m32

if your sender is electric (has a wire running to the gage), and if you remove it from the engine to test it in hot water, you need to keep the connection between the sender housing and the engine (the ground), so you attach a wire between them (a "jumper") to keep the circuit. Or, like LAMINI said, if you do have an infrared measuring device you can read the temperature of your engine directly and don't need to go to the trouble of removing your sensor and putting it in a pot of water with a known temperature. My method works of you don't have such a tool handy.

if your gage is mechanical, then the "sender" will be connected to the gage by a metal tube with a spiral wire wrapped around it for protection. This tube is filled with ether and the sender does not require any electricity and no ground.

regarding the fan: make sure that you install it so it blows towards the wheel, NOT towards the engine. I know others have mentioned it, but I wanted to double check because the airflow direction seems a little bit strange to us all when we are first encountering it in a mini. If you put it in backwards you will overheat due to your fan fighting the natural wind direction.

Norm

no need to remove.....it works fine with it on.

Well, It won't HELP the rigidity, but lots of Minis have flip fronts, and fiberglass fronts,and absent fenderwells.  My car seems fine.

Thanks Scott for the inf on the fan.  I thought about removing the metal grate but will that affect the structural rigidity of the car?

 

Edwin 

The fan I bought was a "turboflo" 10 incher at Autozone.  I removed the metal grate in the fenderwell so I could monkey with the timing chain and cover without pulling the engine.  My fan fit nice and snug right behind the radiator.  I just drilled some holes and bolted it it, and then put the radiator back.  I drove in Houston yesterday, at 98 degrees, and no problems at idle in traffic, or at 70 on hwy 290. Metal fans are dumb.  You need airflow.  When you are at 4000 rpm, you are moving at 70 mph, and have plenty of airflow.  When you are sitting still, your engine is at 1000 rpm, and you get no airflow from the metal fan.  I guess you could rev the engine when you are stopped. You may notice that no new cars have belt driven fans.  $50 at Autozone.

This can be done with your infrared instead, i would do this a next step once i determine the car is not overheating and it's just an instrument issue.

Thanks Se7en.  Can someone help explain this to me? 

 

Edwin 

On the head, above and to the right of the #1 spark plug, the look below the thermostat housing (or perhaps in the thermostat housing), and there should be some screw-in sensor with a wire attached.  If so, you have an electric gauge.

SE7EN

Hmm...great info.  I will try that.  One question though... how do I tell if I have an electric guage?

 

Edwin 

Yep, that's the sender!

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.
Charles Kuralt

Autox/Rallyx Videos

the first thing to check is whether it even is running hot. Maybe you replaced all those parts and it never was running hot and your gage is just reading high?

Test it by taking the sender out of the block (drain some of your coolant first to avoid a mess, and if it is an electric gage, run a jumper wire from the sender's housing to the engine block to keep the ground) and put the sender in a pot of recently boiling water. The gage should shoot up to H (engine power "on", but, of course, not running). Then cool the water down to whatever the thermostat is (185F, or whatever it is, use a cooking thermometer to monitor the temp in the pan) and confirm that the needle on the gage goes to N.

Whatever the gage reads at this temp is your "normal" place. If that is high on your gage's scale, then mark it on the glass with some correction fluid, or a paint pen, so you can remember it.

If you then decide to replace the gage or sender, you'll want to do more testing to identify which one of them is the culprit, but if you mark the glass you can leave it as-is and call it "charm".

hope this helps,

Norm

ve9aa, yeah I did notice that.  I am not even sure how the red bmw mini showed up.  I have to be more careful.  I don't think I can go back and change it...

 

Thanks for the well wishes  

Edwin 

As Todd "ado-16" would say: "First confirm the customers complaint"

(ie: make sure it actually *IS* hot and not just a mistmatched sender/guage you're dealing with-fairly common in Minis)

Also, are you aware that I think every one of your threads you start has the tiny red NEW MINI icon associated with it (just to the left of your subject/title and not the classic icon? (or other icon)

I nearly didn't open the thread up as I generally don't read the BMW threads. (not that I have given  you much, however I am sure you are missing readers/posters that DO have valuable information for you.

Good luck ! (also battling a slight overheating problem myself !)

       ~ 30 minutes in a Mini is more therapeutic than 3 sessions @ the shrink. ~

     Mike  NB, Canada   

seems basic, but make sure your fan is installed correctly, not backwards. And with everything you've said you've done, I'd check the accuracy of your temp gauge, just to be sure.

ohI forgot to mention that I also installed a new high cap waterpump.

 

Edwin 

 

Would it be crazy to suggest a water pump?
I've had water pumps become increasingly less efficient on their way out.  I've also had water pumps outright fail on other cars.

Seems 'tis the season for stuffiness

I'm taking anti freeze out of mine and going back to distill plus water wetter.

Mur,

I don't know the exact temperature. I have just been watching my temp gauge and it is pretty high.  I'll use my infrared thermometer and see what I get

 

Edwin 

But how hot is it running, and where are you measuring, and how accurate is your measuring device?

Check your timing, advance / retard can make a huge difference. I had to time my again and it helped quite a bit. I too hooked up an electric fan just for sitting in traffic and or parades,

got mine at advance auto, again, hooked up to a maual switch under dash. I think I may hook it up to a thermostat. I installed mine with zip-ties, and it is solid.  

1966 Austin Cooper S

1965 Triumph TR4A

1965 Triumph Spitfire

We don't need no stinkin' BMW's