01 LS Overheating (only when A/C is on?)

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nightriddah

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What's good fellas. This isn't ur basic overheating issue so hold up......
It seems my LS temp gauge starts heading south when I turn the A/C on.
I live in FLA, and it only does this when the spring/summer months come around and it starts to get crazy hot here and im runnung my a/c. Basically, if i'm driving on the interstate with the a/c on, everything is all good ( i'm assuming because i'm forcing cool air into it while driving @ a hi rate of speed)and it's only when i'm in stop n' start traffic, with the a/c on, does my temp gauge start to head south and i start getting all the overheating symptoms i.e powerloss.... if I continue driving but turn off the a/c, (not the heater remind u) my temp gauge actually starts to return to normal without me stopping or anything and I can continue driving. This is only in my "hot" weather months here in FLA and only when i'm running my a/c. It has never done this without my a/c being on! during the "cooler" months (if there is a such thing here). When i don't need my a/c, I have no problems.
This is a desperate man talking "dudes, help me please"!
thnx to JP for the knowledge bestowed so far..........
oh and yes, I already replaced the thermostat to no avail
 
may sound stupid...

Had the same thing happen to the LS that I now own and it was in city traffic, A/C on, and the temp gauge went out of site.

Stopped the car and parked it for a little while, then got it home. I added some coolant that I had, but it had water wetter mixed in with it. I was afraid to use it, but I figured why not....and didn't have any further issues last summer. However, I am curious to see what happens this summer.
 
It more than likely has trapped air, possibly due to a low overflow tank at one point. Mine did that repeatedly and they were going to pressure test the system this and that and they never figured out what it was. Since I filled the system myself, its been fine- with no other changes.

Drive your car to get it warmed up and fill the system with the engine on and heater on high, parked with the nose uphill, and with overflow tank open (carefull opening it hot!). As the system draws in, top it off. It's better to have slightly too much in the tank as it will just blow out. 30 minutes of this did the trick for me.

Keep a spare container of mixed water and coolant in the trunk as backup until your sure you have it worked out.

It may also not hurt to have your thermostat changed.
 
but...is it comming on? it should come on when the a/c is activated. that is run by a relay, thats a common problem on my old car, thats why I said it.

air in the system will also cause this as well as too much water/ antifreeze. you want a 50/50 mix to much one way or another can cause overheating issues.

check to make sure the fan is pulling not pushing and that nothing is in between your condenser and your radiator. when the fan is activated, you should be able to feel suction on the front side of the radiator.

also...when your idleing and the car gets hot, does your a/c still blow cold?
 
my fan does come on when I have the a/c on. a mechanic did tell me however, that he felt my fan was not moving fast enough to cool the car down when idling?? what would cause this??
 
ok...the fan runs off voltage...so I would say bad relay or wiring of some sort. you said you replaced the fan right?

the fan blowing thru the condenser is what helps cool the refridgerent off to give you your cold air. If the fan turns too slow this is what happens, I'd start by checking to b sure you have 12 volts at the plug for the fan. if you do..then I'd say the fan motor is bad. if you have less that 12, start going upline till you find a relay...maybe someone has a schematic for the a/c system...I've only had my LS for a few weeks now, so I'm not sure how this system operates....

but I'd definatly say, we are getting close to your prob here
 
appreciate all ur help outkast. it definently sounds like my fan might be causing the issue. my only problem now is, it could be the motor or the pump and the entire assembly is not cheap!!
 
water pump? I seriously doubt it. since your car is fine without the a/c on, I don't see it being a problem
 
not the water pump. if i'm not mistaken, most gen1 LS's have a hydraulic system which runs the cooling. from my understanding, the hydraulic pump powers the hydraulic motor which powers the fan itself! i may be wrong on some aspect of this, but I think that's how it's setup unfortunately. if it were electric, i doubt there would be as many issues.
i'm guessing getting my coolant flushed and bled won't help if the issue is the fan, but still not quite sure. i'm gonna have my fan and all the components that go into it checked tomorrow a.m
thoughts?
 
hydraulic?? ok, I'm goin outside for a minute....


damn...it sure is...so yeah, it could be the pump not pushing enough psi or I would guess it could be low on fluid...

been workin on cars since I was 14, I'm now 30 and that is the first hydraulic fan I've ever seen....nice...
 
lol! hey, i was as dumbfounded as you when I found out. try pricing the assembly and seeing how much they cost. you'll really flip then!
 
ok get this i am having the same issue here i drive in the city and everytime after a long stop and go traffic my needle starts getting high and when i drive fast on a little strecth it kinda cools down. when i put my heater on it starts rising slowly if im stoped at the light or something its :q:q:q:qing frustrating and a cop pulled on the side of me and called my car a piece of :q:q:q:q lol anyways i notice a tiny leak in the hose where the coolant resy and im going to change the hose do you think thasts what it is ? a hose i mean im going to change it so hopefully it was that
 
union807trucker said:
ok get this i am having the same issue here i drive in the city and everytime after a long stop and go traffic my needle starts getting high and when i drive fast on a little strecth it kinda cools down. when i put my heater on it starts rising slowly if im stoped at the light or something its :q:q:q:qing frustrating and a cop pulled on the side of me and called my car a piece of :q:q:q:q lol anyways i notice a tiny leak in the hose where the coolant resy and im going to change the hose do you think thasts what it is ? a hose i mean im going to change it so hopefully it was that
Click to expand...

wait wait wait wait....
a cop pulled up and called your car a p.o.s. because it was overheating? did he look in your car and check your temp gauge? cuz that is some super cop vision. and if i recall wasn't your first post on the site about replacing a coolant hose? might wanna speak with your shop...
 
union807trucker said:
and a cop pulled on the side of me and called my car a piece of :q:q:q:q lol
Click to expand...

man, even cops are jealous of the LS! Probably since you're ridin in so much more style than he is :D

speaking of... i still haven't seen any pics of your ride. ever gonna post any?
 
Make sure there are no leaves stuck between the radiator and condenser.

Also remember that coolant does not "cool" forever. It will go "bad" with age and the system needs to be completely flushed out and refilled with fresh coolant every few years. (I don't care what Ford says about their "100k mile" coolant, it doesn't last that long)
 
got that covered, had that area blown out with an air pressure hose.
also had my coolant flushed and bled still...to no avail.
the saga continues
 
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