Engine wont run at operating temp.

[Protegeblk99]

I recently discovered this site and have only just scratched the surface of the site n i feel like mcdonalds im lovin it,
I have a 99 protege, the 1.6L with 2 12" AudioPlanet subs and 6x9's front n back and Ive owned the car for a little over a year now and there hasnt been any problems except i had to change the alternator n battery last year before i had the system in.
So recently i snapped my alt/water pump belt, so i replaced it and it happened again, and again but i had to remove the thermostat because one of the times that the belt snapped i had to run it home stop and go letting it cool down tryin not to overheat the engine and then the thermostat wouldnt open, took it out tested it ya welded shut lol.
I finally towed it to the city n bought a better quailty belt and ive only had it squeak from time to time(annoying) but while in the city i ran it without the thermo. for n hour. The next day i took it to a mechanic and got the thermo. replace, since then if i only let my car warm up for a couple of mins, it will not warm up and run at operating temp. only if i leave it for 20 min to warm up will the gauge reads operating temp.
But as soon as i get on the road it cools rite off i mean rite off back down under the range of tha gauge. I was wondering if anyone knew anything that would cause this, is the thermo. stuck open, is the gauge dying, belt problem maybe im not to sure? any suggestions would be great

Thanks

[Metallic36]

Ummm... okay, so your belt snapped, you took out the thermostat and ran the car without the thermostat.. then you ran it without the thermostat again, now you're wondering why your car's gauge doesn't read the temp right and why it doesn't warm up quick enough?



I recently discovered this site and have only just scratched the surface of the site n i feel like mcdonalds im lovin it,
I have a 99 protege, the 1.6L with 2 12" AudioPlanet subs and 6x9's front n back and Ive owned the car for a little over a year now and there hasnt been any problems except i had to change the alternator n battery last year before i had the system in.
So recently i snapped my alt/water pump belt, so i replaced it and it happened again, and again but i had to remove the thermostat because one of the times that the belt snapped i had to run it home stop and go letting it cool down tryin not to overheat the engine and then the thermostat wouldnt open, took it out tested it ya welded shut lol.
I finally towed it to the city n bought a better quailty belt and ive only had it squeak from time to time(annoying) but while in the city i ran it without the thermo. for n hour. The next day i took it to a mechanic and got the thermo. replace, since then if i only let my car warm up for a couple of mins, it will not warm up and run at operating temp. only if i leave it for 20 min to warm up will the gauge reads operating temp.
But as soon as i get on the road it cools rite off i mean rite off back down under the range of tha gauge. I was wondering if anyone knew anything that would cause this, is the thermo. stuck open, is the gauge dying, belt problem maybe im not to sure? any suggestions would be great

Thanks

[jacob_busko]

Maybe the thermostat was installed backwards and not letting the coolant flow properly past the sensor. how did your belt snap? are the pulleys aligned with each other? Does the car drive differently or act weird?

[Protegeblk99]

yes i ran it a couple times without the thremo. got a new one installed(thermo.) and the ONLY way the car will warm up is if i let it idle until it warms up but as soon as i get moving it cools off again i lose whatever littel heat i had in the car and im not sure if its the gauge is messing up or if the thermo. is in backward it doesnt make any sense to me the car doesnt run any different but when im in stop and go traffic the rpms r up enough at idle that it is tryin to warm up(dont have tach) would guess bout 1000 rpm so im really confuzed on the situation

[sailinMSP]

It sounds like the thermo stuck open! and your belt could of been breaking because of a bad oil or water pump. i would check both of them.

[sailinMSP]

when you start driving does your heater blow hot?

[lil_red_wagon]

sounds like there is an air bubble in the coolant.

[jacob_busko]

I was just going to ask if the heater was blowing cold or warm when turned on heat. The radiator cap has a valve that lets excess air and pressure out of the cooling system and back into the reservoir and when the car cools it takes coolant back into the radiator to fill any air gaps that may occur. If there was a air bubble most likely it would be over heating and not act overly cool.

[Protegeblk99]

when i start the car i have no heat until the engine warms up but as soon as i start goin i lose the heat but its rely not n e heat unless ur hand is right on the vent as soon as u pull it away its cooler. i did burp the cooling system there were no air bubbles but i agree it sounds like the thermo. is stuck open but im hopin to take it back to the mechanic when installed the new thermo. see wuts goin on but does n e 1 think that the heater core could b done?

[Protegeblk99]

and i have put a different belt on and it will squeak if i put the fan on full or rear defrost or if i crank my system (2 12's) so i dont kno y tha would happen if when im doin that if it is drawing alot of power from the batt. making the alternator work harder im not sure

[sephiroth]

Maybe the thermostat was installed backwards and not letting the coolant flow properly past the sensor. how did your belt snap? are the pulleys aligned with each other? Does the car drive differently or act weird?

if it were installed backwards, the car would overheat. Also, I think it acutaly only goes in one way without leaking.

It's possible he installed one that is the incorrect tempreature range. What I would suggest, is when you're driving on the highway see if hot air comes out of the a/c if you crank it to the hottest, if it does.. then its the sensor, if it's *not* hot then it's an acutal cooling system problem.. the thermostat should be looked at again (preferably by yourself, since it's easy to get to)

if youre snaping belts and the good ones are squealing, it's possible that the pullies are out of alignment or they're not tight enough. The several times you drove it would have removed any *air bubbles* in the system as well.

[Protegeblk99]

FINALLY got it..... after all that driving with no heat it was just a defective thermo.!!! so now its warms up and runs at operating temp. so thats much better but from time to time my belt squeaks if im on the highway cruizing n have my system cranked fan on n rear defrost on, no squeaks until i get off n slow down then it squeaks like a son of a b*tch i wuz wondering if i got a higher output alt. if that could take care of that because if i tighten the belt any more im goning to snap it

[808MP5]

so it was the thermostat?
im going to replace mine as well...
i get the p0128 code along with some other coolant thermostat code(can't remember reset it this morning)

i've been getting the p0128 code for about a month now. I reset it and it comes back on randomly.

Just last night i've noticed my afr's are running super rich... like 10 or lower (can't really tell cuz my gauge only reads down to 10 at the lowest). Even if i only press the throttls lightly it runs super rich. Anything more than 15-25% throttle and it runs rich.

I also noticed that when i'm coasting down hill (about 10min over the mountain) my stock temp gauge drops down almost to the bottom and slowly heats up again after about 5mins.

Googled the P0128 code and it says that running rich could be one of the symptoms. Also I haven't had heat in my car for quite a bit (yes the cable is attached to the knob).

I pray it's just the thermostat becuase it's super cheap. I think im going to flush my system today and replace the thermostat... Ugh this better work.... If not i'm going to change my waterpump also

Symptoms:
Running Rich (car bogging because of low AFR's)
No heat

[foreverzero89]

JUST A FYI. for people that have heat thats goes away after moving the car there is a short term solution to get you heat til you get the prob fixed: block your radiator. use some cardboard from a box you dont use or anything that can fit to keep the rad from getting air to flow throught it.

[808MP5]

^that's retarded
I'd rather freeze then overheat my motor and cause thousands worth of damage