

| Subject: | How hot is HOT? |
| From: | Ari Ollikainen |
| Date: | Mon, 3 Aug 1998 18:40:12 -0700 |
It hit 100+ in my neighborhood today AND my HIGH-speed radiator fan
cycled on while running the AC and idling my 90/91 camper, waiting in
line to pick up my daughter from summer day camp. The temp gauge
needle NEVER got more than a needle width toward HOT beyond the LED.
This prompted me to think about what constitutes OVERheating versus
just normal operation in HOT ambient conditions. I found some
interesting numbers in Bentley:
Thermostat begins opening at 85C/185F; fully open at ~ 105C/221F
Thermoswitch for radiator fan Stage I Stage II Stage III
Cut-in temp 89C-94C 95C-100C ??
192F-201F 203F-212F
Cut-out temp 81C 87C ??
178F 189F
So...as long as the waterpump circulates coolant AND the faster
radiator fan cycles on and off, the cooling system is health and
doing its job?
If the cut-out temp for the thermoswitch for stage I is below
thermostat opening temp, this means that the thermostat closes
to keep the engine within normal OPERATING temperature? (DOH!)
Similarly, for stage II, the RRRRRRRR speed has to cool the
circulating coolant down to 189F before cutting off the fan, which
means, again that the thermostat would now be partially closed to
keep the engine within the normal temperature range...which would
tend to explain why there are no wild fluctuations of the needle
in my temp gauge when this is happening since the tempgauge sender
is on the engine side of the thermostat and thus in the "internal"
coolant circulation loop...Typically the needle reaches a needle width
beyond the LED when the either fan speed cuts in. It's still
thereabouts when either fan speed cuts out. Is this normal?
OLTECO Ari Ollikainen
P.O. BOX 3688 Networking Technology and Architecture
Stanford, CA Ari@OLTECO.com
94309-3688 415.517.3519Have something to add on this topic today? Revive this thread in the forum »