help from USA

[AntonioConceicao]

Hello

I finally found the time to deal with heating problem with the R4

I start the car cold , regular running with a little of choke maybe at 2K rpm , no bubbles
Let it run for 5-10 min, water raise just a little and I saw 2-3 little bubbles , very small and not continous
Fan come on
Cooling red light at dash comes on ( fan goes off) red light stills on ( should it stay on??)

Turn the heater inside the car the cooling light flashes and then is gone

Turn off the heater after a while the cooling light comes back on

Turn the heater inside the car the cooling light goes off


No bubbles besides the 3 little ones

Drive the car a round for 10 miles with heater on and the colling red light comes right back on


I also put my hand on the front of the radiator and temperature seems same everywhere


What you guys think? any ideas


Antonio

 

[Cyprus Andy]

Have you bled the system of air with the heater control on hot ?

On my 1977 R4TL there is a small hose on the bulkhead/ firewall (next to the fuse box) which is the highest point in the cooling system, and this is where you bleed the air out of the system.

Open this bleed hose and run the engine on a fast idle with the radiator cap off and as the water comes out of the bleed hose keep topping the radiator up until you see no air coming from the bleed hose ...only a steady run of water. Then close the bleed hose off and you should have no air in the system.

If after this you still have heating problems remove the thermostat and bleed the system again. If this solves the problem replace with a new thermostat.

I put a temp gauge in mine just so I can keep an eye on the running temp in the engine its a pretty easy job and gives peace of mind.
Mine takes about 4/5 mins to warm up to the running temperature of 80C and stays there no problem.

 

[AntonioConceicao]

Thanks


I did open the bled valvue on firewall but did not follow those steps

I am doing it now

Antonio

Have you bled the system of air with the heater control on hot ?

On my 1977 R4TL there is a small hose on the bulkhead/ firewall (next to the fuse box) which is the highest point in the cooling system, and this is where you bleed the air out of the system.

Open this bleed hose and run the engine on a fast idle with the radiator cap off and as the water comes out of the bleed hose keep topping the radiator up until you see no air coming from the bleed hose ...only a steady run of water. Then close the bleed hose off and you should have no air in the system.

If after this you still have heating problems remove the thermostat and bleed the system again. If this solves the problem replace with a new thermostat.

I put a temp gauge in mine just so I can keep an eye on the running temp in the engine its a pretty easy job and gives peace of mind.
Mine takes about 4/5 mins to warm up to the running temperature of 80C and stays there no problem.

 

[harbourseal]

You might want to replace the Temp sensor on top of the engine. On the 1108 en 956cc engine it is on top of the engine on the left hand side close to the bulkhead.
On the 845cc engine it is located on the cooling pump close to the thermostat.
to test the thermostat take it out of the hose and put it in a pan on your stove. close to boiling point the thermostat should open. Normal cold situation is closed thermostat.
succes.
Robert

 

[AntonioConceicao]

Replace the thermostat
Bled the system
Fan comes on
But light still come on

I am thinking is the sensor on the top of the engine

Is this the one? My is a savanna 900 cc

http://www.franzose.de/en/Renault/R4/Motorkuehlung/ANR82141/

 

[AntonioConceicao]

Where did you tap the gauge too? I should get one because summers are brutal here [The quote="Cyprus Andy, post: 42127, member: 3299"]Have you bled the system of air with the heater control on hot ?

On my 1977 R4TL there is a small hose on the bulkhead/ firewall (next to the fuse box) which is the highest point in the cooling system, and this is where you bleed the air out of the system.

Open this bleed hose and run the engine on a fast idle with the radiator cap off and as the water comes out of the bleed hose keep topping the radiator up until you see no air coming from the bleed hose ...only a steady run of water. Then close the bleed hose off and you should have no air in the system.

If after this you still have heating problems remove the thermostat and bleed the system again. If this solves the problem replace with a new thermostat.

I put a temp gauge in mine just so I can keep an eye on the running temp in the engine its a pretty easy job and gives peace of mind.
Mine takes about 4/5 mins to warm up to the running temperature of 80C and stays there no problem.[/quote]

 

[Cyprus Andy]

Where did you tap the gauge too? I should get one because summers are brutal here [The quote="Cyprus Andy, post: 42127, member: 3299"]Have you bled the system of air with the heater control on hot ?


I got a gauge and seder to match from ebay
390820043569 this is ebay UK but I am sure you can get one in the USA ....I also had to get an adapter as the original sender in my R4 was a large thread and needed to be reduced to accept a normal sender unit I got this from demon tweeks on ebay UK 301102375441
You can see the adapter with the new sender inside in the photo and the new wire I ran from the sender to the gauge..
Real easy job to fit but worth being able to see the temp the car runs at ! she gets to 80C and stays there all day and we have temps in the 40'sC here in the summer and I have to climb to the Troodos mountains in these temps so I needed to see what she was running at as my fan is fixed and pre- electric fan type.
Hope this helps .........

 

[AntonioConceicao]

Thanks for the post.

Temp gauge its a must !

I did find the OEM temperature sensor in California supplier , same part as the R8 models sold in USA . This is what we have done.

We installed a new thermostat, starting with a standard setting 180F and leaving it with a 160F unit in place.

We drove it with the fan running continuously, which made no difference.

We found a 20 degree span between cylinder head temperatures at the rear and front.

At the front, where coolant enters/exits, via the pump, temperature appeared to be quite normal.

At the rear of the cylinder head, where the sending unit for the light is mounted, 20 + degrees hotter.

We think the problem is internally in the cilinder head


I should be getting the gauge soon but at this point if I tap it at waterpump temp would be fine, If I tap it on the rear of the block temp will be at 106-108


Any ideas?


Antonio

 

[angel]

This is normal, don't worry!

The radiator fan is there to speed up airflow through the radiator when vehicle is stationary, or moves slowly. At a certain speed (~40 km/h) and higher, airflow from vehcle's motion is higher than fan's capacity, so fan is redundant.