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Old 14th October 2011, 20:04   #1
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Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Disclaimer : I'm posting a technical query on behalf of my cousin whose T-BHP registration is yet to be approved by the admins. He owns a pre-owned Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol, which has run ~80k kms, as of now

The engine gets heated up after driving for short distances, say 10-15km. Once it gets heated up, the engine does not build up revs, no matter whether you press or rather floor the pedal. But, after waiting few minutes, for the engine to cool down, the car/engine behaves as if everything is normal!

PS: The overheating problem happens, no matter whether the AC is turned ON or OFF.

The car was taken to two reputed independent garages near his home. The mechanic of one garage diagnosed that problem is caused by faulty ignition coil and the other one diagnosed that the fuel pump is faulty.

Given that two mechanics have given different diagnosis, my cousin is extremely confused as to whom he trust. That said, he wants to hear the inputs of T-BHPians.

PS: I tried searching for similar topics in hurry, but couldn't find any.
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Old 14th October 2011, 20:14   #2
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

I have an Opel Corsa 1.6 and faced the exact issue. When it was finally diagnosed, the fan wouldn't kick in and the coolant wasn't circulating. The fan circulation issue wasn't easily diagnosed because the fan kicks in after a certain temperature and the car only starts when the temp is low enough.

Fuel pump is faulty can be an appropriate diagnosis in certain cases like this. Mostly because the mechanic is thinking you aren't getting the acceleration because the fuel pump is not pumping enough fuel.

But in my experience it will have to do with the cooling fan/coolant circulation.
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Old 14th October 2011, 20:34   #3
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Try bypassing the thermostat and connect the radiator fan directly to the battery and check if the car has any issues, the fuel pump is a faulty diagnosis, the car will jerk if the fuel supplied is less and if the mixture is too lean this would sky rocket the temp needle. It cannot be the ignition coil as the car behaves normally once it is cold. First try to get the cooling system checked and then try other stuff if the problem persists.


Pramod
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Old 15th October 2011, 11:45   #4
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

As other members pointed out the problem most probably lies with the cooling system rather than ignition coil and faulty fuel pump.

Check if the Thermostat and radiator fan & fan relay is functionally properly. Also please check that radiator is not blocked and coolant is flowing freely.

If the diagnosis rules out problem with thermostat, fan and radiator blockage, ask the service center to check the head gasket. Blown head gaskets are known to cause engine overheating too.

My car is facing a somewhat similar problem and is going for the diagnosis on Tuesday. Will keep you updated on the outcome. BTW: the car is ikon 1.6.
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Old 15th October 2011, 17:25   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Klub Class
Disclaimer : I'm posting a technical query on behalf of my cousin whose T-BHP registration is yet to be approved by the admins. He owns a pre-owned Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol, which has run ~80k kms, as of now

The engine gets heated up after driving for short distances, say 10-15km. Once it gets heated up, the engine does not build up revs, no matter whether you press or rather floor the pedal. But, after waiting few minutes, for the engine to cool down, the car/engine behaves as if everything is normal!

PS: The overheating problem happens, no matter whether the AC is turned ON or OFF.

The car was taken to two reputed independent garages near his home. The mechanic of one garage diagnosed that problem is caused by faulty ignition coil and the other one diagnosed that the fuel pump is faulty.

Given that two mechanics have given different diagnosis, my cousin is extremely confused as to whom he trust. That said, he wants to hear the inputs of T-BHPians.

PS: I tried searching for similar topics in hurry, but couldn't find any.
This is 100% issue with clogged radiator, i faced the same issue with my car once, check this out this thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ease-help.html

This would have happened by adding raw excess coulant, ask your cousin if he has done this recently.

Things you need to do:
1. Radiator overhaul and flush
2. Replace coolant
3. Change head gasket (for safety better change head gasket as it would have been weakened due to overheating)

Never run your car without thermostat, its very much required.
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Old 15th October 2011, 21:10   #6
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

I have just fixed a few cars from over heating issues,

To rule out HG issues , check if coolant in oil or vice versa is not present. Next check if you are having coolant coming out of your degas bottle/ bubbles in your coolant /degas bottle.

If you dont have the above check the ignition coil pack / if all the HT leads are tight and nice/ no cracks. Also check if nothing like a radiator hose / heated hose is touching the ignition coil.

