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Cooling question. Bottom rad hose not warming up

daniel mason - 16/10/11 at 02:00 PM

Is there any reason why the bottom radiator hose is not warming up on my s2000 engined kit? Would an air lock cause this?
I have a pro alloy rad with no bleed or filler.just a 32mm top and bottom entry. I have a remote header tank with filler and have piped bottom header tank hose to bottom rad hose.
Top hose heats up fine but bottom hose does not? Cheers

snapper - 16/10/11 at 02:37 PM

What does engine temp say?
Cool water is pulled by the pump from the bottom of the rad so should be cooler than the top if the rad is working.

daniel mason - 16/10/11 at 02:42 PM

The temp does not read at the moment as I have a race technology dash 2. With a can interface and am unsure how to programme it

[Edited on 16/10/11 by daniel mason]

dimlaz - 16/10/11 at 02:52 PM

usually when the bottom water hose is cold , the thermostat didnt open.
try to check the thermostat out of the engine.
warm in water (in your kitchen).Must be open before 100 degrees.
If you have thermometer use it to find the opening temperature.

rusty nuts - 16/10/11 at 03:02 PM

Not sure where the t/stat is on a S2000 engine . If it is in the water outlet for the top hose and the hose is getting hot then the stat is likely to be open , If like some modern engines it is in the bottom hose connection then it could be an airlock or the stat not open. Try removing the coolant temperature sensor when filling, that may bleed any air from the system . Any heater pipes in the system? The heater could well work as a bipass , rather than just blanking them off it may be worth connecting them with a length of hose.

dimlaz - 16/10/11 at 03:04 PM

The thermostat is in the bottom hose connection.

daniel mason - 16/10/11 at 04:39 PM

I have connected the heater hoses together but will try and re-fill and see what happens

britishtrident - 16/10/11 at 06:59 PM

Sounds perfectly normal to me leave it idling for half an hour if it starts to boil something is wrong but if it ain't broke don't fix

daniel mason - 16/10/11 at 07:07 PM

Thanks bt. I have not had it running longer that 5-10 minutes at the moment. Fuel prices are a little high atm! Lol

britishtrident - 16/10/11 at 07:44 PM

Jings cribbins help ma bob
if you are only running it for 5 to 10 minutes it is highly unlikely that the bottom half of the rad will even get slightly warm.

daniel mason - 16/10/11 at 08:09 PM

I always thought it should heat up fairly quick. How come the fan thermostat is in the top hose? That means it could kick the fan in when the top hose is warm and cool the coolant in the radiator which is already cool! Cheers

Fred W B - 16/10/11 at 08:20 PM

it needs to react to the engine temp

Fred W B

adithorp - 17/10/11 at 07:24 AM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
I always thought it should heat up fairly quick. How come the fan thermostat is in the top hose? That means it could kick the fan in when the top hose is warm and cool the coolant in the radiator which is already cool! Cheers

It has to get up to temp for the 'stat to open and allow the wter to flow. Untill then you just get the heat rising to the top, so the top hose gets hot even with the 'stat closed (especially where the stat is at the bottom). Try an IR thermometer on the hose to know the true temp. Where engines have the 'stat at the bottom, it's esential that there's a by-pass flow (often via the heater) or the bottom of the engine can remain too cool for the 'stat to open. 'Stat will open when water temp is somewhere between 80-90c dependant on the engine. The fan switch should be higher temp than that if in the top hose or top of the engine, so won't come on before the 'stat opens. A lot of fan switches are in the rad though and won't come on untill thats hot though. Engine/top hose switches are usually higher temp than rad ones.

skippad - 17/10/11 at 07:39 AM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Thanks bt. I have not had it running longer that 5-10 minutes at the moment. Fuel prices are a little high atm! Lol

You have s2000 fitted and you're worried about running it for 10 mins!!!!
yer not gonna be using it much then....

leave it running for 30mins and let it get up to temp, see what happens...