the wires and fuses.

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

No I was crawling in bumper to bumper traffic, trying to take a U turn. My first suspect is the fan. But then after I started driving after I had pulled to the roadside, the fan was also working.

Anyway, I am going to call on an electrician to check all the wires and fuses.

Gotta hate electrical problems in a vehicle. It may well be that. Also, check for a sticky thermostat. Good luck & fingers crossed for a cheap/easy fix.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Yesterday

What could have gone wrong?

Sporadic heating when all levels, wiring, fan etc are fine typically means some debris or sludge in the cooling system which block circulation sometimes, not always. Take it to a mechanic and have him clean out the system, which would involve taking the radiator off of the car. I'm not sure if flushing involves that.

[sameerpatel90]

This article is absolutely very informative for a non-technical person although, engine over heating is a vague topic to be addressed in a simple dictionary. Motor vehicle owners must love and take of their rides as much as they do for a human. CARS aren't just a source of commute instead are companions for our lives which embark over our memories.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Sporadic heating when all levels, wiring, fan etc are fine typically means some debris or sludge in the cooling system which block circulation sometimes, not always. Take it to a mechanic and have him clean out the system, which would involve taking the radiator off of the car. I'm not sure if flushing involves that.

Replying after a long gap. But I started my car directly today after that (14-09-2020) day. Whole family was unwell.

When I had changed the coolant in July, I had the radiator removed and got it chemically cleaned from a radiator specialist and refilled the coolant. Thereafter I had few outstation trips, etc. But no problems.

Now getting back to the issue - I started the car today. The coolant temperature rose to 93 degree, but the fan did not start. The gauge, I felt, stayed at a point half a mm higher than the normal. But it stayed there. I am venturing out to the workshop to check the fan and its wiring. But with no leakages, no drop in coolant level, can the water pump go bad?

Edit - Do you get any error codes if the water pump has issues? There are no errors on the scanner too.

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Do you get any error codes if the water pump has issues? There are no errors on the scanner too.

To add to my reply in the other overheating thread, just last month when I changed my 10 yr old water pump in my Micra, the only symptom was a whining/whistling noise from the engine without any codes or CEL. Also, there was absolutely no coolant leaks from the old water pump or overheating issues.

I doubt it’ll be the water pump because you should see it leaking or hear the bearing start to seize.

Follow the steps mentioned in both the videos which I posted in the other thread & fingers crossed you pinpoint the exact failure.

PS. Were you present at the FNG when your radiator was being flushed? Is there any chance that they may have damaged the radiator/cooling fins in the process and now it isn’t properly dissipating heat?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Do you get any error codes if the water pump has issues? There are no errors on the scanner too.

On most cars/engines you do not get any errors codes from the pump itself.

Unless you have an electric driven pump perhaps, which is very uncommon on most cars.. Some engines have next to the usual pump and electric one to provide extra cooling. (E.g. my Jaguar has a dedicated electrically driven pump for the super charger)

Jeroen

[Dr_MNC_SK]

Thar CRDE 5 years and 60K kms

Dad took for a day.
Mountainous bad road.
Drove on 1 st with AC and probably revved high on inclines for an hour or so.
Vehicle overheated and loss of power so he drove like that a little and pulled over.

Called me over. Reached there in 2 hours and all this while vehicle was cooling down on its own.

The entire radiator was changed some years ago for a crack so radiator is like not 5 years old.

When I reached the reservior was dry and the radiator took 4 litres of distilled water. No leak on standing. Started and drove 50 kms uphill with no significant loss of power or overheating. But as I almost reached back home it overheat and I pulled over for a while and limped back home slowly not allowing to overheat.

Next day nearest FNG water level in radiator again low by 2 .5 litres.

Radiator seems to have a leakage only visible when started.

Awaiting spares.

Do you think thats the only problem here?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

Thar CRDE 5 years and 60K kms

Dad took for a day.
Mountainous bad road.
Drove on 1 st with AC and probably revved high on inclines for an hour or so.
Vehicle overheated and loss of power so he drove like that a little and pulled over.

Called me over. Reached there in 2 hours and all this while vehicle was cooling down on its own.

The entire radiator was changed some years ago for a crack so radiator is like not 5 years old.

When I reached the reservior was dry and the radiator took 4 litres of distilled water. No leak on standing. Started and drove 50 kms uphill with no significant loss of power or overheating. But as I almost reached back home it overheat and I pulled over for a while and limped back home slowly not allowing to overheat.

Next day nearest FNG water level in radiator again low by 2 .5 litres.

Radiator seems to have a leakage only visible when started.

Awaiting spares.

Do you think thats the only problem here?

From what you describe, it may be a leak in the flexible hose(s) that opens up under pressure when driving hard. To check, wrap a thick cloth on the hose(s) and rev hard. If there is a leak the cloth will show it.

Another point can be the coupling/joint of the hose to metal. Check and tighten the hose ends.

[Dr_MNC_SK]

Originally Posted by Aroy

From what you describe, it may be a leak in the flexible hose(s) that opens up under pressure when driving hard. To check, wrap a thick cloth on the hose(s) and rev hard. If there is a leak the cloth will show it.

Another point can be the coupling/joint of the hose to metal. Check and tighten the hose ends.

The leak was detected in the radiator fin only on the back side unlikely to be a hit from a stone. The radiator was recently removed to fix the ac condenser and refit. May be it was damaged then. I have changed the entire radiator assembly and put in fresh coolant but my worry is did something happen to the head gasket or anything due to this incident of overheating. Was driven a km approx with overheating tell tale signs. Now after that incident haven’t driven much so apprehensive.

[tharian]

A doubt I had on the radiator fan kicking in.

Last weekend , the radiator on my Dads 2005 Swift was removed and cleaned, but the coolant system wasn't flushed because of which there was a litre of old coolant left in it.
Yesterday, I did a flush and after three flushes, filled in new coolant and topped up through the radiator. The engine was already in operating temperature since I had taken it for a short spin between each flush.
I had left the radiator open to let any air in the system escape. I left it in idle for more than 5 minutes when the coolant from the radiator started overflowing and stopped after few seconds. I understand this was because the radiator cap wasn't in place. But I was surprised the fan didn't kick in before the coolant was coming out like that. When I switched on the AC, it did spin so I know the fan works.

Was it because the radiator cap was not in place that the system didn't reach a temperature for the fan to spin and at the same time caused the coolant to gush out?

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by tharian

Was it because the radiator cap was not in place that the system didn't reach a temperature for the fan to spin and at the same time caused the coolant to gush out?

Realise that the cooling system is pressurised and driving the car without the radiator cap on will cause the coolant to gush out/overflow.

The cooling fan/s is signalled to turn on when you switch on the AC, by design.

Let’s hope no damage was caused due to any inadvertent overheating - https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t2559_ds546035