OK, so here's what I've done:
- replaced the coolant temperature sensor
- replaced the a/c sensor
- replaced the thermostat
- flushed, burped, and refilled the coolant
I'm pretty sure that the car is still overheating because the upper radiator hose is very hot and the the coolant reservoir looks like it's boiling over a little bit. And of course, there is still no heat coming out of the vents.
The upper radiator hose is hot. The lower radiator hose is cool. Not sure about the radiator, but one of the fans was coming on last week, but neither of them are coming on now...when I turn the heat to HIGH and A/C and recycle air buttons both on.
Once I took the old thermostat out, I put it into boiling water, and sure enough, it opened and closed with no problems, so it's definitely not a thermostat problem.
My only guess now is that there is air in the system, like you said. I've been massaging the radiator hoses like crazy with the reservoir cap off and engine running, but I'm not sure how I know if there is still air trapped in the system or not? Can you explain to me exactly how you got the air out of the system? It seems as though this *may* be the problem or perhaps the radiator is clogged, but when I flushed the system, water came out of the coolant drainage with no problems, so a blockage is unlikely. The radiator fans are not coming on though, so perhaps the hot coolant is not entering the radiator?? I'm so very stumped here...
I appreciate all of the help so far!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by wep300
I've been working through a bunch of overheating issues on my '99 2.0. Had it for a couple of months & am still sorting stuff out.
First question--is it really overheating, or are you getting a spurious flashing light? Ck your owner's manual, but I was under the impression that the coolant level sensor can throw the red flashing ligt--so if the sensor or wiring is bad, that might do it. A Vagcom check will tell you the actual coolant temp.
Does the radiator feel hot top to bottom?
Re: the thermostat, take the old one and put it in a pot of boiling water. Hold it off the bottom of the pot with a wire so you don't fry it. If you have a digital kitchen thermometer, stick the probe in the pot (off the bottom). T-stat should hold water when it's cold, and it will drain through when >87 C if a tstat is good. So even without a thermometer, should open in boiling water as long as you live below about 6500' altitude.
BTW, Prolly not your problem, but I had a heck of a time getting the air out of the heater core and lower radiator when I changed coolant. Lower radiator air was causing the fan switch to stay cold even though the coolant was hot. Finally ended up jacking up the right side of the car, massaging hoses, changing engine speed, and bleeding the lower radiator valve. Strange that there would be air low in the radiator, but there must be a baffle in the side tank to separate the upper and lower chambers.
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