Hello everyone, I gota a Cat 320c with am overheating problem, already changed thermostat, water pump, radiator... she works fine, but the temperature climbs. Did anyone had similar problem?
How fast does the temperature climb ? Have you manually checked with a contact thermometer ? Faulty sender
The machine is currectly working in Mozambique, I have checked on siscat, there is a temperature sender and a temperature sensor, wich one send the readings to the monitor?
Sendor works the gauge usually sensor feeds the ecu
Blown head gasket caused our machine to heat up
I already had that in mind, but since there is no pressure in the water rubber pipes, no water going to the reservoir I am hopping that the temperature sender is the problem, what other simptons did you had with your blown head gasket?
Water leaking from the engine, no other symptoms. Try the sender first
Do you have an infra red thermometer, or can you get hold of one..? If so then take the temperature of the hoses at the top and bottom of the radiator when the engine is overheating and post them here. The water pump, thermostat, and radiator you changed. Were the components you installed to replace them new ones or used..?
Nige check if he has the high ambient cooling group, the clutch can fail and they overheat. Later Bob
Bob, being as the OP is in Mozambique where ambients are pretty high it crossed my mind. Any fan clutch issue should show up as a very low temperature differential between the inlet and outlet temperatures of the radiator.
is the fan blowing in the proper direction, air flow in proper direction side skirting? the hydraulic system adding to much heat? I had simmilar problem on a forestry delimber.also top and bottom hose temp.
These are the temperatures sent to me, measured by a laser gun
Antonio, In order to measure the radiator cooling efficiency you need to take the temperatures of the 2 hoses going into the top and out of the bottom of the radiator. That test will also tell us if the fan clutch is working as it should be and what the radiator efficiency looks like. Can you also please post a Serial Number so we can see if it has the high ambient temperature cooling package fitted as standard. Was this machine sold to Mozambique new or did it arrive there used..? If it arrived used do you know where it came from..? That may be another clue as to what type of cooling package it has fitted.
The machine was bought in Portugal, its a DBG, we also have siscat, she doesnt have the temperature cooling package, she worked very well in Mozambique until started overheating, even the job she is doing is not very hard. tomorrow I will ask for measuring me the temperatures off booth pipes.
So the machine worked fine for a while after it came from Portugal, now it is overheating, correct...? If that is true then the question is, what changed..? The parts that you changed (radiator, water pump, thermostat, etc) - were the replacement parts that you installed new or used..?
Radiator was opened and cleaned, some parts where used from other machine (hard to get parts in Mozambique), after we got a new thermostat and two new sensors (just to be sure) the problem was fixed. There was a wiring problem as also (50% thermostat fault - 50% sensors and wiring fault). The normal working temperature for this machine after some hours of work its: Valve cover: 87º thermostat cover: 74º block water pipe: 85º engine block: 88º radiator cover: 70º both radiator tubes 76º
Joao, Nice to know you got it fixed. You also answered my question about whether the replacement parts were new or used because having worked in Africa myself I know how hard it is to get new parts. To check your radiator efficiency you need to take a temperature of the hose that comes out of the bottom of the radiator and compare the temperature you get at that location to your photo #2 (74.5 DegC). You should see a difference of about 7-8 degrees between the two when your engine is at full operating temperature which will be around 82-85 DegC.
What was "the wiring problem" you mentioned? I have a CAT 301.8 mini-ex that overheats. I have done similar things to you to diagnose it. I will get some temperature readings of top and bottom hose as well. I have cleaned out my radiator several times. I have also removed the oil cooler in front of the radiator and cleaned the radiator behind the cooler as that area does get blocked sometimes. This seems to work for a short time, but the overheating returns. I have put a new thermostat in - no difference. I am in the habit of spraying water onto the outer side of the radiator to help cool it down. Very annoying not to be able to fix this problem.
Read a few other threads. I always run the machine with the hood up - thinking this gives more ability to cool. I have run it with the hood down and it overheats quicker. Now I am wondering about these bits of foam that might direct air flow. Also wondering about relief valves in the oil cooling system/near oil cooler - will have to look for these.
We have a wiring problem on our 320C: In our machine the wiring has "silicon outer sheath" that its not degreasing agent resistant (from washing the machine). So the wiring sheath (cover) is dissolving in diferent points.
See if this brings this thread back to life. I have a 320cl that is overheating. Originally the radiator was clogged so it got replaced with a new. Worked well while the weather was cold but now we are heating up. Replaced water pump pulley, water pump, tstat, and bottom radiator hose. Takes about 25-30 minutes of work to heat to within one notch of the red and 6 or so minutes to cool off. Cat tech says one side of my hyd pump is 1000 psi off spec at full throttle and says that could be the issue. I find that hard to believe given the engine doesn’t bog down. Any thoughts on that or what to do or check next?
