[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

any pointers?

As m_upreti has said, you can try a DIY yourself or take the vehicle to a good garage that specializes in denting/painting. Those guys are familiar with the typical rattle zones for most, if not all, vehicles and will find and sort them out in yours for a nominal charge.

Cheers,
Vikram

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

Posting of a video of the dancing tech. needle taken this morning, the ignishion was on but the engine was switched off. Any pointers.

A similar symptom on my bike was traced to a faulty battery, which was nearing the end of its life. Do get the battery voltage checked, and also follow up on the lead provided by MileCruncher.

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

A similar symptom on my bike was traced to a faulty battery, which was nearing the end of its life. Do get the battery voltage checked, and also follow up on the lead provided by MileCruncher.

Thanks benbsb29, now the Tech works only sometimes. Because of the holidays in between could not get anything done, may be will take it to an electrician over the weekend and it checked.

[himanshugoswami]

Thanks Vikram and M Upreti- I plan to identify and isolate the source of these rattles and then try some DIY fixes.....lets see if that works. I can live with the seat rattles, its the door rattles that concern me.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

Thanks benbsb29, now the Tech works only sometimes. Because of the holidays in between could not get anything done, may be will take it to an electrician over the weekend and it checked.

Definitely the battery then. Exactly the same behavior which i had observed. Any other signs pointing towards a weak battery, such as difficulty in starting, etc?

[tifosikrishna]

I own a Scorpio (Crde, 2005 December) and the odo reads 85k. Fortunately, I never had to venture into this thread till now, however, lately for the past 3 months or so, there's a strange and erratic, overheating problem and I am here to seek expert advise...will try to explain the problem in detail...

My friend wanted to take my car for 10 day Kerala trip. On the day before trip, I gave the car for general service/checkup at Ignite Garage in Chennai. Car was delivered in the evening and it was fine. After driving it around 3km or so, in a stop-go traffic, I suddenly found the temperature gauge needle in extreme right position and the light started to blink. I immediately pulled over and stopped the car. After sometime, I cautiously opened the radiator to check coolant level and it was fine, but it was boiling hot. Called Raghav (Ignite) to seek his advice, he asked me not to drive any further. So I parked the car immediately (at a Hotel nearby) and next day I took it back to the garage. On my way back there was no overheating problem.

Mechanic at the garage did all preliminary checks and found that radiator water was boiling (he said its sign of overheating), and coolant level was down, but temperature never shot up. And when radiator was filled with water again, it drained off in short time(perhaps because of evaporation).

After the initial diagnosis, took him along for drive to re-create the problem and rode hard & fast for nearly 45 minutes and finally needle went above the half-way mark (exactly at toll booth, when I stopped to pay the fees), but it was ephemeral. Subsequently however fast/hard I drove, temperature didn't shoot up at all.

Since the problem was erratic, they came to a conclusion that overheating could be mainly because of the following reasons

thermostat not working properly
radiator leaking
crack in engine head
viscous fan not working

but they found that thermostat was working properly (did a test) and changed the radiator (felt old one was in a bad shape).

They didn't want to check the head and asked to report when the problem reappears. They couldn't find out whether viscous fan was working or not as they were not able re-create the problem at all...

After that I drove it for a month or so, there was no overheating problem. Second month problem reappeared, but it was less frequent ( may be twice in a month), again needle will go up to the right extreme, light will glow and immediately comeback to normal position. In the last few days frequency has gone up and in all the instances following was the pattern

Drove the car for 15 to 20 minutes
Got stuck in stop-go, bumper to bumper traffic
At such slow speeds temperature goes up almost to the extreme and comes back to normal position immediately

When I think about the previous situations when this happened, it seems to be the same.

After observing the problem I have arrived at the following conclusion, but one seem to contradict other.

a. Problem is not with actual over heating, but because of faulty gauge/sensor. Reason being, temperature comes back to normal in no time and this is not possible if there's is real overheating.

b. Mechanics at garage found water to be boiling and it is corroborated by the fact that water/coolant level reduction in radiator

This is where it stands and am looking desperately for help to sort out the issue...

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Definitely the battery then. Exactly the same behavior which i had observed. Any other signs pointing towards a weak battery, such as difficulty in starting, etc?

Thanks, will get the battery checked first, however at first glance no other signs of battery issue. Starts at first crank.

