Clementine's Garage
Clementine the Cat
 
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Yellow R4
 
Réparateur d'automobiles

New MOT

good on ya Tom. PS: those Alpine rims doesn't look good on your F4-At all.
-send them to me -Reid.
 
See you at the Kent meeting then. Congratulations. Another year of happy travels ahead.
 
Good on you, buddy. I'm half-dreading my forthcoming CT here in SW France next month! Decided to do no remedial work but submit for testing then consider the failure points and take action thereafter. Maybe even buy another and keep our car as a bitsa......may be the best/easiest option.
 
Woo Hoo another MOT passed with the van - this time with NO ADVISORIES and emissions way too low for me! 0.11% CO - I must have a cat fitted on this engine! MOT man reminisces saying the van smells just like the ones he used to service....
 
Renee also passed her MoT this morning, the result of it being examined with a sympathetic eye i.e. Mr Mick of this parish.

This was the first time I had the opportunity of getting underneath the car and seeing what's what. Very sound with just a touch of surface rust. Just two advisories - track rod rubber and driveshaft gaiter needs attention. CO=1.00%, HC=185ppm.

Water Temp Gauge still shows 110c after twenty minutes on the M2
 
Good news Paul - summertime being the season for rust growth, perhaps best get under there with the Kurust and underseal!

My HC was 111 ppm! Am surprised that was so low with the CO also low at 0.12%. I have fitted a different carb (now supposedly the correct model) since last year, so maybe the engine likes it :)
 
'Getting under there' without an hydraulic life is not easy. Ramps and a trolley jack is what I have. There's very little rust under there although the front chassis 'legs' look a bit ropey. I've not had much success with Kurust over the years and may try a high zinc primer followed by Hammerite Underseal (with added Waxoyl) to which I add extra waxoyl to make it thinner and more 'paintable'.
 
I don't have more than drive-on ramps either, so I know the mess that will result from undersealing! Sounds like a good protection system to me :)
Are you sure your temp gauge is accurate ? Mighty high temperature....... 110 deg ?
 
I've doubted the accuracy of the radiator temp sensor and the cylinder head sensor; and the water temp gauge is brand new. It has been suggested that the earth to the gauge might be faulty - I've attached the earth wire to an exposed male thread just below where the speedo cable enters the bulkhead. I might make up another length of wire and earth it elsewhere.
 
As I recall, the radiator only has the fan switch screwed into it - so as long as the fan goes on and off sometimes, the only sensor to worry about is the cylinder head temp sensor.
I can't remember if the cylinder head temperature sensor (just a variable resistance in fact) has +12v to it (two wires), or whether the chassis -12v goes through it (one wire). One wire at the sensor means this has to travel to the temp gauge negative input, with the gauge positive input being an ignition-switched constant 12 volts. I wonder if this is the setup on your car?
 
That's just it Adam, the fan sometimes goes on and off and not reliably which is why I've fitted the manual switch. Someone on another thread mentioned a bullet connector in the wire which leads from the thermal switch (radiator sensor) and close to the alternator but mine doesn't have one.

My cylinder head sensor has a single brown wire. I presume this brown wire goes to the red warning light. It definitely doesn't go to the Water Temperature Gauge.
 
I guess the temperature 'sensor' in the head is just a switch then - for over-temp warning light. The radiator fan is supposed to go on & off as the temperature of the water dictates, so all may be well with that.
What do you have that goes to the temperature gauge then - must be a different sensor?
 
Adam, I wrote a lengthy thread on it - 'Water Temperature Gauge' - which explains all. The Cylinder Head Sensor lights up the red light when the temp reaches 115c or in my case, when it felt like it. The Radiator Temperature Sensor or switch should start the fan at 85c, or in my case, when it felt like it. That's why I fitted a manual fan switch and a water temp gauge as I'd lost faith in the sensors/switches. Things are still not right but at least I have some control over the fan/engine temps.
 
ah sorry Paul - I have neglected to read that post. Hope you get to the bottom of it - I will be interested !
 
Paul, I am such an ass ! I read your post not long ago - premature senility no doubt about it.
 
I'm not sure if what I'm going to add to this thread will helper hinder things but with my mechanic's and auto electrician's hat on, here goes....

Renault engines were fitted with a sensor which controlled a warning lamp on the car's dashboard that indicated the engine was too hot. The was set (from memory) at 110 deg. C, but I might be wrong about the number. Either way, if the red light came on it was usually too late and your engine was already too hot. The red light came on by the sensor shorting to earth at the pre-set temperature, thus igniting the bulb. The cooling fan was controlled by a separate sensor, which was set at a lower level than the warning lamp, so (in theory) the fan's actions would preclude the warning lamp from lighting in normal circumstances. The fan would come on & go off as the engine heated & cooled, but the light should not come on in normal driving. Fitting a temperature gauge allows one to monitor the temperature and see the engine temperature rising before it becomes a problem. I'd fit the sensor for a gauge in the same place as the warning light sensor and do without the warning light, or perhaps use an adaptor to allow 2 sensors to fit. Either way you don't need to drill another opening into the pump. The gauge's accuracy can be verified by wiring it via a 12 volt supply & placing the sensor in a saucepan of water. Heating the water to boiling will indicate 100 degrees C., so see what it reads as the water is boiling. The car's wiring must be in good order to ensure accurate readings, so check the voltage to the gauge is 12 volts all the time & check the earth return is sound, too.

Sorry to have gone on a bit.......
 
Thanks Andrew.

Just to add that (on the GTL at least) the temperature overheating sensor is right at the back of the engine, away from the waterpump (and radiator). Poor flow of coolant around the back of the engine wouldn't be revealed by a gauge at the waterpump, where (hopefully) the coolant is flowing well to the radiator. I think I'd want a gauge near to or at the same place as the overheating sensor, rather than at the waterpump.
 
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