Hi, I am hoping to get a few ideas on what the heck could be wrong with my ride... I just had a 350 brought into my 86, but I am now seeing a wierd occurance... I drive her to work in the morning about 15-20 miles away from my home. Not a thing, when I get out from work and head back just as I am getting on the I-5 my temp light comes on... Ack! had this happen for the last 3 days... I pull off into a rest area and check my engine levels... Rad is topped off nicely and the overflow is running a bit above the HOT level... This is not happening on the ride in and I cannot figure out what the problem is... It is about the same street and freeway driving both ways... so why does the damn light come on... I notice if I keep her at around 55-60 and do not make sudden accelerations the temp light dims out... When I check her at home things look ok.. I am bringing her into my mechanic on the weekend (as this is out of my scope of knowledge) to check her out but want a couple ideas to toss his way before I have him look at it... Thanks for any info you guys can pass along. I don't want her in the shop for too long

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Dark Grey 86 V8 305

First Mod:
Upgraded to a 350
Future Mods:
Too many to list

 

So... is it in fact overneating? It sounds to me lke it isn't, especially if it's possible to open the rad cap while this is going on.

When you turn the key to the "Start" position, it's supposed to ground the light circuit, to be a bulb test. i.e., the bulb is supposed to light when in Start. Is there anything flaky about your ignition switch?

More than likely though, you just need a new temp sending unit.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

Ignition is a bit flacky, in that it sticks a bit... Temp unit could be something to check... I have to double check the rad on the when I get in tonight, but she is usually openable the last few times I check her... Any other ideas?

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Dark Grey 86 V8 305

First Mod:
Upgraded to a 350
Future Mods:
Too many to list

[This message has been edited by Sleeper_In_Seattle (edited March 20, 2001).]

 

Check to see if your radiator has any crap blocking it. Also check to make sure your front air dam under the radiator is intact. If it is broken replace it. See "Front Air Dam?? topic" Good luck

 

Also,

Thermostats are known to often act like victims of Voodoo mechanical persuasion: I've had a slew of them do the "overheats,but only sometimes" routine.

Change it, it's cheap and will barf out eventually anyway.......at the worst possible time. Good luck.

OBTW - the tips mentioned by T/A Man above were worth quoting, as many 3rg genners know.

BOR