Scorpiorefugee

I agree with Seatkid. Any engine left at tickover with nothing to force air through the rad will tend to overheat. It may well be that the cooling system is not as efficient as it once was but, given the fact that the Galaxy engine compartment has a pretty well covered bottom area and a whole lot of gubbinry around and in front of the rad, I should expect it to heat up pretty quickly if you're not moving, especially with the near tropical temperatures we've been having lately. I know that it is a bit worrying to see the temperature gauge creeping up but, if it stays out of the red, I should not worry. The only misleading bit it is that I have never found two temperature gauges that agree.

When the temp sender is disconnected does the glow plug light come on for 15 seconds when you switch on. If not , it may be that you've disconnected the wrong bit. If it does, are you sure that there is no feed to the glow plugs during that period?

At this time of year, a second is about right. In fact, if everything is in good condition you woul hardly notice if they didn't come on at all. One very common problem is the coolant temperature sender. It is a 2 part device. Half is used by the temperature gauge and the other half is used by the ECU to control the engine tuning, glow plug operation and probably other things as well. If this fails it usually indicates that the engine is overheated and glow plugs are not needed. The glow plug light merely flashes as the ignition is turned on. A good indicator is thet the radiator fans come on every time you turn the ignition off, irrespective of the engine temperature. A simple test is to unplug it (if you can find it) and the glow plug light will come on for about 15 secs. The important thing is to ignore the fact that the temperature gauge works normally. Beware of the connections on the wires. They become brittle and can drop off when disturbed. This alone could be the cause of your problem. Hope this helps.

I'm no expert. The Haynes manual is not a lot of use as it appears to be based on the original version. My old S reg is the 110 BHP version and is substantially different electrically. The change seems to have occurred 97/98 ish. The TIS disc is a disc supplied to Ford agents and is date sensitive as it is updated. I got one from the Ford Scorpio site and it covers a whole range of models and is not the easiest thing to navigate. I did however find most of the information when I needed it apart from where that damned fuse box is. It really is a bit worrying when you first get it out. I have to say that, in my case, it was a complete waste of time beyond proving that everything there was OK. There have been lots of posts on TIS discs and it is possible to duplicate them. It might be worth spending some time searching the past topics or simply start a new topic in the main section asking for one. As far as your turbo problem, have you considered the emergency get you home operation of the ECU that can be initiated by all sorts of things such as low water level. This will often reset by switching off and restarting. I believe it can even be caused by MAF problems but, again, if this sounds in any way familiar, try the archives. It can take some time but it can also save a lot of effort and

It is there. It is not the easiest thing to get to. When I wanted to get to mine I did it the hard way by removing trim and lots of screws. There is a clip at the top which should allow it to hinge down but I just couldn't see how the wires would allow it to move. I ended up cutting wire clips to allow it to come out. If you really want to get there, all I can do is to assure you that it is possible - just. It might be an idea to disconnect the battery just in case..... Good luck. Oh. and the ECU is behind there as well. Ron.

Methinks we all learned a bit from this. Good topic all round. Shame it cost jkspoff a fair few quid but at least he got a result. Thanks to Seatkid for the info on expansion. One day we may find something he can't answer. :rolleyes:

Wilie Krashit - Just to prove a piont.... Fill up your kettle with cold water. Set it to boil and measure how much it expands. I could look it up but it is probably in the order of 1%.. If you could do the same with air it would be nearer 33% The expansion tank is to cater for normal expansion and increases in pressure but the water level shouldn't change much unless there is trapped gas. Perhaps Seatkid could clear this up. Ron.

Solids and liquids do not change volume much with temperature but gas does. Could it be an air lock somewhere? Of course, if the water is reaching boiling point then superheated steam can force the water level up or, ultimately, out. I had this problem with a BMW once. - didn't know there was an air drain screw n the top of the radiator. I know that your problem history does not support this but if your situation with the water level is as described, it sounds like gas forming or expanding. What happens if you fill it up cold and check it when it's hot or overheated?

From what I can remember from basic physics and from other comments, it all depends on temperature. Just about the only thing you can rely on is that, if it is very low or zero, your system is empty. On the halfords gauge which I wasted

Strangely, my old S reg 110 started to do this after a major service when I assume that the filters were all changed. It has never got worse but it can be annoying if you happen to stall in slow moving traffic. I have seen other references to this problem but I've never seen any euphoric claims to have fixed it. Someone must know the answer.

As the linkages wear, the range of the driver's side one reduces. This is more evident when the system is under load, as on a dryish screen, or when running slow. When they are running fast, the momentum carries it across the screen and the range can often increase. When you get it out, you will probably find a worn bush about half way across the mechanism where the direction of the drive to the arms is reversed. When I did mine, which was very badly worn on both the bush and the steel pivot, I tapped out the old bush and replaced it with a piece of 15mm copper tube with a slot cut down the side to allow it to compress into the housing. It didn't take out all of the wear but, with a good dose of grease, it has worked without noticable deterioration for 2 years/60,000 miles.

