DC2R Temps

[khanguskhan]

Hi guys,

As some of you might've noticed I've recently bought a DC2R, and I just have a few questions in mind just to make sure everything is okay. Before I go on with the question just a heads up I have close to zero mechanical background everything I know to date is from reading all over the place on these forums.

My temperature gauge is past the beginning line while the car is off (hope that's not too bad a sign, seems pretty normal to me if over time it's just leaned abit too much to that side).
But is it completely fine for my car to be running somewhat pretty cool? It's been really cold in Melbourne the past couple days as well so that's not too surprising if that plays a role.

The needle moves up accordingly after about 5 minutes, at what seems to be halfway between 0 and the MIDDLE, I can feel good heat coming through the vents, and after some spirited driving it gets closer to the middle. But I've noticed that sometimes, turning on the heater to 2-3, fairly warm, hot air comes through and my temp needle drops by a notch or half a notch?
The dropping happens when I go into a casual light cruise for over 5-10 minutes as well.
So if anyone can tell me if this is normal, that I'm relieving the engine of some of the heat when I turn on the heater? or anything. Thanks

I'll definitely try my hardest to be at the Melbourne meetup on the 10th looking to get heaps of input and pointers and to meet you guys, cheers.

Khang

P.S. I've tried searching the forums beforehand but maybe I used incorrect methods.

[DC2R]

Sounds like your thermostat has gone (broken). Your car should sit at about 1 or 2 notches below the middle of the gauge at all times when the car is at full operating temperature.

When they break on the DC2 they usually fail open thus your car remains cool nearly all of the time. Mine broke and would only get up to the right temperature when I was idling at lights or something. As soon as the car got going again it dropped right back down low. This is bad.

[khanguskhan]

Do you reckon? I still get moments with 1-1/2 notches under most of the day, and it was less than 8 degrees C outside on my drive 1 hour ago so maybe that played a major role? and my girlfriend was cold so I had heater on from the beginning sorta?

And also that the needle starts half a notch lower than usual?

Please do give me more input as if necessary I'll ask the mechanic to check.

[DC2R]

There is only so much information you can give without seeing/experiencing the problem first hand. To me it sounds like a thermostat problem.

Take it to your mechanic and have it checked to be safe.

[khanguskhan]

Ok I'll get them to check it then, thanks heaps buddy

[DC2R]

Ok I'll get them to check it then, thanks heaps buddy

No problem. I'm sure some other more knowledgable forum members may chime in by tomorrow sometime.

[cordz]

depends how cold man, I think what your describing is happening for numerous reasons:

first of all, the DC2R has great cooling capabilities and when i found myself potting around town calmly (upshifting at 3000 rpm, no thrashing ) the needle would drop further from the middle as you describe, reaching quite low temp readings. I am pretty sure this was down to the cool temps sydney was having, the fact i was driving always late at night (even colder) AND the ability of the DC2 to efficiently cool itself. The car was designed with the track in mind remember this..

Secondly, using a heater of course draws heat from the engine and thus assists in preventing overheating.

Thirdly, you live in melbourne (THATS COLD BRO)

Im pretty sure your being paranoid, as you explained the car heats up accordingly after some spirited driving and you don't highlight / specificy a significant problem.

I wouldn't worry!!

IF you really are concerned that your thermostat is broken like DC2R said, do the following:

In the middle of the day when it is warmest, and you have some time of your hands

1. Turn the car on in your driveway
2. Let it idle
3. Grab a magazine and sit by it or in it without touching anything
4. Wait till you hear the fans first kick in

result:

If the fans take too long to kick in 15 minutes +, your thermostat may be broken

IF the fans kick in from 3-10 minutes, i think your okay

[DC2R8D]

Louis is right bro, i changed my thermostat the other day and it had a bolt wedged in it so it was ALWAYS open allowing coolant to constantly flow from start up to shut dwn, and i found myself constantly wondering why it took soooo long to warm up, seriously about 15 mins idling before the needle would start to climb... i didnt have a problem with it dropping much while driving tho.. but yee do wat louis said and try out the fans this will be a good indication n will single out or atleast decrease the number of potential issues.

[tinkerbell]

just replace the thermostat (it is probably still the original one from 1999) - it is 15 dollars...

and will save you that much in fuel in the first 1000 km

[cordz]

just replace the thermostat (it is probably still the original one from 1999) - it is 15 dollars...

and will save you that much in fuel in the first 1000 km

Tink,

why does it save you fuel??

is this because the water pump is activated alot more thus causing a parasitic drain on the engine = more fuel to turn more moving parts??

[tinkerbell]

no - not physical drain, but ECU related...

the ECU determines the amount of fuel to inject based on coolant temperature (along with a few other variables, like air intake temp and of course RPM and manifold pressure).

when the engine is cold - the ECU adds more fuel, and untill it is at 'operating temperature' (which is around 85+) it will run rich...

which can lead to other engine problems like fouled plugs, piston ring wear and catalytic converter damage...

(this is the MAIN problem with adding a low temp thermostat, as it will run rich all the time, unless you have an ECU you can program and tune the AFR with...)

[tinkerbell]

here is what Hondata says:

http://www.hondata.com/techthermostat.html

Thermostat Information

It is very important to use the correct temperature thermostat in your cooling system, as the water temperature plays an important part in closed loop fueling operation.

Many people think that running a colder thermostat will keep their engine from over heating or that it will give some performance gain. This is incorrect and will just keep the engine from properly warming up. The engine should be between 185 and 200 degrees when fully warm.

[cordz]

understood.

Although, why does the engine run rich, wouldn't this help it stay cooler - is this more to protect the engine?

so a low temp fan switch would also contribute to this problem in a small way ?

[khanguskhan]

Hey guys,

Just an update, on my way to the station in the morning probably around a 15-20 minutes drive, I started the car before I grabbed my bags and left, I couldn't tell if the fans were on doubt it this morning was pretty damn cold.

I think I could be thinking too much as the needle starts past the the beginning mark, dunno if the needles do this over time, and it slowly crawled up to what looks like 2 notches away, but could potentially be around 1 notch away? because the needle starts lower?

However I was driving like usual, got up to around 70-80 km cruise speed, engine gradually warms up to what looks like 2 notches away from the middle, in about 5 minutes of driving. I then pressed the front demister button and some warm air came through and the temp dropped a little bit, I read something about a different batch of coolant gets circulated therefore sometimes temps run cooler again? After about 5 minutes of the demister being off it warmed up again to become 1-2 notches away.

Like if you guys reckon it's better to be safe then sorry I would get it changed by my next service in about 2000k's, but if I could get some clarification that I might just be stressing out too much, because my actions do have an impact for example turning up heater, draining heat from the engine. And that the needle starts roughly a notch before the beginning line so technically it moved up the correct amount? Thanks, and sorry for the bother over what seems to be a newbie topic.

[tinkerbell]

this is a VERY common topic.

and a VERY common issue for DC2R's as they are all getting OLD...

EASY way to know if you need to 'worry' is whether you have a black tinge to your rear bumper... this shows the engine is running way to rich...

white ones are easy to tell - black ones you just wipe your hand over the bumper above the exhaust tip to tell if there is any soot...