HI all
Need some techy advice about the above....
Coming back from Lincolnshire last night after driving to a few places on the way home and travelling down the motorway for about 90 mins I get off at my junction and within about 5 mins the add coolant buzzer and light came on. Being new to Rex ownership my arse dropped. I carried on and it soon went off....phew. Just before getting home, on it come again??
I waited for it to cool and checked the level, topped it up (very very little needed) and left it. Today, drove to manchester via Asda, just as I pulled in to Asda car part it came on again while trying to find a space. on all of these times the temp needle was sat where it should be so I wasn\'t that concerned. Turned off and left it for a bit to cool, switched the ignition on and the fans started, then the buzzer came on again (engine off) switched the fans on in the car and it was only blowing warm air out so again I\'m thinking its not over heating otherwise the air would be quite hot.
Eventually when the temp needle reached about 1/4 the way up the fans turned off.
Carried on to manc down the motorway, no buzzer or light, gets to the round about off the motorway and within about 10 secs, on it comes, drive off and it goes off almost instantly. Stop at some lights, same thing, as soon as I drive off, off it goes????
On the way home, same drill, about 3-4 times it came on, usually when stopped or going slow (once on the motorway doing about 70 for a few seconds) Now this is pissing me off as its the most annoying noise known to man.
When I got home it came on again as I was reversing in front of the house. Stopped the car and I can hear bubbling, checked under the bonnet, no leaks anywhere or steam coming out so I can\'t se it being a leak??
So, whats going on?? Only things I can think of are.
****ed engine (worst case) but I can\'t see steam coming from the zorst which is normally the case with water getting into the combustion chambers
****ed level sensor (by the way, where is this located?)
Air lock somewhere?
Knackered thermostat?
Please help as the car is taking me to work tomorrow....
Thanks
Just been out and checked it after a full cool down and it has lost some water this time??
Dunno where its gone as I couldn\'t see any leaks or steam before??
HELP!!!!!
Out of interest, what temp should these things run at? I am going to hook up the Defi water temp gauge tomorrow and take it for a spin, I need to know what max temp I should be looking at before turning off.....don\'t want to do any damage if I can help it.
I am going to bleed the system as well, see if that helps???
Maybe check the stat too, is this easy to change/get out?
Thanks
fd\'s can be very fickle with water, it does not sound like a problem, but give no garentees, when driving on the motorway because you are maintaning a resonable high rpm and constant speed the water tends to hold at a give level, when you come off the m/way teh revs and speed drop and so does the water level, hence you are getting this on off of the buzzer, it is probably a air pocket that needs to natureally releave its self, just keep an eye on it and carry spare water, one thing you must not do is over fill the plastic water bottle on the left by light as that will induse the engine to throw water out, fill only by the metal filler neck that is bolted to the block. Hopefully in a couple of days this will have forced the air out, I have know cars to do this in the extreme for weeks, but generally as a rule its days. If watching Defi, dont let it go above 105/110 max.
Hello Wiggy,
right if you get the defi gauges as you drive the temp should be around 77-90oC depending on how warm the day is, at idle this can jump to 95oC but no problem there.
If however you are driving on the M-way this time of year the water temp will around 77oC, if while driving this goes to over 90oC on the M-way theres possibly a problem with the cooling system ie RAD / INTERCOOLER / LEAK???
If you can bleed the system and get any air pockets out that may be there, once you have bled the system and topped up your normal supply of coolant/water go for a drive now without the gauges you wont know what the water temp is but look for the syptoms again, careful though as if the stock gauge moves stop immediately asthat only moves once the water temp has exceeded 110oC!!!!
If unsure get the car to a specialist as overheating = rebuild time!!!:(
Gurj
PS - all rx\'s run at different water temps but i have given an approx summary of water temps ok buddy.:)
Thanks for the replies :D I have to say you have put my mind at ease somewhat more than it was before. I was naturally assuming the worst...
OK then, so the only question now is, wheres best to plumb the Defi in and wheres the best place to run the wires through the firewall?? :D
I\'ll let you know the outcome :eek:
Thanks again
Update:
Drove it to work today as my boss was maoning about having the day off (like they do) so I risked it.
