How hot does it get before the fans come on??

[larryw4csc]

My neighbor pulled up next to me coming the other way and started talking about stuff while we sat at idle the other day. He took longer than I expected or I would have shut down the engine. I looked over at the Ultragage and was shocked to see the engine temp display was sitting on 212F and the cooling fans up front were NOT running.

I quickly excused myself from his conversation and turned on the A/C to get those cooling fans running. The temperature took a while to drop, but did come back to their normal, for this hot year, 186 to 195F value.

Now, as I have a temperature reading from the OBDII port on the Ultragage, the temperature sensor on the end of the engine head must be working. The fans, their control relay(s) and wiring must be connected because they come on the instant the A/C is started. Doesn't this mean it's all hooked up and working but the SOFTWARE isn't satisfied it's hot enough in a stopped, idling Smart to turn on the fans at 212F....which seems stupid?

How hot does it have to be before the computer turns on the fans with no A/C running in 102F outside air temp??

Thanks for anyone who can enlighten me. I think they should have been running before we got to 200F!

[jimvw57]

I believe I have heard them kick in around 215 or so. I rarely see temps above 195 or thereabouts.

[mvaldes]

FWIW, Recently my '08 has decided torun at 207 and seems happy. In prior summers I was usually around 195 except in slow stop and go traffic.

[jwight]

Just don't look at the temp on the UltraGauge; the car knows what it's doing.

[gbryers]

I have seen mine go to 215 in traffic during the summer. Point of information - do NOT use your A/C if you want to cool the engine - this makes it hotter. Turn on the defrost with the temp control set up to the top.

[SmartJoeMN]

Typically though when you turn on the A/C it also kicks on the radiator fans... He wasn't overheating so didn't need to turn the heat on in the car.

[pack smart]

Hi Larry:

I took a pic of 115 degrees today on the smartie (ran the buddy out of storage). The pic will show up on SCOA in a few months during winter, that is, for the simple midwest and east coast. It it was fun. Just wait until a below zero record.

No issues during small talk cooling, other than a weak A/C.

pack smart.

[LTDThree]

Hi Larry
I also noticed with my scan Gauge that my car would run to 210 degrees before the cooling fan would kick in. When A/C is on car would run 188 to 193 in normal conditions
John

[SuperGeek]

The "tech manual" that was posted a while back in the members-only section has the number ... around 210-215 degrees for the fan to kick on, or by activating A/C. Sometimes when I get home and my ScanGauge shows it's hovering around 200, I'll kick the AC on for a minute at idle to 'blow off steam' and bring the resting temp down by 20 degrees... the fan is very effective at removing heat from the radiator. When it first kicks on after a good rain, the heat + water makes for a puff of steam out of the front.

[SmartDigger]

radiator temp does not = motor temp anyway. Why do you think you have a thermostat in the cooling system.