Lastly if it is the fuel pump then check if you can rev to at least 6 k rpm but very unlikely if this is the issue.

Lastly it could be due to a clogged radiator or a packed up thermostat. hope that helps.

thanks
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Old 15th October 2011, 23:20   #7
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Check and replace the water pump if needed. In older cars the water pump can get weaker with age and rust causing the engine to overheat.
Once you get the pump checked/replaced clean the radiator and replace the coolant.
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Old 16th October 2011, 01:57   #8
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Please rectify the overheating problem 1st.

For that, I suggest.

1. Clean the radiator/cooling lines.
2. Check Fan
3. Check thermostat.
4. Check waterpump.


All this assuming the car is maintained well, and there is adequate engine oil, and circulation is fine.
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Old 17th October 2011, 12:20   #9
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

I faced this problem in my 1.6 GLS while driving out of Mumbai in peak summer. The moment one passes Borivili, tarmac temperature rises from 37 deg cel to 45 deg cel and for some reason, the coolant, the radiator and the speed of the car just didnt seem to cool down the engine and the response was the same, reduced power and torque. The problem however was one of the coolant, rather than mechanical for me and I remember having had used water and later adding in more coolant.
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Old 17th October 2011, 13:10   #10
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

In addition to what dhanushs and others have already suggested, please check the relay connecting the cooling cycle ( may be termed as Coolant Pump relay ). I am assuming the condition of coolant has already been checked.

I had experienced exactly similar problem in my Indica 2000 lei, where I had to drive the car under extreme emergency situation even in 5th gear at a speed of 40kmph to lower the engine temperature.
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Old 17th October 2011, 13:54   #11
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

when the car cools down, it will behave normally till the time it overheats.

do not run it till this is resolved.
you may think that once it overheats is when you should stop.
the optimal range is,say, midway on the guage.
The upper half of the guage, it is unhealthy.
you traverse that repeatedly(run-heat-stop-cool-run......cycle), it is going to blow your cousin's wallet quite soon.

You say there is no difference whether the AC is on, or off.
does the AC cool?
owners may enlighten, are there seperate fans for the aircon, and cooling system?

If there is only one, and the AC doesnt cool, then you should start tracing the fault back from the fan.

once it crosses the mid-point(or whichever is the resting point in a warmed up corsa), see if the a fan is kicking in.
in case there are seperate fans.

This will help you eliminate one of the first.

if not, then look beyond, into a blocked radiator etc.

I did not get how the fuel pump was diagnosed for this.

Last edited by mayankk : 17th October 2011 at 13:55.
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Old 17th October 2011, 14:31   #12
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Does the radiator fan kick in at all, does he hear the sound of the radiator fan starting? So starting with Radiator fan, Coolent, and then the radiator itself should be the first step, and this could be done at home parking area by starting the engine and not taking it out on a drive. Once this is checked and still the problem persists then you could look at other areas which the mechanic is saying could be faulty.

So, in short my guess is there are bright chances his diagnosis is wrong. I say this as i have lived with such a problem for quiet long.
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Old 22nd October 2011, 17:01   #13
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Thanks a lot for all your inputs.

I received a text message from my cousin stating that the car is working fine now. The problem was corrected by replacing the fuel pump(which was found to be leaky) and ignition coil.

A big sorry for not replying to your posts. The reason being I stay 160+kms away from my cousin, for the record and the things mentioned by you all sounds very complicated too.

Thanks again.

PS: My cousin will be replying to your posts if his membership gets approved, hopefully.
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Old 22nd October 2011, 20:47   #14
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Quote:
Originally Posted by Klub Class View Post
The problem was corrected by replacing the fuel pump(which was found to be leaky) and ignition coil.
What has fuel pump and ignition coil has to do with overheating?

I guess the problem was wrongly interpreted and it was. "After the engine heats up (reaches operating temperature)"

And not, "The engine heats up after driving for short distance"

Right?
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Old 23rd October 2011, 00:41   #15
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Re: Opel Corsa 1.4 Petrol : Weird overheating problem

Quote:
Originally Posted by dhanushs View Post
What has fuel pump and ignition coil has to do with overheating?

I guess the problem was wrongly interpreted and it was. "After the engine heats up (reaches operating temperature)"

And not, "The engine heats up after driving for short distance"

Right?
+1; Symptom was fever, Doc injected pain killers
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