Well I\'m here anyway, light and buzzer came on just as I got stuck in traffic. Seeing as there was nothing I could do except gauge watch (no Defi yet) I carried on.
After about 4-5 mins stuck in traffic creeping along the light and buzzer went off. This stayed the case all the way to work (approx another 10-15 mins stuck in traffic creeping along. I got to the works car park and parked it up leaving it running for a few moments. Then it comes on again....ARGHHH just as I had thought the bastard had sorted itself....
It\'s deffo not overheating, so its looking like g11ary said is true (HOPEFULLY) and it will go away in a few days....fingers, legs, toes, balls etc crossed :confused:
Cheers all I\'ll keep ya posted on the outcome
Regards
[voice-of-doom-mode]
This is exactly what mine was doing and it was a feature of the water seals beginning to fail - the coolant system was getting over-pressurised by exhaust gasses.
Sometimes coolant issues can be due to airlocks or split pipes but in this case it sounds all too familiar. You sould get it checked out ASAP by a rotary knowledgable person.
[/voice-of-doom-mode]
Iain
ARSE...
Just as I was starting to think it was a glitch that would go away :(
Hopefully it will last the week and I can get it to WGT or similar next week for them to check out.
Just out of interest, if its gettting gassed up by the exhaust that suggests a leak somewhere that should show up on a pressure test of the system?? I can do this easy enough to see whats going on. Also in cases like this on a std engine the coolant usually smells of exhaust gas, I\'ll have a sniff at lunch...ooo errr
Or would a compression test be better?
Cheers
Compression check might show something up or it might not.
Having the coolant sysytem pressure checked with the lower plugs out will be a better indicator of water-seal failure.
I drove mine daily from July to December with no real issues - just needed to carry coolant with me to top up before each journey... did about 9k miles but it got worse and worse - just before the rebuild it was starting on one rotor and took a while to get going properly!
It should last until you get a chance to have it looked at properly. I used WGT for my rebuild, Pip should eb able to give you a rundown of the problem pretty quickly.
Iain
Thanks for that info, good to know if it is that it won\'t be going bang in the near future.
Just out of interest, did yours do the add coolant thing every trip?
I\'ve just been out and had a sniff of the coolant and it smells fine, no fuel or exhaust smells.
Also, been for a drive in it round town just now, getting stuck at as many traffic lights as poss with traffic, gave it some welly once warmed up to get it hot, did a few more traffic jams and nothing...not a dicky bird?? So its either intermitent and will get worse as you say or its gone (air lock somewhere)....
fingers crossed its the latter.
regards
it went in phases! I always made sure I was carrying coolant with me but didn\'t need it every trip.
The buzzer would sound for 30 seconds or so at the start of a trip - until the coolant started to get some heat in it I guess.
Iain
Maybe thats where we differ?
Mine only ever comes on once the engine has got up to temp and I stop in traffic or at lights. Once on the move again it stops, sometimes it would come on for minutes, other times a couple of seconds.
I am hoping on the way home tonight it won\'t come on at all :eek: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE......
I have a 5ltr tub of coolant in the boot just in case though;)
Wiggy matey,
dont keep crossing your fingers get it to a specialist because if there is a problem somewhere you are making it worse by driving around everywhere:(
I know I was getting cramps as well :(
I will be taking it to WGT at the weekend or next week as I am off all week. I can\'t do bugger all until then because of working :rolleyes:
I just hope it all holds out till then and it will be a happy ending and they all lived happily ever after and not driven into the local river :reallymad
I\'ve had this very recently on mine, drove it for days, no buzzer, then starting it and off it went, immediately shut the engine off, topped the water up and off I went, day later the same again.
I\'ve now located it as being the rad that was at fault, I\'ve purchased sillicone hoses to replace the old knackered rubber ones and am just waiting on a recore/new rad.
Hopefully thats all it is for you!
