cap/rotor question and overheating question
Posted: May 8th, 2007, 1:14 am
Problem - car is getting very warm (3/4 way up the gauge) when driving over 70 mph. Happens when 90 degrees out and 60 degrees out, no uphills, also getting warm when idle. It seems to get better with a/c turned on, but not sure if that's just coincidence (haven't had much time to test it).
Just before this, the car ran fine, til i steam cleaned the engine, changed cap and rotor and hooked up extra neg and pos battery cables.
Problem 1 - when I took off cap and rotor, i got distracted and didn't check the old ones. Is there a way to tell if the rotor is on wrong? First try, it wouldn't start, so i moved it to second position and it seems to run fine. Can it run in two of the three possible positions? Possible I have it in wrong position and the timing is way off? Car starts right up and runs strong (seems normal).
Problem 2 - Can the distributor cap go either way? Is the breather/vent on the cap pointing up or down? Does the number one plug wire connect to the "1" stamped on the cap?
Problem 3 - is there a temp sensor that turns on the fan that might be getting a poor connection? When I stopped and checked, the cooing fan was on at idle (and the car didn't overheat). With a/c on, second cooling fan cycles off and on (approx 3 mins on, 1 min off). The temp gauge was in normal (center of scale) when checking this.
I added the ground wires and a positive wire direct from battery to alternator to try to fix low idle (close to dying when headlights on and hit brake pedal). The additional wiring made no difference (although headlights might be a bit brighter).
Sorry for the long and convoluted posting. Thanks for any help. If my girllfriends mx-3 overheats on her, after I "fixed" her car, i'm sleeping on the couch!
Just before this, the car ran fine, til i steam cleaned the engine, changed cap and rotor and hooked up extra neg and pos battery cables.
Problem 1 - when I took off cap and rotor, i got distracted and didn't check the old ones. Is there a way to tell if the rotor is on wrong? First try, it wouldn't start, so i moved it to second position and it seems to run fine. Can it run in two of the three possible positions? Possible I have it in wrong position and the timing is way off? Car starts right up and runs strong (seems normal).
Problem 2 - Can the distributor cap go either way? Is the breather/vent on the cap pointing up or down? Does the number one plug wire connect to the "1" stamped on the cap?
Problem 3 - is there a temp sensor that turns on the fan that might be getting a poor connection? When I stopped and checked, the cooing fan was on at idle (and the car didn't overheat). With a/c on, second cooling fan cycles off and on (approx 3 mins on, 1 min off). The temp gauge was in normal (center of scale) when checking this.
I added the ground wires and a positive wire direct from battery to alternator to try to fix low idle (close to dying when headlights on and hit brake pedal). The additional wiring made no difference (although headlights might be a bit brighter).
Sorry for the long and convoluted posting. Thanks for any help. If my girllfriends mx-3 overheats on her, after I "fixed" her car, i'm sleeping on the couch!