miaminick

OK so... about 7 of the last 10 times driving my 2000 Z28 M6 I've realized that, while driving respectfully and idling on city streets... I had a slight but still noticeable burning-plastic-y smell coming in trace amounts through the air vents. It never dawned on me to look at the temp gauge.... just to be slightly dumbfounded =/

Fast forward to today.... while on my way home, I noticed my a/c was starting to go from blowing cold to warm out of the blue.... then about 2 minutes later back to cold....then warm again. When I finally got to a traffic light and peeked at the vitals on the dash.... needle was PAST THE 3/4th mark on the temp gauge and the "check gauges" light would come on. NO COOLANT leaking anywhere.


WELL... I got the car home shortly after and I had a 160 thermostat lying around for the past year or so so I decided I might as well install it; Followed the instructions here:

http://www.installuniversity.com/ins...ostat_swap.htm

and bled the system as well. STILL OVERHEATED after about 15 minutes of warming up the engine (driving around the neighborhood).


-New thermostat (Plus cooling-system bleed)
-Fans are kicking on when the a/c is on
-Looking inside the radiator cap while the car is running... I can see the fluid changing levels as if the water pump+thermostat are in proper working order
-The radiator hoses are getting hot (like they normally should with fluid being circulated)

Any help would be appreciated.... the one thing I HAVE YET TO DO is inspect the condenser for debris or clogging; Could it really be that simple?

crainholio

iTrader: (2)

If you're running the factory radiator and overflow caps, now would be a good time to replace them.

Joshiedoom

iTrader: (4)

Change with a quality cap.

Are you fans comming on when the ac is off?

Check for junk trapped in the radiator area... I took a normal garden hose and dishwashing soap and cleaned my radiator out to prevent damaging the fins.

crainholio

iTrader: (2)

Also, AutoZone rents a spiffy cooling system pressure tester and it would be a good idea to verify your cooling system integrity.

It just snaps on in place of your pressure cap, you pump it up like a bicycle tire pump would work, and at 16psi stop pumping. It should hold 16psi for several minutes...a leak will usually show up as an immediate pressure drop as soon as you stop pumping.

The funky smell coming from your AC vents might possibly be coolant from a leaking heater core. The pressure test will tell the tale.

After this, it's time to verify your fans are working as Joshie posted. Fan motors and relays have a finite life expectancy, and at "cruise around the neighborhood" speeds the fans are doing the work. Idle it up to temp w/ the hood up, watch for the fans to come on at around ~220 or so.

Good luck & keep us posted!

miaminick

Thanks a bunch guys! First step today will be checking for debris in the radiator/condenser area and spraying those out; Step 1B. Will be that spiffy coolant pressure test!

Also, I didn't see the fans come on at all until the A/C was turned on... I will double check that again. We are running on stock radiator cap and as for the radiator...not sure.

Heres a couple little nibbles :

There's no coolant spewing from the cap when the car starts to get hot.... can the cap still be faulty?

Also

Since I was able to see fluid level changing/circulating while looking inside the radiator with the car running... I would assume this means that at least my water pump isn't the culprit?

miaminick

DING DING DING!

Plastic K-Mart bag was stuck up between the condenser and the radiator. Should've looked there first!

Thanks a bunch everyone! I appreciate all the assistance.... I should have an idiot light on my forehead.

Joshiedoom

iTrader: (4)

This happens a lot. Avoid all bags in the road. If you run over it, and it doesnt come out the back, then pull over lol.... been there done that.

beedo

iTrader: (28)

I have almost wrecked my car swerving to miss those Damn bags!

Killjoy32

I had a plastic bag melt on my ******* exhaust, i went nuts looking for the source of the smell. My first thought was "****..." I went nuts looking, one thing that raised on alarm was that my radio had gotten really hot, the entire panel was hot to the touch so i thought "Oh great im gunna have an electrical fire now". Then after realizing it smelt more outside the car then inside i looked under neath and BAM melted bag all over my exhaust pipe and cat. I said **** it and let it burn off...