But I can relate this issue to the earlier issue with my Horn, first it was erratic and then stopped altogether. The issue was finally identified to a broken horn wire.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

So may be next time I'll give the car to SKS for service.

Hi Kaushik,

Based on recommendation from some team-bhpians, I have done two major services at SKS and they did a great job. One of the few dealerships that I know that actually test drive the vehicle and bring to your notice things that need to be addressed but you have not complained about. Most dealers don't even bother to address problems you tell them about..

If SKS is nearer to you, it makes sense to try them out next time.

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

This is where it stands and am looking desperately for help to sort out the issue...

As you say if the temp is dropping almost instantly, it could be the temperature sensor or a sticky thermostat. The 2.6 CRDe scorpio thermostat costs only 245 bucks so try to change that first and see if if the issue resurfaces. If the issue comes back, The temperature sensor sender is also easy to change. Change that next.

If you head gasket is gone, you will see a lot of white smoke as coolant will enter the cylinders.

Unfortunately you have a couple of points of mechanical failure and there is no easy way to diagnose it. Best to change the cheapest parts and move on.

[tifosikrishna]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

As you say if the temp is dropping almost instantly, it could be the temperature sensor or a sticky thermostat. The 2.6 CRDe scorpio thermostat costs only 245 bucks so try to change that first and see if if the issue resurfaces. If the issue comes back, The temperature sensor sender is also easy to change. Change that next.

If you head gasket is gone, you will see a lot of white smoke as coolant will enter the cylinders.

Unfortunately you have a couple of points of mechanical failure and there is no easy way to diagnose it. Best to change the cheapest parts and move on.

Thanks for the pointers.

If it is thermostat/temperature sensor, any guess as to why it should malfunction for a. very brief period of time and b. why always in slow speeds i.e stop-go conditions...

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

Don't worry you will learn to live with these small things while you enjoy the monester. The best way is to take a spanner yourself once in a while and tighten all the nuts and bolts (thats what I do)

If you do it yourself, try a trick I learnt. Buy some spring washers to fit the bolt diameter. Then instead of just tightening, open the nut/bolt, insert the spring washer and tighten. The spring washer ensures that the nut/bolt does not loosen easily.

NOTE. Get the spring washers which is a dark (or deep blue) steel ring with edges partially overlapping
http://www.washersindia.com/products/spring-washers.jpg

and not the ones which are a disk with small fingers on the inside. The latter ones just do not have the power (made from inferior steel?).
http://www.washersindia.com/products...ck-washers.jpg

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

...there's a strange and erratic, overheating problem...

Check the cooling fan fuse for loose contact - remove and refit, check for burn marks around the fuse blade.

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

...the screws on the roof rail...
any pointers?

Common problem with all Scorpios. Try using thread seal tape (Teflon tape) on the screws to tighten them - or find those washers which Aroy recommended.

[vijayks]

I own a Scorpio (non-Crde, 2004 December) and the odo reads 70k. Lately I have ventured into this thread and I am here to seek expert advise...I have seen at the SKS site they have Service Centres on BG Road, Hosur Rd and KR Puram. Has anybody tried service station at KR Puram. I have seen a great review of service at SKS and hence want to try them. I have been using Shreesh but over the last 2-3 service I am realizing that they are not doing good job.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by Aroy

NOTE. Get the spring washers which is a dark (or deep blue) steel ring with edges partially overlapping
http://www.washersindia.com/products/spring-washers.jpg

Spring lock washers with various passivation are available (blue, green, yellow etc.)

and not the ones which are a disk with small fingers on the inside. The latter ones just do not have the power (made from inferior steel?).
http://www.washersindia.com/products...ck-washers.jpg

Not inferior steel, they are internal tooth washers (for mild positive locking--different application).

Spike

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Check the cooling fan fuse for loose contact - remove and refit, check for burn marks around the fuse blade.
.

Hi Doc, I thought the Scorpio comes with a mechanical fan and not electric...

[tifosikrishna]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Check the cooling fan fuse for loose contact - remove and refit, check for burn marks around the fuse blade.

If it is loose contact... then why it occurs only in certain conditions, meaning 15 to 20 minutes drive, stop-go, temperature shoots up and comes down immediately?

And if there's a real rise in temperature because of fan not working, won't it take time for temperature to come down, even if fan starts working instantly?