over heating, heater blowing cold air, oil light, service engine soon light

cherryfrog · 12-10-2009, 11:28 AM

ok so i live in mn and it was very cold this morning. i started my car to warm up and 10 minutes later went to leave, the thermastate on my car was hot and almost red. i said ok leave defroster on and start driving into the wind it will cool down (like all my other cars) NOPE so wrong it went hotter

.It was going from right below the red to red then back. and my defroster/heater was blowing freeezing air. then my oil light starts flashing off and on. i got to my brothers school and turned it off to walk him in and gave it 10 minutes to cool down. i went back out and the car wouldnt turn over. i tried again and nothing all lights came on then went off and the onlhy light that would work was service engine soon. my radio wouldnt even work. any ideas?????

[ion] C2 · 12-10-2009, 12:08 PM

jesus that's a lot of random shit going wrong

Check your oil level, make sure it's not low. If it's not, replace the oil pressure sensor.

Check your coolant level. Are you sure it wasn't your "low coolant" light going on and off? If the tank is empty and you have air in the system it's going to prevent your interior from getting hot because there's going to be like no coolant flow through the heater core, and the engine is going to overheat without any coolant to cool it down.

If the coolant level is fine, replace the thermostat. If that doesn't keep the car from overheating, there's another more serious issue. If the above fix the overheating issue, and the car still won't blow hot air into the cabin, check the heater control valve (replace it) and if that doesn't work, it's probable that the heater core has clogged.

jayson_waltz · 12-10-2009, 12:14 PM

check all that C2 said, but i doubt you will have a oil problem. but, also, what engine do you have? if the 3.4 and the limg hasn't been fixed maybe you dumped your coolant into your oil even though it would have to be a hell of a lot to get low enough coolant to overheat. if your oil is normal color your fine though, if milky your screwed there and need a limg replaced. if the coolant level is good, thermostats are only like $12, i put one in last winter in my 2.4.

[ion] C2 · 12-10-2009, 12:23 PM

Failsafe's $12.99, the Duralast from AutoZone's good stuff for like $7.99.

Oh yeah about the not starting and electrical stuff you mentioned at the end, I have no effing clue.

jayson_waltz · 12-10-2009, 12:33 PM

o i didn't see your end electrical problems. they make me think some that your battery is so bad that maybe the rad fans didn't turn on, which would cause the car to overheat pretty easily. get that thing tested before you start spending money.

a.graham52 · 12-10-2009, 04:19 PM

a good place to start like already stated is check your oil, your coolant level. and also check your coolant condition. too much water and you could be freezing up inside. also get your battery tested as well as your battery terminals checked for corrosion. who knows. if you were over heating maybe you melted some wires under the hood. just my .02

[ion] C2 · 12-10-2009, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayson_waltz

o i didn't see your end electrical problems. they make me think some that your battery is so bad that maybe the rad fans didn't turn on, which would cause the car to overheat pretty easily. get that thing tested before you start spending money.

Dude, the radiator fans don't turn on until 223 F or if you have the defrost or A/C on. The car should run only around 185-200 tops normally. The fans don't control overheating whatsoever. It's all about the radiator.

a.graham52 · 12-10-2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Dude, the radiator fans don't turn on until 223 F or if you have the defrost or A/C on. The car should run only around 185-200 tops normally. The fans don't control overheating whatsoever. It's all about the radiator.

well if the fans dont come on and your temps at 230F... whats controling your coolant temp then?? thinkg about it.

alerored04 · 12-10-2009, 10:02 PM

Where in MN? If it is a v6 I may be able to help. I am clueless with a 4 cyl though. Possibly a serp problem? No water pump or alt spinning would cause the overheat and no start. Oil light seems goofy. Was the power steering ok? Did it crank when you tried to start it or was it completely dead?

[ion] C2 · 12-10-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a.graham52

well if the fans dont come on and your temps at 230F... whats controling your coolant temp then?? thinkg about it.

My point is, if the radiator fans don't turn on, that is not what's allowing you to overheat.

If your temperature is at 230F (after a hard few WOT runs or the like in hot weather, NOT due to a separate problem with your cooling system), the coolant temperature will drop due to the cooling system's efficiency in radiating heat. The fans seem to be useless. Having them on versus off in my car has made negligible differences in cooling down times (I can actually adjust the temperatures they turn on, so I've tested this).

The car's operating temperature is due to the cooling system's ability to radiate heat. There's also a misconception that by using a colder temperature thermostat will make the car run cooler and prevent overheating. Using a colder thermostat will not prevent overheating, it will simply make it take a little longer for the car to get up to the overheating temperature. The thermostat opens (on the 2.4L) at 180 degrees F. The car runs at 185-200 regardless. The thermostat is fully open at these temperatures, leaving the increase in temperature solely up to how efficient the radiator is at giving off heat, and how hard you're pushing the car, how much heat the engine is transferring to the coolant. Kicking on the fans isn't going to cool down an overheating engine. 95% of the cooling is going to be done via the core radiating heat to the surrounding air. This is why you'll see the most cooling done via coastdown from say, 70MPH, and not when you're standing still with the fans blasting. They simply cannot flow the amount of air that a moving vehicle can.

a.graham52 · 12-10-2009, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

My point is, if the radiator fans don't turn on, that is not what's allowing you to overheat.

