Coolant Temp Getting Hot? Any AZ Drivers?

[kpd122]

Hi All,

Just crossed the 1-month and 2,000 mile mark with my Ranger. So far a great truck.

We just had one of our first "warm" days here in Phoenix - about 112 F. When I was sitting in a drive-thru line today for about 5-10 mins, the temp needle started climbing after a bit, so much that the needle went entirely past the thermometer icon in the gauge and was moving towards 3/4. Is this normal behavior in hot weather? This is my first Ford, so I don't know what sort of "dead zone" is built into the temp gauge. I'm not used to any modern cars having such swing in reported temp. It makes me a little nervous for the 120 degree days, and some summer towing I have planned.

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[Frenchy]

I will state that the temp can go up in hot climates or extreme conditions like offroad. According to Ford as long as the temp does not get into the Red you are ok. Now with that said a good thing to do is check your engine coolant level. It should be right in the center of the tank. Dont be too afraid if it is below the center of the tank by a little but(1 inch at max). That is considered normal for the style of system

 

[Mcssls]

I’m surprised we don’t have electric fans

 

[Frenchy]

I’m surprised we don’t have electric fans

Ford may have done testing with electric fans and decided the electric controled fan clutch is more efficient for the application.

 

[Big Blue]

I’m surprised we don’t have electric fans

What is an electronic fan going to do for you a motor driven one won't?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Ford may have done testing with electric fans and decided the electric controled fan clutch is more efficient for the application.

HI Chris,

Early in the program, it would be determined electrical fan vs engine driven. The analysis of cooling needs would have entered the equation, and in Ranger it was determined that the cooling testing required an engine driven fan with an electrical/silicon fluid fan clutch was the ticket. Thus, the development with this arrangement was set in stone so to speak...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Mcssls]

What is an electronic fan going to do for you a motor driven one won't?

Often better cooling capacity. Less parasitic loss to an engine driven….

10-15 hp and a couple miles per gallon on V6s

 

[Willcuts93]

What is an electronic fan going to do for you a motor driven one won't?

Spin at a high speed at idle. Both have their tradeoffs.

 

[kpd122]

I will state that the temp can go up in hot climates or extreme conditions like offroad. According to Ford as long as the temp does not get into the Red you are ok. Now with that said a good thing to do is check your engine coolant level. It should be right in the center of the tank. Dont be too afraid if it is below the center of the tank by a little but(1 inch at max). That is considered normal for the style of system

That's what I assume - I'm hoping some other AZ/NV drivers can confirm this is a regular occurrence at least. Based on today's temps, it will likely read even hotter in the next few weeks as temps rise. Coolant was spot on, first thing I checked after I got it cooled down.

HI Chris,

Early in the program, it would be determined electrical fan vs engine driven. The analysis of cooling needs would have entered the equation, and in Ranger it was determined that the cooling testing required an engine driven fan with an electrical/silicon fluid fan clutch was the ticket. Thus, the development with this arrangement was set in stone so to speak...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Phil, I assumed as much. My 4Runner is very much the same with only an engine-driven fan setup. I have no doubt Ford extensively tested both setups, though it does seem like airflow is decidedly the issue here at idle speed (that's assuming the water pump is electric, and has already increased flow through engine). Once moving again, temp drops right back to "normal"

 

[P. A. Schilke]

That's what I assume - I'm hoping some other AZ/NV drivers can confirm this is a regular occurrence at least. Based on today's temps, it will likely read even hotter in the next few weeks as temps rise. Coolant was spot on, first thing I checked after I got it cooled down.



Phil, I assumed as much. My 4Runner is very much the same with only an engine-driven fan setup. I have no doubt Ford extensively tested both setups, though it does seem like airflow is decidedly the issue here at idle speed (that's assuming the water pump is electric, and has already increased flow through engine). Once moving again, temp drops right back to "normal"

HI KPD,

There is a soak shed test where the vehicle is parked in a shed in high ambient conditions where there is no air flow to cool the engine from external wind. The poor test engineers have to sit in this hot box. Then after soaking for some 45 minutes, the doors are opened and the vehicle is floored to WOT.... The vehicle cannot overhead and cannot stumble on WOT acceleration. Thermocouple data is recorded on various systems etc. End of the day, the other engineers than the ones in the vehicle buy the beer for the poor sweat drenched test engineers. Brutal on the vehicle and the engineers.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Big Blue]

Often better cooling capacity. Less parasitic loss to an engine driven….

10-15 hp and a couple miles per gallon on V6s

Not sure about the cooling capacity while stopped in traffic in hot weather, which is what is being discussed here. Doesn't make much difference what kind of fan at speed. I do agree a motor driven fan does eat some parasitic power from the engine but I think a couple of mpg may be a bit high. Remember the electric fan is drawing power off the alternater.

 

[AzScorpion]

That's what I assume - I'm hoping some other AZ/NV drivers can confirm this is a regular occurrence at least. Based on today's temps, it will likely read even hotter in the next few weeks as temps rise. Coolant was spot on, first thing I checked after I got it cooled down.

I've never seen mine do that but I don't really sit idling for any length of time either. The few that I have mine stays right about half way of so.

 

[VAMike]

Often better cooling capacity. Less parasitic loss to an engine driven….

10-15 hp and a couple miles per gallon on V6s

Those are old school numbers. Modern electric clutch prevents the fan from sucking power if it isn't needed. Under high load when you do need cooling the mechanical can provide more at lower power cost. (Electric need the same amount of power, plus efficiency loss from a trip through the alternator.) Electric has an advantage of you need high flow at idle, otherwise it comes down to packaging. (E.g., if your motor points sideways you can't use a mechanical fan is one obvious constraint, but there may be other factors like how much space is available.)

 

[JTDay]

You can buy a Bluetooth OBD2 dongle for 20 bucks and download some app like torque to read the coolant temp. On cars I've had in the past, the needle could be dead in the middle starting at 160 degrees and not move at all up to 230 degrees. On other cars, the general rule of thumb was if the needle moves at all past center, shut the car off immediately (in the case of e36 M3s).

Forget the gauge, buy a bluetooth OBD2 dongle.

 

[kpd122]

I dont recall, but does the diagnostic screen show the actual temp ?

if it does, you can go into there and see an actual number for your temp to either ease your mind, or worry you even more.

Does the XL have a diagnostic screen? I haven't bothered to play around with this thing much. Been busy driving it.

You can buy a Bluetooth OBD2 dongle for 20 bucks and download some app like torque to read the coolant temp. On cars I've had in the past, the needle could be dead in the middle starting at 160 degrees and not move at all up to 230 degrees. On other cars, the general rule of thumb was if the needle moves at all past center, shut the car off immediately (in the case of e36 M3s).

Forget the gauge, buy a bluetooth OBD2 dongle.

I'll definitely plug the OBD in this week, especially since it's getting even hotter. I do know the BMW mentality all too well - a good friend of mine drove an E39 5-Series throughout college. by 260k miles it had an inclination to start overheating at random. Once the temp gauges starts to move in those cars, you are pretty much done. That's somewhat why i'm trained to watch the gauge like a hawk. My E21, on the other hand, is actually old enough where it isn't buffered at all.

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