You are here:

Cadillac Repair/Ideal Temperature??

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/28/2010


Question
Hello Rob,
After reading all your warnings and comments on overheating I wonder if I have a problem??
I have a 91 Seville with 4.9L.When driving the temperature is around 200,then when stationery in traffic it goes up to around 215 and if in heavy traffic jam can go up to 224. When it reaches 224 the fan then kicks in and it goes back down again to maybe 205. Had a new radiator about a year ago and to me the car runs perfect. What is the temperature range for normal driving/traffic jams and when should the fan kick in?? The fan always kicks in at 224-is this o.k,I dont want to ruin my engine after all your warnings on here.Thank you.

Answer
Hello,

I appreciate that you heed my warning on these engines, but you are fine as long as you are not using straight water in your cooling system.

Anti freeze/coolant raises the boiling temperature when in a 50/50 mix with water.

What happens commonly is that a cooling system problem will occur and the temp guage will go from 230 degrees upward and the car is driven no matter how high the temperature goes. Then in many cases the intial damage is head gadkets and once the heads are removed, more damage is found and its time for a new engine.

Your car is operating properly and the fans are to go on to cool the engine when stuck in traffic.

I appreciate your concern which means my message is getting out there.

For those that have an overheating problem where you need to get the car off the road safely, a temporary measure it to take the heater dial and put it in the red, or on digital controls, put the temp on 90 and turn the fan on. It may be a hundred degrees out, but doing this allows the coolant more flow. This is temporaly only! In fact, if you put in the defrost mode better because the fans should come on as well.

Cadillac Repair

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.