Dave
Hello mate,
Looking at your symptoms I would say that the news is not too good, when the engine is cold, remove both radiator caps, top up through the engine mounted cap until water runs out of the air seperator (plastic tank) and fit the pressure cap back to the plastic tank, then top up the level to the rim of the aluminium housing. leaving the cap off, start the engine, once running the level should stay fairly still, if water starts to pour out of the top then the engine has serious internal problems (water seals or cracked seal channel)
Do NOT carry on driving it ,you are just ensuring a very hefty bill in the end, these problems do not go away, or get better!! the damage becomes more severe the more you use it. sorry to sound like the grim reaper but I have been rebuilding third gen RX7\'s for over 10 years now, and have seen the results of overheating many many times.
Good Luck
Chris
This is what I can\'t understand, its not overheating?
I checked again before after using it for work today and it needed about a table spoon of water to top it up. It was fine from a level point of view and yet still the add coolant light and buzzer were on today?
If it was over heating surely it would just over heat? especially when stuck in traffic...
I\'ll give the cap off test a try and see what happens?
Cheers
Hey Mate...
Sounds very similar to the problems I\'ve been having - I must say that buzzer has got to be the loudest/worst noise I\'ve ever heard!!!
I\'ve had the buzzer + coolant warning light come on intermittently recently at odd intervals on long + short journeys. So far I\'ve had the car just 6 weeks and its been straight back to where I bought it (they\'ve had it more than I have).
Had a coolant pressure test, new rad fitted, new ast tank, new pressure caps, new thermostat+gasket etc. I should get it back soon, but I fear the worst for the car.
The last post has got me thinking... and something in the back of my mind tells me it\'s all pointing to water seal failure on my car + rebuild.
Keep us posted on how yours goes...
Craig
I\'ll get a pressure test done at the weekend and see what that comes back with. I\'m guessing that will show any internal leaks as on a normal motor??
I could even get my local garage to do this tomorrow for me
I\'ll also do the over flow test Chris pointed out in the morning when its light. Hopefully the water will stay still and not flow out.
Cheers
Wiggy, back to one of your first posts on this....you said air was only coming out of the heater warm, well it should be hot. A serious lack of coolant results in cold air out of the heater as the heater matrix empties, and causes an overheated engine.
Maybe you just have an airlock in the heater matrix (may as well look on the bright side).
Hi Pete
Yeah it was blowing out warm as it wasn\'t that hot, if left to heat up fully the air is hot. This doesn\'t affect that light and buzzer coming on and bugging the shit out of me.
Picture this, Monday morning, Had the light/buzzer thing all weekend pissing you off, you get to the town where you work only to hit the usual rush hour traffic, you sit there with the car burbling away while ticking over, on and off the clutch getting very bored and still trying to wake up. Then.......BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ARGHHH god dam it.....
This morning the heater was working fine as it had chance to get up to temp. Thing is, still stuck in traffic the coolant buzzer went off most of the time I was in traffic and again the gauge didn\'t move one bit from the middle where it always sits.
One thing I can\'t figure out while sat here thinking about it. If the water seals etc have gone then why is the problem intermitent? Surely its like a head gasket going on a std engine and once it has it has if you know what I mean?
I have had a few cars in the past with head gaskets going and usually, thats it. It doesn\'t come and go. And, if a head gasket goes on a std car there are usually tell tail signs such as hard coolant pipes as they are being pressurised, steam from the zorst, smelly coolant etc. I have none of these symptoms?
The plot thickens
Cheers
Hi mate, I had the same problem as you, with heater not getting hot, buzzer going etc, fitted a new water pump in place of leaking one, thought it was that, fitted new thermostat too, it was niether, Chris kindly called and said it was a failed seal causing pressure in the system, however by this time after trying all the above it had got too hot a few times when struggling to get home yet again!after all the coolant was forced out! So i got Chris to rebuild the engine for me, hopefully a pic will appear next, if it does this is where the water seal failed, which it had!caused by corrosion! but as it had over heated so much it had distorted the front and rear plates, but while it was apart i had 2 new housings too, so basically a new engine now, i may have avoided the need for new plates had i not messed about for so long, i should get it checked out by an expert mate, today if poss!cheaper in the long run, as it is mine is all done, brilliant job, and i am running it in,
good luck Bob
The saga continues....
