[FC] FC False Alarm Idiot Light

[Ken Hand]

 OK, you gave the answer to what happened in your post. And I don't think it was a false alarm!

The answer is 55 mph and a slight grade. I've been there done that. When I pulled my trailer and traveling, any time my speed got below 60 mph and I was near full throttle I would just back it down and hit low gear and go 40 mph. I had an auto FC pulling a trailer. The very same over heating thing happened to me a couple of times before I figured out what was going on.

As far as changing gears I think you would be happiest with a 3.55 instead of the 3.89. I started out with a 3.89 in my van pulling the trailer and I didn't like how fast the engine ran running 65 mph. I put the 3.55 in my van and put almost a 100,000 miles on it that way, mostly pulling a trailer.

I don't think I ever had the lower shrouds on my van. At the very least pull the stats and the doors off. For the most part, I had more than sufficient heat when I wanted it. There were only a couple of times that we happened to hit really cold weather and wished we had a little more heat.

 

Ken Hand
248-613-8586
www.corvairmechanic.com

http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x118/vairmech/Viet%20Nam%20Pictures%201971/


 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Clark kevin at kcvairbrush.com <kevin at kcvairbrush.com>
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org; corvanatics group <corvanatics at corvair.org>
Sent: Sat, Jul 23, 2011 5:30 pm
Subject: Re: [FC] <VV> FC False Alarm Idiot Light


Hey, here is the update.

When I removed the lower shrouds, I noticed the thermostats were  
frozen wide open. If they were failing, could they cause overheating?  
I know they will stay open AFTER they fail. They were old not new  
thermostats and they were working properly prior to the trip.

I did the troubleshooting as suggested and the idiot lights are  
working fine. I went ahead and replaced the oil pressure switch, heat  
snap switch and installed an oil pressure gauge. The van drove  
flawlessly to the Van National without any overheating issue. The oil  
pressure never fell below 24psi. I still can't say what might have  
gone wrong with the gen/fan light coming on in the first place. I do  
have a spring loaded idler and it could have been slipping. It must  
be a fluke so I'm not going to worry about it.

I should have mentioned I have 3:27 gears. I was on a very slight  
incline on a very long hill doing 55mph when both idiot lights first  
came on. So on my way to the Van National with the lower heat shrouds  
removed, no overheating occurred and there were many steep and much  
longer hills to climb on the interstate doing 60-65mph. It's obvious  
the heat shrouds was the problem.

Can the tall gears contribute to the overheating issue? I think I  
might be lugging. Will going back to 3:89 gears make cooling more  
efficient? I thought if the engine was revving higher you will get  
more cooling air blowing and be safe putting the lower heat shroud  
back on, am I right? Or will the engine get hotter? I am using 10w40  
SL. Someone suggest I go to 15w40. What do you think?

My long term goal is to tow a tiny vintage Scotty or Shasta when I  
find one and I think a 3:89 would be the way to go.

GO DANIEL!!!

KC