I have a 98 Chevy Cavelier. It is winter time. I turned my car on this morning and turned the defrost on, with the heat all the way up. I let it sit for awhile, and now it is overheating. I checked the anitfreeze and it is full. What could be the problem?
2007-12-19 01:36:25 · 8 answers · asked by mbp2007 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
oh and my heat was not working by the way. It was blowing cold air. Idk if that helps the question out any or not.
2007-12-19 02:00:50 · update #1
and i have been losing a lot of coolant lately before this happened. I would fill the reserve and two days later it would be empty.
2007-12-19 02:03:07 · update #2
Most likely the electric cooling fan on the radiator is not working. This could be caused by a bad fuse (or fusible link) a bad sensor, or the fan motor itself could be bad.
When the car is not moving, there is no airflow though the radiator. When the temperature reaches a certain point, the fan will come on and pull air through the radiator to cool it. If the fan fails, the engine will overheat.
2007-12-19 01:47:07 · answer #1 · answered by fire4511 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Found this on a forum. Thought you might want to check it out. Even though it is a different type of vehicle, it still could be the same problem.
Forum:
Had the same problem on my 1999 3.9. All I did was following the instructions posted on this site to flush the heater core and my heat returned. This is a very simple problem to fix and doesn't take that long.
Hope this helps.
Below is a copy of what I pulled off other posts:
Here is an answer to the original question about the posters heater core. It is plugged. I had the same exact problem. I had flushed out my coolant system several times, but still no real heat coming from the heater. I then finally thought about it and realized the the convential way of flushing out a coolant system does not really flush out the heater core. The problem is that when you flush the coolant system out you normally connect the flushing water to the inlet side of the heater core hose and then backflush the system out through the radiator cap. This works fine for the engine and the radiator, but does not backflush the heater core. But for less than 99 cents and about 15 minutes you can easily backflush your heater core yourself.
1. What you have to do is get a 5/8 inch female garden hose adapter. This can be purchased at just about any hardware store. Make sure it is the kind that slips inside the garden hose.
2. Then with the engine cool you need to disconnect the outlet hose of the heater core from the engine. You need to do this at the water pump connection, which should be on the driver's side of the engine. Then insert the garden hose adapter into the end of the hose.
3. Then disconnect the heater core inlet hose from the engine connection. On my Dakota this is easily done at the splice that is on the passengers side of the engine. This splice is where you normally connect to flush out the coolant system.
4. Then hook a garden hose up to the outlet hose and turn on the water. Have someone help you turn on and off the water as you flush out the heater core.
5. You will probably have to flush the core for a good 5 minutes to fully clean it out. Then reconnect your heater hoses as they were and enjoy the heat.
Try and collect atleast the first 2 gallons of stuff you flush out and dispose of this according to your local laws. After the first 2 gallons all you should get out of your heater core is dirty water. This should be ok to just dump on the ground but make sure first.
And yes -- top outlet from heater core goes to engine, bottom outlet to water pump -- at least on my '96 3.9 liter.
I used to install a Prestone Flush-n-Fill kit on everything I drove. I got away from that philosophy, and as a result I darn near froze! If you install a kit, do it in the line that goes from the pump to the heater. Then, just clamp the heater hose between the fill connector and the pump to force the water back through the heater, through the engine, and into the bottom of the radiator, and down the drain.
2007-12-19 14:40:17 · answer #2 · answered by JZ 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Could be the "thermostat" in the coolant line has gone bad.
Make sure the engine fan is running (bad fan motor, broken belt, or bad electric fan on/off switch)
Other possibilities include a clogged heater core (rust/corrosion). Turn off your heater and if your car doesn't overheat, you'll know where the problem is.
Either way - you'll need to see a mechanic.
2007-12-19 09:41:38 · answer #3 · answered by Prophet 1102 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you check the radiator it self or just checked the coolant res. Always check the radiator once a month to make sure it is full, check it first thing in morning. A full coolant res. is miss leading to what coolant is in the intire cooling system.
2007-12-19 09:45:29 · answer #4 · answered by Frank P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your water pump mught not be bad but if you had drained your antifreeze or had it replaced they might have forgotten to prime the water pump. try unplugging the cap on top of the water pump whe the car is OFF!!! and try dumping some anti freeze into the opening and see what happens. Good Luck
2007-12-19 09:43:12 · answer #5 · answered by Kyle B 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Heater Core could be stopped up
2007-12-19 09:40:58 · answer #6 · answered by justbutterflies2008 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could be a bad water pump.
2007-12-19 09:39:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
radiator could be clogged have it rodded out mine cost about 50 bucks
2007-12-19 09:42:10 · answer #8 · answered by nculb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