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
There was a Stealthy black star fighter called Bathurst, code name project RX-7. The pilot, captain Spurgen \'wiggy\' Grubinstien was struggling to maintain warp factor 56 and called upon his dedicated crew to get him out of a jam once again. The ships fusion core had been showing warning signs for some time now and regular reports had been written so star command knew the situation. The elite ship was known for glitches such as these and captain Grubinstien felt that by recording the ships behaviour it would aid future captains and crew to know how to solve the problems.
The manufacturers of the ship, Mazda plc, group, inc, were brave by even making such a ship and captain Grubinstien knew the ship would be worth it in the end.
Captains log: Star date 19.10.2004
This morning the ship carried on its usual antics whilst stuck in an intergalactic space jam. The fusion core coolant warning was on and off like hooker at the weekend. One thing noted today, as the jam was especially slow and long was the fluctuations in heat coming from the cabins internal climate system. This is swaying me more towards some sort of blockage in the coolant? One minute the heat would be hot as expected with the core up to temp and 2 mins later it would be warm. This carried on all the way to base. Again the cores temp indicators were as normal suggesting no over heating. This apparent fluctuation could only be caused by air trapped in the system and travelling round. One minute it would be where the sensors are located which would allow the warning light to come on. And another time it will be where the heater matrix is causing cooler air to come out?
I only hope the crew are as good as I was told or I feel the HMS Bathurst will be boomed.
I shall keep the log updated daily so others can learn from my experience.
Captain Spurgen \'Wiggy\' Grubinstien
Sorry guys, it seemed more fun this way....hehehe
Sorry i was hoping to include a pic of where my seal failed but not mastered that bit yet, any advice please, cheers Bob
when you click on reply there is a box at the bottom that says attach file. Next to this is a browes button. Click on this and then when the seperate window open find your pic. Then click ok. Thats it :D
cheers
Beam me up Wiggy, I\'m a RAOTFPMPALMAO and I\'ve got work to do - just about to embark on the thrilling task of replacing the shocks on the rear of a Skyline.
Wiggy -
DON\'T TRUST THE STOCK TEMP GAUGE!!! It sucks monkey bottom - by the time you see it start to head north you have already seriously overheated (>120C type of thing).
One mod that people always reccomend is an aftermarket water and oil temp sensor because it takes a suprising amount of time to warm up the oil and the water moves around alot without moving the needle!
If you\'re losing coolant - i.e you occasionally have to top it up then it\'s leaking somewhere - either into the engine, i.e. failed seal, or out if the cooling system (rad, pipes, ast, etc).
Get the coolant system pressure tested when it\'s all cold. If there\'s an external leak it\'ll show up. If pressure drops but there is no sign of a leak it\'s likely that it\'s an internal leak. This can be proven by doing the pressure test with the lower sparkplugs removed. I\'ve heard that using htis method will possibly finish the seal off and you\'re looking at an immediate rebuild...
Get it to WGT next week and all will be made clear - try not to push it until then and avoid adding too much heat to the system from boooooost!
Iain
Iain
Seeing as I am on leave next week from star command I shall take a shuttle over to WGT for them to look at the ship :D I hear Major Pip is a bit of wiz at fixing these dam ships...
The second in command (wife) will be most angry if the ship needs major repair this soon into us taking command of it. I feel my hopes still lie in the problem being something simple. Mutiny could be on the cards if the second in command and the petty officer Devon (my daughter) find out we can\'t in fact visit Disney land in January: :eek
I now think my only choice would be to jettison myself into space and take my chances with the asteroids.
:rolleyes:
OK, I am going to run a few tests at Lunch time (again...lol)
1) I will top up as Chris pointed out and then start the car with the rad cap off. If nothing happens does this mean the seals are OK???
Of course if it does spew out water I know pretty much 100% I am stuffed. but if it doesn\'t can I then eliminate the seals as being the problem?
