[Ezra]

Cars runs hot. I put in a 160degree thermostat hoping to bring down temp but it's not helping. Car still hovers in the 190 to 195 range.

Trying to get a Degas tank to resolve possible air bubble problem.

I've toyed with buying the FFR 2 row but my current radiator is a new aluminum 2 row for a 1989 mustang so I'm not thinking the $300 spent would be beneficial.

Any thoughts on what could be causing the higher temp?

Thank You

 

[Gordon Levy]

190-195 is fine, that's not hot.

 

[Ezra]

190-195 is fine, that's not hot.

at 200 and 205ish, I have electrical problems where if I turn the car off it will not restart until fully cooled. This has left me stranded for hours, literally. I believe its a distributor issue and being to hot. This is why I am thinking my noted temps were to high.

 

[Gordon Levy]

What you have is a sensor problem. Tell me everything you can about your engine setup and wiring.

 

[Ezra]

i wish I could tell you a lot but the most I can tell you is: Art at WireDiet dieted my harness, it is from a Cypress donor pallet. It is from a 1989 mustang GT. I have SpeedHut gauges.

Stock 1989 Mustang GT 302 EFI with the stock T5 tranny.

 

[Gordon Levy]

The computer sensors, not the gauges sensors, for air temp and water temp. Where they new?

 

[Ezra]

Temp sensor: the stock sensor/probe was unconnected from the top of the manifold. The SpeedHut gauge probe was screwed into its place. The stock one was left unconnected. Im thinking I made a mistake since youre bringing it up.

Air sensor - by any chance do you mean the O2 sensor on the j pipe? No this was not new either.

Gordan, thank you for you help here

 

[Gordon Levy]

There is a water temp sensor on the factory heater rail. It is required. There are ports in the intake you can use for this. The Air temp sensor is on the lower intake in the drivers side on the second intake tube near the bottom.
Both of these are required for the EFI to work correctly.

 

[Ezra]

Im going to go stick my head in the toilet and flush it. Then Im going to go reinstall the stock water temp line.

Not that you can find a real pizza in AZ but Gordon tell me your favorite pizza place by you and Im going to send you one. I would order some parts from you but I can't think of anything I need right now.

However Frank Jr. Calabrese (Family Secrets Trial)is reported to be working in a pizza shop in Az while hiding in the witness protection program, you might be able to get a decent pizza from him.

 

[Ezra]

Color Question:

#11 is R/W - red wire with a white line? Or red line on a white wire?

Note wire #10, Ford couldnt of made it tuffer

 

[CraigS]

red wire with a white line

 

[Gordon Levy]

Ezra, give me a call. You can set up the water temp sensor without put the heater rail back in. In your diagram it's 17 and 18 I have been talking about.

 

[Big Blocker]

FORD color coding

hasn't changed in fifty plus years.
R/W (red with white) means that the main body of the wire is RED and there is a WHITE tracer (thinner) stripe on it.

W/R (white with red) means that the main body of the wire is WHITE and there is a RED tracer (thinner) stripe on it.

The first color in the code is always the main body color . . .
This holds true throughout all of FORD's wiring, no matter what the color combination is.

Your EFI harness has two coolant temp wires in it, one is for your gauge, the other is for EEC sensing. EFI needs the one for the EEC to be able to "enrich" the mixture when cold and lean it out when the engine warms up to normal operating temp, around 195° (factory).

HTH

Doc :beerchug:

 

[tirod]

Using the 160 degree stat didn't affect it because a stat cannot make a car run cooler. All it does is make it run warmer, the system is designed to have a margin of cooling above and beyond the worst case so it cannot overheat.

Hence, all the testing on tracks out in the desert.

If the car won't overheat at low speeds and idling in 100+ degree weather, no problem. The gauge should stay under 210 - with 16 pound cap, boiling is elevated to 228.

195 is about what most factory EFI systems require to operate, less than that and the computer never gets out of "choke" mode to operate off the O2 sensor.

 

[Ezra]

After further inspection, I have found that the heater delete hose was not correct and actually pinched in the middle thus causing no coolant to flow past the sensor. Ive ordered the correct one from Breeze. It also sounds like I need to reinstall the 180degree thermostat and will get one of those this weekend.

I could still replace the sensors as mentioned by Gordon but I believe Ive found the major culprit.