Oobs! :ph34r:

Your 'Expert' should diagnose not 'try' If his previous repairs have held for a reasonable time he could be OK but there is only so much to fail and repeat failures shoudn't happen. It might be time to try somewhere else. I got lucky. My Expert uses Bosch equipment and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to do a full test and regas. I had two gals fail at the same time and he repaired both. One failed again after about a week. Took it back and he diagnosed it in about 10 minutes - split O ring. Had to wait another hour or so for a full test recharge - no charge to me and an apology. Sadly, it's a long way from Milton Keynes but someone else may be able to recommend someone.

One thing which may help - do the cooling fans come on when you switch the air con on? On mine I found that with low/no gas the power to the clutch is not available but the cooling fans do start up. If this is the case it would suggest that you should look for the pressure sensor switch if not your fault is probably further back in the chain

Another silly thought. I had this once 30 years ago and it turned out that the system wasn't overheating at all. All of the symptoms associated with water bubbling out etc are normal so, could it just be the temperature sender unit? I know! I said it was a silly thought. :16: :16: :blink: As far as checking the air flow through the rad is concerned, when the fans cut in, do you get a blast of hot air fron them. It is just possible that something is blocking the front of the Rad. Can you get your hands on a contact temperature indicator to press on to the head somewhere to check the true temperature. I once drove 50 miles in scorching weather with the heater full on only to find out that the engine temperature sender had gone faulty. :16:

I'm frsh out of ideas i'm afraid. Head gaskets can produce all sorts of results but usually they blow gas into the system which can force water out and then you get overheating 'cos the water is displaced by gas. As far as cooling down, it can help if you leave the engine ticking over and put the heater on full and open the widows :rolleyes: . You didn't say if the radiator was getting hot but I assume it is. I'm assuming it didn't start immediately after having the engine remapped. Just another thought - the radiator air flow may be blocked. When the fans start as it overheats, is the air flow from the radiator hot? Clutching at straws here but therehas to be a logical answer.

I'm sorry to hear you've still got problems and beginning to feel guilty about suggesting water pump in the first place. I have to say that I felt less than confident once you said that the pump appeared to be OK. Cetainly, the symptoms still match mine when mine went and it is a common problem. It might be worth looking for a similar cause. Does the radiator get hot. Silly thought - is the auxilliary heater running all the time. What's the fuel consumption like. Have you had anything else done that could be linked to the problem - apart from the remapping. Is there any possibility of a blockage in the cooling system - kinked pipe or something. Does the header tank flood before it overheats? if it does - could be the dreaded head gasket - again common I'm told. The difficulty here is that we do not always get the full story, either from the symptoms, cause or solution. It must be somthing odd because the engine itself is normally very efficient when it's running correctly, hence the ability to continue to be usable with a duff water pump. There is probably a clue somewhere but it's a matter of seeing it for what it is. Actually, I'm a bit suprised that others have not come in on this but it does seem a bit quiet at the moment. Just had a thought - do the cooling fans come on normally or does the glow plug light stay on for an excessive time (more than 1 sec this weather). there are two temperature senders and the one that is used for the temperature gauge is not the one used for other control issues such as fans and glow plugs. Not sure about the later version I hope you can get it fixed soon. It is a bit of a liability with the caravan involved. I am sure that you know better than to continue to run it once it has overheated but I am saying it anyway.

Which pup does your mate drink in? B) B) B)

I agree. Best to get it done by a specialist. Chances are that it didn't just run out of gas and you can waste a lot of gas doing trial and error. There are some posts on this in the main section but I think it's in the order of 1.3 Kg. I got mine done for

I'm with Kev on this. He's absolutely right. In my experience I've always found that it's best to forget the side issues like gears and warning lamps and look for something else. Logically, it could be something that is only important in the warming up phase but it would probably help if you could get the error codes reset and then read again during/after warm up.

If you've set the system to blow cold air the worst you should get is ambient temperature air, i.e. coolish. If you're getting hot air then it has to be coming from the heater or the aircon is working in reverse. Since the latter is unlikely, either your hot air is as a result of sun on the bodywork and it will cool down a bit after a while or you heater control system is very confused. You really do need to be sure of your symptoms or you are very likely to be ripped off. And do you really trust the garage that "filled it up". What did they use? There are sensors which detect pressure in the system. If one of those is faulty or a wire has been pulled off, that could be the only problem. Simple test here is to listen for the pulley clutch being pulled in when the air con is activated. It is a very audible click from the front. And you really do need a full system before it will work properly. Checking pressure is a waste of time.

Can't be sure but it may be the water level sensor causing the light to come on. Mine did when I had a slow leak. You may have pulled a wire off or something.

Hi Brad, Sadly Air con repairs are expensive. I've just paid

If yours is the full climate system than it could be that you have a problem with the servos that operate the heater. I.e., it may be blowing hot air from the heater matrix even while it is set to blow cold. Not easy to fix but it might be interesting to see what happens on a hot day when the engine is cold. I can't make any suggestions on how to diagnose or fix this but if the air con pipes are getting cold it does suggest that it is an air flow problem. It is also possible that you just do not have enough gas in the system. It does need to be checked properly and, as far as I know, the only way to do this is to take it all out and put back a measured amount which is considerably more than for a normal car.

Ere! I resemble that! Thanks M O 4. Just got in after a long day in the Gal. Keep up the good work lass. Ron.