2) Replace rad cap if nothing comes out and leave it running. Check the pipes for getting very hard (another indication of the system being pressurised)
3) Have a good nosy all round the car for small leaks, AST etc.
The problem could be that when topping up in the past I always have the front of the car point down hill. In the past I have always jacked cars up at the front to do the water change to make sure the rad cap it higher than the rest of the engine making it easier to allow air out.
Now the car is on a flat in the car park outside I shall try this again.
Mission report at 1400 hours.
With help from wiggy, this is a pic of where my seals had gone, if like me you wonder what seals looks like, on my car 49000 miles (genuine) this seems to be caused by corrosion! destroying the support for the O ring groove away from behind the seal, unfortunately as is often said on here, get it sorted a.s.a.p. as what causes more problems than just the front plate, is all the times it runs too hot which is what does more damage by warping other parts,
Bob
Next installment chaps
Did a test at lunch, as Chris said I removed both fillers, topped up the filler until the water started to come out of the AST then stuck the cap back on this. Carried on topping up very slowly as it was already full. Level was just below where the cap seals when closed.
Started the car (whiles almost poo\'ing in my pants) vroom....away she went, water level rose very very slowly until iy reached the rim, was just about to over flow and then down it went to where it had previously been. It sat there for a few minutes doing nothing and then very very slowly started to rise again.
Now, it wasn\'t being pumped out it was just slowly (and I mean slow) rising. Is this just from the water starting to expand with heat? Or is it being firced out from the rotors??
Also worth noting it wasn\'t moving erratically, it was rising gently.
Cap back on after about 5 mins before it heats up too much. Left it running to build up pressure. After a while had a feel of the pipes which were not hard (as would be expected if being pressured by the rotors) Left it a bit more, tried again and still the same.
Also before I put the cap on I had another sniff of the underside and again no common smell of fuel/exhaust gases usually associtated with water/exhaust gas mixing.
So,,,,,what now.....pressure test
Until you get it looked at just take it easy. When my seals were going, running without the pressure cap on resulted in large amount of bubbles coming up in the neck. Seems as though you may well be in luck but it could be a problem with somethng like a part-bolcked rad (they can silt up over time).
Hope it\'s good news!
Iain
I had a brain wave while sat in traffic today.
Is it possible the add coolant buzzer is coming on when the fans do? Maybe its electrical?
I haven\'t fully tested this theory yet but its a bit suspect that stuck in traffic it comes on and goes off as you would expect the fans too. After a bit of high rev driving when I stop, soon after it comes on if not straight away as the fans might do?
I shall test this at the weekend as it seems like it could be a possibility? but in traffic in the morning I can\'t be getting out of the car to see if I can hear the fans. I can\'t hear them in the car because of that bloody racket coming from the dash.
I checked the coolant before heading home from work today and it was ok. just under the ledge inside the filler. So it aint loosing as I haven\'t touched it for 2 days now.
I even had a journey when it didn\'t come on at all on Tuesday coming back from work.
This would explain why it NEVER does it until fully up to temp. If the coolant was low surely it would come on hot or cold??
Whats the views on this explanation??
Test results to follow on saturday....
I will get to the bottom of this :reallymad
hmmmmm well my probelm started when i was at brands hatch!!!
after each 30 min session (not htat i was out there for 30 mins ) pulled my car into the pit garage and it was leaking water/coolent out of the right hand side of the car just where hte overflow tank is!!!!!!
now it does this nearly on every run weather its a small journey or a long journey........going to RE:WORX on wednesday for geoff too have a look. I am expecting the worse and too require a rebuild!
Can anyone help!
Pretty new to this RX7 thing, and have a slight problem.
The coolant buzzer comes on, and I think I have tracked it down to the heater matrix, as when vent setting is on the footwell, coolant seems to be leaking into the footwell.
I have a new heater matrix to fit in - is this a big job and is it straight forward, or am I going to have to take a week off work?
Rotor tips were done about 2 years ago (apparently), and the only time water leaks out and buzzer comes on if the vent is set to footwell or face/footwell.
Anybody have any ideas.
The car has aircon if this makes any difference.
Cheers.
Bmf