WizPorsche944

My 944 just seems like its running too hot. It smells hot when I drive it and a little worse after. The fan comes on sometimes and sometimes it dosent.My temp gauge just jumps up to max right away. What can I do ????

dede944

Search is your best friend...
You will get plenty of answers.

hpservertech

Have you tried to bleed the cooling system? Sounds like it could be an air pocket that is trapped. Check out clarks-garage.com. It's easy to do.

WizPorsche944

Ok I will thanks

WizPorsche944

Im hoping the Water Pump isnt bad. It dosent leak or make any noise though. But last year I held the belts done and I dont believe they changed the pump.

apierce918

good luck, i have a problem too, runs hot when come to a stop, no idea what it is. my fans dont come on, but i dont let it climb past the highest white mark either. but the fans are fine, i think the temp sensor is fine, because if i drive down the road, the temperature gauge will return to normal operating temp... so maybe thermostat or worst case, waterpump?

RMills944

Have you checked the temp sensor. It sounds weird that the temp maxes out right away.

One thing that will help is a 160 degree thermostat from NAPA. It's a bitch to change, but they work great. My car never got over 1/2 on the temp gauge last year. I forgot to tell them to keep the 160 thermostat in there when they did the water pump, and after a week I'm already debating putting one back in.

sharky47

i think the temp sensor is fine, because if i drive down the road, the temperature gauge will return to normal operating temp

WRONG - the reason it cools off is because by driving down the road you are creating airflow over the radiator. When you stop, so does the forced air - the fans are there to provide airflow over the radiator when the car is slow or stopped. Change that switch.

WizPorsche944

Sharky I did a search on this and you once posted that your pre 85.5 944 temp gauge did this too. It pegs to full hot when you turn the key. Even after the car is off you have to actually tap on the glass to make it drop down.

There are 2 different temps listed for the switch 75C and 85/95C I think it would be better to go cooler.

Yabo

Is there a voltage/resistance test procedure on the temp switch somewhere? Just wondering for personal reference. I know you can test a thermostat in a bowl of water, does clarks have this?

Easy way to know you're safe is: (ranked from easiest/cheapest to hardest/expensive-est. )

Bleed the system
Replace Expansion tank cap (actually I would do this right now anyway)
Replace Coolant temperature sensor
Check or Replace temp switch
Check or Replace thermostat
Check or Replace Cooling Fan Relay ( new = $200+)
Have tested or Replace Radiator
Replace Waterpump

My car at most goes just below the 3/4 white line at idle.. stays around 1/3 to 1/2 while driving.

Yabo

Hold the press!

check your instrument panel grounds and clean/reseat your instrument panel connectors before going further. If the gauge is acting up you probably are wasting your money throwing parts at it. The thermostat isn't fun to replace so doing it for no reason isn't worth it.

And, cooler isn't always better. The engine and computer are designed to run at a certain temp. Otherwise you may lose gas mileage, and/or performance.

apierce918

so am i reading this correctly and the temperature gauge does NOT run off the temperature sensor?

otherwise, im confused, i mean, if the sensor was faulty, wouldnt it NOT return to normal operating temperature? the fact that the gauge will go up and down, made me think it was ok. but the coolant at the radiator must not be getting hot enough to kick the fans on, so if the thermostat is stuck closed... the engine would get hotter then the radiator and the fans wouldnt turn on when the engine is ready for them... right?

WizPorsche944

any instructions anywhere of how to take the cluster apart ?

Mike C.

If it smells hot it probably is hot (wow don't take that out of context..). Do you ever have to add coolant? I would bleed it before doing anything else. When I put in the lower temp fan switch the fans would come on when temp was at the 1/2 way mark and cool to the 1/4 mark (early car). You could even jumper the fan switch and see what it does with fans on all the time. Then if the temp keeps creeping up at idle you can probably blame it on a partially plugged radiator.

sharky47

What I meant was if the gauge is working properly and the car runs hot in standstill traffic, but cools off on the highway - your fans are not working.

If the gauge is pegged then you have an electrical issue, but not being able to tell if the car is hot is a bad situation too!