New +2 zetec owner

[prezoom]

No confession here, just didn't want to clutter up my first post. A couple of things didn't sit well with me on the available water rails. First was their routing the water directly above the exhaust. Second was the lack of the by pass circuit during warm up. Third was, I live where it gets friggin' hot in the summer. As a result, I constructed my own water rail. It wasn't for the faint of heart. Took a couple tries to get what I wanted, and it still has some drawbacks, but none that affect the running of the engine. I also installed the big mutha of all radiators, and blocked the passage of all air getting past the radiator, except for the trunking to the air box. I also made a plate that fits over the long studs that hold the steering rack that also prevents any air from getting past the area below. My radiator is a DYI affair. Purchased from http//wizzardcooling.com as one of their kits. The price was right at about $220. The offer their radiators without any fixtures for water in and out, the radiator cap is also among the kit, along with short sections of beaded tubing for the water hoses and a threaded boss for a thermostat fan switch. But, you or someone else has to cut the holes and do the welding. I have a Tig and can do most any metal. Since the Zetec has both water ports on the left side of the engine, I configured the radiator in a cross flow manner. To get what I hoped was the best efficiency, I cut the left side tank and welded in a blocking plate to create a dual path. This routes the water across the top half of the radiator, down the right side and back to the water pump outlet on the left side. I also constructed a water expansion tank where the radiator cap lives. The expansion tank is kind of weird shaped, but it made for an interesting challenge to weld all the pieces together. I chose the 22 inch model, but that left little room for the air box trunking. If I had to do it over, I would have purchased the 20 inch version, and made blocking plates if necessary.

If any left coasters want to have a look, I will be at the Queens English show in Woodley Park, Van Nuys tomorrow.

[TAS]

I've changed the thermostat and it still behaves the same way, takes a while to warm up then pegs the dial. It now settles at 120ish degrees, wandering up to 140 in traffic. The fan only comes on occasionally and the car doesn't feel overheated. I had a mechanic take a quick look at it and the rad is a uniform temperature so he doubted it was airlocked.

My suspicion is the gauge is reading high. Spydercars have suggested the voltage regulator is either faulty or missing.

Does anyone know a way of testing the gauge?

Tim

[JonB]

Tim

If it's got a Lucas voltage regulator you can check it is working by putting a 12v bulb between the sender and the wire that plugs onto it. You should see it flash. The ratio of time spent on to time spent off when divided into the supply voltage gives you the average voltage, which is supposed to be 10v.

If your bulb is on solid then the regulator is missing, or shorted, or toast.

It's a quick test.

[TAS]

Hi Jon,

I think I?m going to have to get behind the dash and find out what?s going on. The voltage stabiliser on the back of the speedo has no wires attached to it! I?ve ordered a solid state one and will try your bulb test while I wait for it to turn up.

Tim

[JonB]

I predict a full on bulb.

You can also use a voltmeter.

But. If your regulator is disconnected, what about the fuel gauge? It uses the regulator output too. If your fuel gauge is working properly (not overreading) there could be another regulator (fitted after the one you saw broke perhaps). You can do the same test with the fuel sensor wire (not the black / red wire, the other one on the left hand spade of the sender).

[TAS]

I?ve no idea how accurate the fuel gauge is. It?s got 30 litres in and shows 3/4 full but I?ve no idea how big the tank is!

[pauljones]

Tas.

Its 60 ltrs. So i think your over reading. Mine does exactly the same because its been rewired to 12v. A mistake on my part.

Yes im constantly in the red on coolant too. Or would be if i had any.

I will edit to add i too have a zetec with raceline rail to go in. Ive used one on a 7 kit before. To add info to the coolant temp issues on start up, the stat should have a jiggle pin in it, or a series of small holes in outer ring.
This allows a small quantity of coolant to bypass and maintain a constant flow. In turn this prevents the so called "pre boil" symptoms.

Hope it helps

[elan66]

take the gauge signal wire from the sender and check the ohms output between sender and common ground/chassis with a multimeter and check against predicted results.If you can take out sender unit you could drop it in a boiling kettle and check if it shows 100 degrees at boiling.