Car temperature gauge.

[diplomat019]

I figured there’s a lot of guys on here that know about cars. My car temperature was running a little high so I had the thermostat housing replaced. I drove the car around yesterday and today and it’s running low. It’ll hold regular temperature but when I turn the heat on it will drop low. Almost as if the thermostat is stuck open but if it’s brand new how could that be? Unless it might be a faulty thermostat.  What do you guys think?   I’m gonna bring it back to the mechanic today but I figured I’d see what other people thought.

[Arcade Hunter]

What kind of car and engine size?  A quick guess is that maybe they didn't bleed all the air out of the cooling system...

[diplomat019]

2014 Jeep Patriot.  2.4.  The problem is it has 140,000 miles on it and it’s paid off so I’m not trying to keep dumping money into it.  This is my mechanic. I trust him.  Its just a pain in the butt cause in the last two years I've been dumping money into it and i got to draw the line somewhere.  

[Robhuntandfish]

10 minutes ago, Arcade Hunter said:

What kind of car and engine size?  A quick guess is that maybe they didn't bleed all the air out of the cooling system...

was just gonna ask if he burped the baby?  lol  .  Check coolant level- it might now be low if there was still some air in the system.  

[Jeremy K]

Always check coolant level first but the shop should have topped it off . It almost sounds as if air was introduced to the coolant system, those air bubbles can make stuff act real funny til they work their way out.

[SportsmanNH]

20 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

was just gonna ask if he burped the baby?  lol  .  Check coolant level- it might now be low if there was still some air in the system.  

Bingo !  I think Rob is right .  On my last truck , a 2005 Chevy Silverado , the temp would look fine. The heat would work fine as long as I was driving. But when coming to a stop light it would blow cold air. Fill the coolant up and back to normal. It never showed a leak at the water pump , but the dealership said that the water was evaporating out through the gasket and alot of times they showed no leakage working like that for a long time. My mechanic changed the water pump and never had another issue. It didn't take much for the coolant to be low for the heat not to work. If the coolant got low enough it wouldn't blow heat even when I was driving.  Had to put fluid in maybe twice a year. Once in the summer and once in the winter. Funny how the winter fill always had to materialize on the freakin coldest day of the year every time LOL

Edited March 2, 2021 by SportsmanNH

[Lawdwaz]

Things will be easier when they’re all electric.      

 

[SportsmanNH]

8 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

Things will be easier when they’re all electric.      

 

Im sure it will be easier . All you will have to do is call Triple A on those freezing cold days to jump start your $10,000 dead battery. 

Edited March 2, 2021 by SportsmanNH

[diplomat019]

I can purge the air myself.  Let me know if im doing this right. Park the car on a slight incline.  Remove the radiator cap.  Let it run until the thermostat opens and coolant runs.  This should get rid of any air trapped in there.  Am i good with this?   Id rather give this a try before bringing it back on Thursday.  

[Jeremy K]

That's typically how it's done  I'm suprised it still has a radiator cap to be honest . 

[Robhuntandfish]

Fill the overflow to normal as well.  Also turn the interior heat on.  Might take care of it. But if it's just low might just need a top off and be fine. 

[Four Seasons]

Heater Core?

[diplomat019]

18 minutes ago, Four Seasons said:

Heater Core?

Im not good with cars.  Im gonna try purging the system.   Its a brand new thermostat housing that was installed so idk why it is running a low temp.  Worst case i bring it back but id rather try and do a quick fix if i can.  This car is becoming a PITA but i take the train to work so i drive 10 miles per day. 

[Jeremy K]

1 hour ago, Lawdwaz said:

Things will be easier when they’re all electric.      

 

Except the part when we have to use the existing power grid to charge all those cars every night

[Robhuntandfish]

48 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

Except the part when we have to use the existing power grid to charge all those cars every night

I wonder if it can work in reverse and the car be used like a generator to power the house if the power is out ....hmmmm.  that would be handy.

[Jeremy K]

8 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I wonder if it can work in reverse and the car be used like a generator to power the house if the power is out ....hmmmm.  that would be handy.

Like it still runs on fossil fuel ! [Audible gasp from the tree huggers]

[GreeneHunter]

2 hours ago, diplomat019 said:

2014 Jeep Patriot.  2.4.  The problem is it has 140,000 miles on it and it’s paid off so I’m not trying to keep dumping money into it.  This is my mechanic. I trust him.  Its just a pain in the butt cause in the last two years I've been dumping money into it and i got to draw the line somewhere.  

Years ago my wife had a Cadillac , paid off but cost $ 1000.00 per year to keep it going . $ 1000.00 per year beats the hell out of a Car Payment !

[diplomat019]

16 minutes ago, GreeneHunter said:

Years ago my wife had a Cadillac , paid off but cost $ 1000.00 per year to keep it going . $ 1000.00 per year beats the hell out of a Car Payment !

Thats kinda the mentality i have at this point.  I keep wanting a newer car, but i take mass transit to work.  Its hard justifying a $400 car payment to drive 5 miles to the train station. 

[Moho81]

44 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I wonder if it can work in reverse and the car be used like a generator to power the house if the power is out ....hmmmm.  that would be handy.

The 2021 Ford F-150 has an engine that puts out 7.2Kw out of it's onboard generator. I have read a few stories of people in Texas powering their house during the recent winter storm with their truck! 

To bad it's powered by outdated fossil fuel........... 

[Rack Attack]

When adding coolant, make sure you use the correct type.  You can't mix and match them or you'll end up with jello in the cooling system.  Also as stated, you likely don't have a true radiator cap, that style has been out of date for a long time.  You will just need to fill your overflow to the hot or cold level based on the engine temp and run it to self purge the air out of the system.

[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, Moho81 said:

The 2021 Ford F-150 has an engine that puts out 7.2Kw out of it's onboard generator. I have read a few stories of people in Texas powering their house during the recent winter storm with their truck! 

To bad it's powered by outdated fossil fuel........... 

gotta be a utube video showing someone cutting wires to hook this up while someone holds their beer! 

[DDT]

Nowadays the cooling systems pretty much need to be vacuumed to get air purged. Special tool, takes air out and replaces with coolant. 

[Steve D]

6 hours ago, diplomat019 said:

I figured there’s a lot of guys on here that know about cars. My car temperature was running a little high so I had the thermostat housing replaced. I drove the car around yesterday and today and it’s running low. It’ll hold regular temperature but when I turn the heat on it will drop low.

I did a little research and it appears for whatever reason that vehicle has TWO thermostats.

I think for starters I would go back to whomever replaced the "thermostat housing" and verify  #1 were there thermostats in the housing &  #2 were both installed. Apparently you can purchase just the housing and can purchase the thermostats separate.

Probably not the answer but it could be a place to start.

[diplomat019]

3 minutes ago, Steve D said:

I did a little research and it appears for whatever reason that vehicle has TWO thermostats.

I think for starters I would go back to whomever replaced the "thermostat housing" and verify  #1 were there thermostats in the housing &  #2 were both installed. Apparently you can purchase just the housing and can purchase the thermostats separate.

Probably not the answer but it could be a place to start.

correct on the two.  Im just gonna head back to him after work