engine overheat

[doggie458]

hi..my son drives a vuss ute and tells me everytime he turns on the air con his temp gauge rises sharply, and as soon as he turns it off the gauge drops...any ideas..?

 

[pr0n]

i sort of had the same problem on my vp it turned out to be a loose fan belt

 

[IanG]

Does it just heat up at idle, traffic lights etc or is it also running hotter at freeway/highway speeds?

Does the temp keep rising or does it level out? What level on the temp gauge does it reach? (Somebody here might say it's normal)

Does that model have electric fans. If so start the car, turn on the air con and see if they start up.
If they don't start find out whether they're meant to when the air conditioner is turned on.
(Due to the extra load a number of cars run the fans all the time, when the air con is on to assist cooling.)

 

[holden007]

I recommended checking the thermo fans first, see if they are working

 

[joeallen]

This could be a normal condition, due to low speeds in city driving, and lack of airflow over the condenser due to low road speeds. Could also be a clogging cooling system or a clogging radiator.

 

[UN4TOLDVRSS]

Sounds to me like it could be the thermo fans as suggested earlier...the a/c compressor will not work properly and will burn out quicker if the thermo's are not kicking in, making the compressor work harder for and suck more power from the block.
Has your son installed any cold air intake set up??....would think the Vu would come with a cold air induction setup??....can mess with the thermo's kicking in on rare occasion....if so...grab a relay kit and toggle and set up so he can flick the thermo's on when he turns the car over...