Hello, I'm hoping someone might have some input on this issue I came accross today:

I have not had Temperature problems with this '03 STR until today. I got in my car this afternoon and within about 10 miles of city driving I noticed that the Temp Gauge was slowly creeping past its normal position (on my car the normal position is just a hair over the half way mark).

I also noticed that the electric fan sounded like it was working overtime. Normally when I'm driving I cannot hear the fan. Also, normally the fan does not continue to run when the car is shut off.

I turned the car around and drove it home. The Temp Gauge did not go past the 3/4 mark...so it never actually got into the red zone. And I never received any warnings from the car's computer systems. But I've never seen it rise as high as it did today.

When I got home and turned off the car, the electric fan kept running for a good 15 minutes.

I waited about four hours, and decided to take it for a spin around the neighborhood.

I turned off the A/C and drove it about 5 miles, it seemed to warm up quickly, but never went past it's usual half way point on the Temp Guage. Then I turned on the A/C, and within about one mile of driving, the Temp started to rise. Again, it did not reach the red zone, but it rose the about the 3/4 mark.

I turned off the A/C and headed back home. No warning lights or messages from the car's computers. But when I turned the car off, the electric fan again kept running VERY loudly...like it knew the car was really warm.

The car only has 44K miles on it. Yesterday and the day before our weather was in the triple digits, and the temp gauge was where it always is. Today it was only 80 degrees outside and this happened.

Any Ideas??? Please?

Best regards,
Scott

 

The obvious first..
1. Check coolant level..
2. Check for debris or blockage across the radiator...
3. Is ALL fans running, you may have one fan only, doing all the work.

The A/C will put an extra heat load on the coolant system..but if it is doing this in 80 degree weather..something has happened recently to change things..I would take it to the Dealer and have it checked if you see no obvious signs of leakage or anything out of the ordinary

 

Thermostat sticking?


The only thing I noticed with my STR is that every once in a while, if I cut the car off and run into a store for a few minutes I come back out and the A/C controls are stuck. I can't adjust the fan speed, cut the a/c off or do anything. Like it was stuck in fault mode or something. To fix it I just put the car in park and cut it off then back on. Anyone else have this problem too?

 

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys. As of this morning, there haven't been any signs of leakage of any fluids.

I drove it to work this morning, with the A/C turned off since that seems to be a major factor in the engine getting to warm. The temp gauge never went past its normal mark throughout the duration of my commute (which is only about 5 miles to my office), but at stop lights I could hear the electric fan running.

Under normal driving conditions prior to this temperature problem that started yesterday, the fan usually does not run...or if it does, it is very quiet and I cannot hear it. So I guess even though the temp gauge read normal, the car was working harder than usual to keep it that way. The fan also remained running when I parked the car at my office...which, in 65 degree weather, seems unusual to say the least.

I live 100 miles away from the closest Jaguar Dealership, but there is a certified Jaguar shop here in town that I take it to for oil changes and reg. maintence stuff. I guess I'll be visiting them shortly...

Anyone else had any issues similar to this one? What was the fix?

-Scott

 

As you stated, this seems related to running the a/c. Does the air feel warmer than normal?

 

Haven't noticed a change in the A/C's performance when it is on. It was blowing ice cold when I first noticed the rising temperature of the engine.

 

Well I finally was able to get an appointment for my car to be diagnosed. It appears to be the Thermostat....was sticking shut.

 

You should buy the low temp thermostat as the replacement.
http://eurotoysltd.com/catalog/produ...oducts_id=1173

It keeps the engina happy.

 

MidGaSTR,
By the time I read your suggestion, they had already begun installing the OEM Thermostat. Bummer. Perhaps when I take it in for some scheduled maintenence I can have them switch it out. That Low-Temp one is 1/3 the price of the Thermostat they charged me for...and would be better for the longevity of the engine I'm sure. Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and FYI to anyone whose temp gauge looks like it is rising... STOP running the car. The Jaguar Temp gauges do not accurately display the engine temp. It has basically 3 settings because they think everyone who drives a car doesn't know what the frick a Temp Guage is all about....The settings are: 1) Cold, 2) Operating Temp, 3) HOT HOT HOT. No in-betweens.

My guauge never crept past the 3/4 mark, and when I had the heater on, the gauge came down to "normal", but even at that, my Jag mechanic took a temp reading on his own...the engine was running at 230 degrees with fans on bull boar. Supposed to be around 188 degrees. This was when the temp guage was reading "Normal." Yeah...

Even though the car was only driven for about 10 miles at that temp, he was worried there may be some heat damage. So he did a full check of the head gaskets, cooling system etc...for HC's. Thank God it came up with none to be found. Replaced the Thermostat and did a full flush of the cooling system....all is well and she runs like a champ.

While it was in the shop, I had them do an allignment to correct the '03 Inner Tread Wear problem common on the R's. It seems to need one about every 25K miles or so. Also had the battery replacemed since the current one's life was almost up.

All in all, the total repair bill only came to $775. $300 of which was covered by warranty (for the Thermostat/Labor).

It was only in the shop for a day, but I still missed it. And the shop techs were sad to see it go. They were all complimenting it....I guess Quartz exterior and all black interior is a rare color/combination? I dunno...

Anywho... thanks for the tips and suggestions everyone.
Much appreciated!

~Scott