So I am now having another nightmare (on top of the cel due to the exhaust)

I have been looking for a place local to get a radiator fan switch which not even audi could get for me because they swear its the square plug and not the triangle plug thats in it. I finally found one im picking up in the am but discovered another issue today as I was working and I drive for a few hours a day in stop and go traffic.

While I was looking for this part I have been successful in leaving the ac on all day to keep the fans on and it would actually kick the second fan on high as the temperature in the ac system rose (or I assume as my fan switch is bad) I have been able to do this at 100 degrees outside and at a stop and go pace with no overheating issues. I was vaporizing coolant over the course of a week or two so was topping off which hadnt been an issue.

Today I did the same routine as it was 95 out and humid and made it through most of my day with no issues. Finally just as I was finishing work the car started to overheat and I checked and neither fan was on. Checked the reservoir and it was empty so I slowly popped the cap to release the pressure and the level came up and the fans kicked on. I got the car home with no issues and popped the hood to take a look and noticed that the coolant escape plastic hose on the block was steaming or had been as there was a little bit of coolant on the tranny. I just replaced that last year and hope this didnt mess it up. Shut the car off and waited a minute and the level in the tank dropped again so i filled it again and now for some reason my fans arent working at all regardless of whether or not the heat/ac is on. If I drive the car I dont have over heating issues so I assume coolant is circulating. Is it possible to over fill the coolant tank? (obviously over the line is over full but in regards to functionality of the coolant system itself) If so does it cause issues like this?

As I said above im picking up the radiator fan switch in the morning and plan to rip the coolant system apart tomorrow to see if there is anything noticeable but is there any advice on certain things I should check/test?

 

heh i was having same issue, except my gauge didn't read overheat. it would fluctuate from operating temp to cold. i was loosing coolant thru the cap after driving. i ended up taking the heater pipe off and running water through them all to make sure there wasnt a blockage. after that i flushed it with distilled water.

i added 2 quarts of concentrated g12 to the reservoir and held the reservoir up high while i had the bleeder screw open as well as the other bleeder hole by the firewall. then i added the mixed g12 until i got a steady stream of coolant. i closed the bleeder screw and started the car. while holding the reservoir up i opened the bleeder screw again until the coolant flowed without bubbles. then closed the screw..

i still have the issue with the temp gauge fluctuating but the system is now holding coolant.

 

And the answer was..........

Melted fuse on top of the batter box with the safety fuses. I had to throw a 20 amp in for the night to test and am picking up a 30 in the am and was able to put the new fan switch in which after getting everything back together took almost a half hour of waiting and slowly filling the coolant before the car warmed up to temp. Fans successfully worked without running the ac so main problem solved. From what I can tell without taking it off is that I probably wrecked the o ring in the coolant temp sensor flange as it was steaming out of it before I did the fix tonight and not sure 100% yet but it did drip a couple times as the car was warming up but seemed to stop once pressure was right and the fans were working but ill replace to be safe.

The question I do have that was a concern as I was filling it is it calls for 5 liters of mixed coolant. I had a half gallon of g12 that I mixed with distilled water and did a full system flush with water until it was clear to make sure there were no blockages but its not taking a full 5 liters. Actually not really close to that...maybe 3.5 to 4 at most. I let the car completely cool down before checking the level and only had to add maybe another cup or two full but that was it... Is this normal? Does some get trapped maybe in the ac compressor or heat exchanger or something? ( Not sure how that stuff works really ) I thought doing a full system flush with water with the car dead cold and started for a sec to circulate would push it all out but seems like something fishy going on there.

 

[QUOTE=tofast2belast;1442506]heh i was having same issue, except my gauge didn't read overheat. it would fluctuate from operating temp to cold.

Oh and as far as this would this not be a thermostat issue like stuck open? Does your heat work with no issues? I had a fail safe in my car before my last timing belt last year and the douche put a standard one in it but the fail safe had gotten stuck half way open and the heat would work ok when the temp was right but as I drove (only at night really so it was colder and more noticable) the temp came down and the heat became luke warm. From what the tech said who did the job was that the coolant system had some air in it and he thought that it may have caused my thermostat to fail but stuck half open so thank you fail safe Not sure how accurate he was but eh I was in the clear.