My car runs fine except in traffic jam it overheats! Why is this?

Question

Whenever I have to do a lot of stopping and starting, my 1982 VW Golf overheats. The revs are also very high when I begin to drive it - especially when I put the clutch down - but this usually clears itself once I get a clear run without any stopping (not often in London!). I've taken it to the garage and they can't find anything wrong with it. Any ideas? Thanks!

Answer 1

i own a repair shop,and it kind of sounds like the cooling fan isn't working right on it,,this will make it heat up at a stop,or slow driving,,also when your just at an idle with it,,if you take it back in,,have them check the fan ,and make sure they let it warm up real good also,,some of these vehicles will idle for a while without over heating,,also have them check the thermostat in it,,there supposed to be replaced every year,but not many people really have this done,,i think between the two problems i have described ,that they,ll be able to get it fixed,,good luck,i hope this help,s.,,have a good x-mas.

Answer 2

It sounds like the cooling fan is not operating... If you have AC there should be two cooling fans, one for the radiator and an additional one to provide more air flow through the condenser. At speed, the airflow through the front cools the engine. When you are stopped, that airflow stops and the only cooling air through the radiator is provided by the radiator cooling fan. You must overheat because of lack of airflow across the radiator when stopped. This could be because the fan is not working or the switch controlling the fan is not working.

Try another garage!

Good luck!

Answer 3

Be sure the radiator's electric fan is operational. The fact that you only overheat when the car is moving slowly suggests that not enough air is flowing through the radiator to cool it. If the fuses are good, the fan can be tested by using a ''jumper wire'' directly from the battery. If the fan works while ''hot wired'' the next suspect would be the thermal sensor, the switch that tells the fan to turn on/off.

Answer 4

you radiator fan is probably not coming on maybe to a bad coolant temperature sensor not to be confused wit the thermostat or temperature gage sending unit. The coolant sensor sends a signal to the ECM and regulates the fan(s) and air/fuel ratio to the engine. If the sensor doesn't detect that the coolant is up to temperature then the fans don't come on and the coolant cools off only when air is flowing through the radiator at driving speed. also the egr valve will not operate properly.
I would suggest that you check the cooling fan(s) in the front of your radiator the next time the car heats up and determine whether they come on or not.

Answer 5

First things first, does your car have an electric fan on the radiator, and if so, was this checked out as function properly. The fan would normally "kick in" when in the car temperature becomes hot and normally when in traffic etc. When on a motorway, the cool air passing through the radiator would normally keep the engine cool without the fan operating.

cel504.

Answer 6

How do you know it's overheating, exactly? - I hop it's not just because you are looking at the temp gauge because it WILL go higher in traffic.

If a garage can't find anything wrong with it, maybe they only ran the engine for a couple of minutes. You should think about trying another garage because overheating is, I believe one of the main causess of breakdowns.


But if it's just the gauge that is showing "hot" I wouldn't be too worried. You really need to give more exact symptoms.

Answer 7

FIND A DIFFERENT GARAGE....the shop you went to does not know ""from sheppard's pie"" about your car....it is to do with the electronics of the fuel system and this is the cause of high rpm's and over-heating ---go to a garage that knows about VW's that are over 20 years old and find one in the phone book that will save you the driving around "lost" time ...if the garage is helpful on the phone then most likely they will do a proper job..

Answer 8

It must be the fan belt.

Also, as it is quite an old car, they werent really designed to be stuck in traffic for all that long, on average we now spend more time in traffic jams, and actually travelling at lower speeds now than in 1982.

Its probably just the design, you could get an internal fan update but they cost a fortune!

mrben

Answer 9

nicely, the 1st element to do is; sometime (quickly), open the hood, straight away contained in the front of the engine compartment, you will see the radiator(in case you're having difficulty finding it, an worker of your close by automobile factors enterprise can veritably coach this to you), straight away in the back of the radiator(in direction of the engine) you will discover what looks like a fan(often interior of a 'shroud'), after finding the fan, enable the motor vehicle to take a seat contained in the driveway idling, watch the temperature gauge, because it travels up in temperature, the fan in some unspecified time contained sooner or later ought to activate(previously the gauge reaches the 'purple', or severe temp. component to the gauge). If the fan does no longer activate(start to teach), you have a situation contained in the fan circuit; a blown fuse, undesirable electric powered connection, undesirable fan motor ect. this must be clinically determined by using a qualified professional at this element.* warning! shop arms,HAIR, AND unfastened outfits faraway from FAN in any respect situations in this technique, as fan would activate at any time! often, at highway speeds(often in a ways greater desirable than 35 M.P.H.) the air pass previous the radiator is sufficient to kick back the engine coolant adequate for utilising, purely at decrease speeds, and idle circumstances will the colant no longer recieve sufficient air pass to permit for cooling of the engine coolant. wish this facilitates.

Answer 10

It sounds like your electric fan is not engaging.Have the heat sensor checked.In the meantime,if your car has air conditiong,turn it on when stuck in traffic,this will usually engage the fan.