Still overheating

[Ronald Breeze]

The original poster states he has observed a temp of 190 F degrees. The question is, where did he get that temp reading from? The dash? A/C hack? OBD2? External sensor? There's not any real way to tell from the dash gauge what 190F is unless he knows where his needle must point in order to reach this temp. Also what temp was that, coolant? oil?

190 F degrees coolant temp is just about perfect for most cars. Not even close to over heating.

The 986 and 996 like to run hotter than 190F, more like 200-212 F for coolant is considered normal. Oil can be anywhere from 0 to 20 degrees hotter than the coolant depending on how it's driven. So I'm not quite sure what the issue is here, since there doesn't seem to be a problem - what was described in the original post is perfectly normal and there isn't a problem to solve that I can tell.

Overheating on this car is going to be coolant temp over 245 F and oil over 265 F ish.

The best thing to do to get a feel of how hot your specific car is running is to plug in an OBD2 reader and observe what the actual oil and coolant temp is and compare that with the reading on your own dash gauge. Then you'll have an idea of what the coolant temp dash gauge is really telling you.

There are plenty of aftermarket solutions for reading and displaying data from the OBD2 port in a driver friendly format and in real time (not just sitting at idle), from things that mount to your dash, to software that connects to your iphone, even aftermarket stereos are starting to display this data.

Hope this helps!

This is the conclusion I came to a while ago that it is not a problem. The issue, if it is one, that I see is his car and mine (as well as other's I've read about) seem to suddenly change the "normal" operating coolant temp. In my case it happened after the installation of the LN ceramic IMS. After discussions with C. Navarro at LN I've concluded it is a coincidence, however, something made the gauge, however inaccurate it is, suddenly start registering 10 deg. hotter than before. So perhaps there is a coincidental failure of gauges, I don't know, and unless mine goes well over the 200 deg. mark I'll consider my car running normal as it seems to be.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Ronald Breeze

[logray]

From reading many many threads about this here and elsewhere, if the needle is pointing to the very right edge or left of the 0 in the numbers "180" on the gauge this is considered normal operating temps most 986 and 996 cars. Track drivers will usually get it much hotter, closer to the next line between the 180 and 220 or whatever it is. (remember those numbers are not at all accurate, go back a few posts above where I describe how even with the needle straight up, that is actually more like 200F coolant temp sensor). About the time the needle hits the right edge of the 0 in 180 it is starting to heat up, but it's still no where close to overheating. That's usually about the point where your high speed fans will kick on and either maintain that temp or cool it down some. ANd if not, youi're driving it really hard and it needs to be watched closely or there is some other problem with the car.

edit: sorry forgot to add some smileys to denote lightheartedness. :) :) :)

Edited February 14, 2012 by logray

[logray]

I spent a few minutes with search and dug up these threads:

[logray]

Also if it hasn't been mentioned, any time work is done on the cooling system where coolant is drained it should be bled properly or refilled using a vacuum system. Otherwise there is risk of air pockets which cause hot spots and abnormal temperature readings.

[Ronald Breeze]

From reading many many threads about this here and elsewhere, if the needle is pointing to the very right edge or left of the 0 in the numbers "180" on the gauge this is considered normal operating temps most 986 and 996 cars. Track drivers will usually get it much hotter, closer to the next line between the 180 and 220 or whatever it is. (remember those numbers are not at all accurate, go back a few posts above where I describe how even with the needle straight up, that is actually more like 200F coolant temp sensor). About the time the needle hits the right edge of the 0 in 180 it is starting to heat up, but it's still no where close to overheating. That's usually about the point where your high speed fans will kick on and either maintain that temp or cool it down some. ANd if not, youi're driving it really hard and it needs to be watched closely or there is some other problem with the car.

edit: sorry forgot to add some smileys to denote lightheartedness. :) :) :)

Ok then going by what you're saying my 986 typically runs a little on the warm side as the needle will fluctuate between the right edge of the zero and just shy of the next black hash mark which I interpret to mean 200 deg. on the gauge (which is inaccurate). On hot days, in traffic and driving hard in twisty backroads and on the track it gets up just to the left of the 200 deg. mark but has never gone over that. The change is the needle never used to go beyond the left side of the zero but from what I'm reading it is not a cause for alarm. I don't know if the original poster's car is running the same but hopefully this has helped him as well. Thanks for covering this again and thanks for the links. I'm going for a drive, it's a top down day here. :notworthy:

[logray]

If the needle goes past the 0 in the 180 and approaches the next line, that is certainly getting on the hot side.

It's probably worth checking your high speed fans are working once the needle reaches or goes past the right edge of the 0. Also, if you've done any work on your cooling system, ensure that it has been bled properly. Using a vacuum fill method is the best way to accomplish that. Also, check that your radiators are cleaned of debris.

Nice day for a drive here too, crisp upper 40's into low 50's makes for a cool engine. ;)

[Ronald Breeze]

Logray I see you're also from Nor Cal where about's? I'm in Rohnert Park soon to be in Santa Rosa.

[logray]

Near Auburn, CA. Santa Rosa is a nice place to visit, I wouldn't mind living there.

[Ronald Breeze]

Near Auburn, CA. Santa Rosa is a nice place to visit, I wouldn't mind living there.

Are you an SVA member? I go to their AX's at Infineon every year.

[bar10dah]

In regards to the question about having an OBDII reader plugged in to constantly read sensor values, I use a ScanGauge. I don't track my sensors that closely, but I do occasionally look at it to see what the car's doing. Really, I started leaving it plugged in lately because of an air leak (which in itself is a whole other topic...) causing my CEL to come on. I have it there so I can reset the light when I need to. But, if someone was looking for something that reads the engine sensors, this device surely does the trick. And, there are several mounting options out there for it. Recently, I saw one that mounts the device right below the rear view mirror. Others mount it somewhere and somehow to the dashboard. Just FYI, for anyone that's interested.

[xavi.ordonez]

did you trie replacing the coolant cap?