If your temperature is at 230F (after a hard few WOT runs or the like in hot weather, NOT due to a separate problem with your cooling system), the coolant temperature will drop due to the cooling system's efficiency in radiating heat. The fans seem to be useless. Having them on versus off in my car has made negligible differences in cooling down times (I can actually adjust the temperatures they turn on, so I've tested this).

The car's operating temperature is due to the cooling system's ability to radiate heat. There's also a misconception that by using a colder temperature thermostat will make the car run cooler and prevent overheating. Using a colder thermostat will not prevent overheating, it will simply make it take a little longer for the car to get up to the overheating temperature. The thermostat opens (on the 2.4L) at 180 degrees F. The car runs at 185-200 regardless. The thermostat is fully open at these temperatures, leaving the increase in temperature solely up to how efficient the radiator is at giving off heat, and how hard you're pushing the car, how much heat the engine is transferring to the coolant. Kicking on the fans isn't going to cool down an overheating engine. 95% of the cooling is going to be done via the core radiating heat to the surrounding air. This is why you'll see the most cooling done via coastdown from say, 70MPH, and not when you're standing still with the fans blasting. They simply cannot flow the amount of air that a moving vehicle can.

ill give in. i stand corrected.

after thinking aobut it iv noticed the temp drop after i started cruzing. im learning as i go.

a.graham52 · 12-10-2009, 11:28 PM

idk if this has already been said but ill say it anyways: check your oil for coolant and your coolant for oil. if your running a v6 their known for havin intake leaks. also check your coolant level, check your coolant condition, make sure its at the proper freeze protection (-25 or lower woud be safe) unless its realy cold there. CHECK YOUR COOLANT CAP. if the cap isnt holdin pressure then the boiling point of your coolant is going to go down. if you have no hot air coming from the heat (and you know the temp door motor works) then you know somethins not right. when you check your coolant cap also check your cooling system and make sure it can hold 15-30psi for atleast 2 minutes. if it hold it for longer even better. just remeber if the coolant is worm-hot and you pressure test it, the pressure in the system will go down as the liquid cools. id still check nad make sure you havnt had something melt under the hood and for gods sake... if your themostat cover is RED. why did you drive it. it should never be red. (this also tels me you drive a v6 because the thermostat and water pump are unternal on the LD9 and you can not visually see them)

good luck. cover the basics and get back to us

Gr1m · 12-11-2009, 02:48 AM

ill put my money on a bad water pump

Nate's Alero · 12-11-2009, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a.graham52

idk if this has already been said but ill say it anyways: check your oil for coolant and your coolant for oil. if your running a v6 their known for havin intake leaks. also check your coolant level, check your coolant condition, make sure its at the proper freeze protection (-25 or lower woud be safe) unless its realy cold there. CHECK YOUR COOLANT CAP. if the cap isnt holdin pressure then the boiling point of your coolant is going to go down. if you have no hot air coming from the heat (and you know the temp door motor works) then you know somethins not right. when you check your coolant cap also check your cooling system and make sure it can hold 15-30psi for atleast 2 minutes. if it hold it for longer even better. just remeber if the coolant is worm-hot and you pressure test it, the pressure in the system will go down as the liquid cools. id still check nad make sure you havnt had something melt under the hood and for gods sake... if your themostat cover is RED. why did you drive it. it should never be red. (this also tels me you drive a v6 because the thermostat and water pump are unternal on the LD9 and you can not visually see them)

good luck. cover the basics and get back to us

DAMN!!!! this is the most helpful person with under 15 posts!!!! you get an award!

a.graham52 · 12-11-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate's Alero

DAMN!!!! this is the most helpful person with under 15 posts!!!! you get an award!

hell yeah. but im still learning as i go. college helps

[ion] C2 · 12-11-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a.graham52

if your themostat cover is RED. why did you drive it. it should never be red. (this also tels me you drive a v6 because the thermostat and water pump are unternal on the LD9 and you can not visually see them)

WTF you smokin? She's talking about the dashboard gauge that gives the coolant temperature reading when he says "thermostat" because she didn't know what to call it. It has a nice red area that means "CAR'S HOT, FIX NAO PLZ."

How would the actual thermostat (that controls the coolant flow) ever get red hot besides past around 900 degrees F?

cherryfrog · 12-11-2009, 12:01 PM

Thanks everyone. We spend all day yseterday fixing the car. Some how the battery died when he jumped it it started. he filled the coolent (his brother was driving the car before i got it 3 days ago) and the heat started working again. i left and got almost home and the air got cold again. so they came back and the coolent was very low again. i took it in and and they radiater cap was destroyed. it wasnt holding a seal. so they replaced it and so far no more problems. hoping that was all it was

again thanks everyone for all ur help.

Nate's Alero · 12-11-2009, 12:30 PM

headgasket good? surprised because it seemes GM engines never hold a good fgasket after getting that hot

cherryfrog · 12-11-2009, 12:45 PM

they looked it over and said it was good.

a.graham52 · 12-11-2009, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

WTF you smokin? He's talking about the dashboard gauge that gives the coolant temperature reading when he says "thermostat" because he didn't know what to call it. It has a nice red area that means "CAR'S HOT, FIX NAO PLZ."

How would the actual thermostat (that controls the coolant flow) ever get red hot besides past around 900 degrees F?

wouldnt "temp gauge" be even easier to say? the old 3100s you had to take the top half of the thermostat housing off to remeve the thermostat. to me thats a thermostat "cover"as for how it could get red idk? weird shit happens and thats why i said waht i said. im still trying to figure out how to get "temperature gauge" from "thermostat cover"