hot under the hood!!!

[russ00001]

I have a black '01 limited, which I bought during the winter. Today it was 74 degrees and i parked in the sun. Being black it was pretty warm inside so I turned on the A/C. After driving a couple of miles I heard a chime and looked at the instrument panel and the engine temp was almost to the red zone!!! I was about 1/4 mile from the house and continued while keeping an eye on my temp. The warning light was on but the guage was never in the red zone. I never had a problem all day while driving in the city, in fact the guage stayed dead center! When I hit the A/C, I did hear the fan kick on. What could it be??? I thought at first it was a thermosat issue, but it happened almost to the second that I turned on the A/C. When it cools down i will check the radiator. Any ideas?? Thanks in advance!

[russ00001]

ok......i just checked the coolant, both the radiator and overflow are where they should be. I also let it do the self diagnotic, it came back with no faults!! I just let it idle with the A/C on for about five minutes. The gauge just went half way then stopped!!! Could it be that I have a sticky t-stat??? Any ideas? If it is the t-stat, is it hard to change for a non-mechanic? The engine bay is really cramped!!

[bobs turbo pt]

are you sure the fan is coming on ??

[russ00001]

it sure does!! Here is an update. I took it out this weekend and really tried to heat her up. I couldn't get her temp past the halfway mark!!! go figure!! I was warmer outside than when she got hot!! What do you think???

[quicksilverdon]

In my experience, thermostats usually don't become intermittent - they work or die - but it could be. That your coolant levels were okay sorta indicates that you didn't really overheat. I dunno - keep a close eye on coolant level & temp gauge.

[russ00001]

I will keep an eye on it and see what happens! If it is the t-stat, how hard is it to change on a PT???

[Silvereagle]

If it happens again turn on your heater. see if it cools down ,this should give the engine some extra coolent.

[russ00001]

It still has not overheated!!! I have no idea what happened!! I keep checking the coolant, and the level has not changed (checked radiator and overflow). I'm always watching the temp gauge and it never goes above halfway!!