Assuming that the radiator and hydraulic cooler is clean, make sure that all the foam packing around and in between the coolers is in place. If it's missing, the hot air will recirculate around the outside of the radiator.
I hear about the foam often, but this C does not have the stacked cooler and radiator like the B model where the foam is between the two. The cooler and radiator are side by side. The only foam in the parts book I see is that on the bottom of the hood and a very small piece at the bottom of the radiator. Both pieces are there.
Got a Serial Number..? Does yours have the ATAAC aftercooler core mounted in front of the radiator, and the A/C condenser core is a swing-away type as per the photo below..?
PAB03629 Yes, like the picture you posted.
Do you have an infrared thermometer to check the differential temps between the top and bottom of the radiator. If nothing else you can check the accuracy of the monitor panel gauge in the cab. What I have seen the most is the exterior of the radiator is packed with dust and debris. I put together a pipe with a butterfly valve on one end and the other end capped with a pipe plug that has an eighth inch hole drilled in it. I hook the pipe to shop air or the compression on a truck that has at least 15 CFM of flow and then blow out both coolers. The narrow air stream seems to bust up the dust better than anything else I've used in the past. I do it first with the engine off and after I think it looks pretty good I start the engine and do it again. From my experience with modern excavators the engineers do not give you much in the way of reserve cooling. It doesn't take much of a coating of dust to give you the problems you are describing.
Yes. According to my operator, of course after the time it takes him to get out of the cab, up on top and the hood open, we reported the following readings: Bottom hose 190F Top hose 178F Tstat cover 207F We have blown and washed and have a clear path thru the radiator and the duct screens on the face.
Have you checked out what the differential is for the hydraulic oil cooler? One thousand PSI difference between pumps could just be a difference in gauges and I wouldn't think that would cause overheating. What is the ambient temperature? Are you running some kind of attachment? One other thought is have you checked the pressure on your radiator cap. The Cat radiator caps are crap. I've literally checked hundreds of them and rarely found one that would hold more than a couple of pounds.
I can't say we have checked the differential on the oil cooler. Have shot a reading on it, don't recall what it was other than it seemed normal. The radiator cap is new, from Cat, but have not checked pressure on it.
You mention 6 minutes to "cool off". Is that with the engine at idling speed, or somewhat above idle but not necessarily at max RPM..? Did you get the top hose & bottom hose temps mixed up..? I can't see how the bottom hose could be warmer than the top but I could see how the numbers make perfect sense if they're writ backwards if you get my drift. If that's the case then a 12-deg difference is kinda borderline for a conventional core radiator. At any time have you swung away the A/C condenser, removed the ATAAC aftercooler, and thoroughly pressure washed the radiator assembly..? There's no way you can get at it with all that gubbins in there IMHO. Back to the foam packing that CMark was referring to. It is items 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12 on the attached diagram. ref 7 thru 11 are 2 of each so I assume top/bottom and/or both sides as appropriate. Item 12 is only 1. If those seals are not all in place and in good condition the air will not get pulled in from outside and exhausted out of the hood but simply goes round in circles in the engine bay.
Idle speed of auto idle. I agree the top hose should be the hotter hose and assume that I wrote them down incorrectly or he stated them to me incorrectly. What should the difference between top and bottom be? How does the 207 at t-stat compare to what operating temp should be? The newly installed radiator has less than 500 hours in service hours on it. We have not pulled the aftercooler away since the new rad install, have only had to clean the screen mesh once as we haven't been in any serve dirty or debris conditions. Your foam pic is better than I could find in my parts book. I know 12 and 10 are there. 9 is not. Will have to check on 7 & 8. 11 is there, but compressed some. The thing is, 11 is just a small piece at the bottom, otherwise the rad just slides in beside the oil cooler. 12 doesn't seal to anything outboard of the foam. Even the pic shows it laps over the two hoses by only half their width which is really how it is.
Water temperature regulator - did you buy a genuine one or a will fit..? I show the Part Number as 5I-8010 and it's supposed to be fully open at 180 degrees. 207 is equivalent to 97 Celsius which is getting up there enough to set off the high coolant temp alarm. I'm surprised at the time it takes for the coolant temp to come down when you stop working the machine. At medium throttle it should be back to "normal" within no more than a couple of minutes IMO, not six. That points me in the direction of flow, either lack of coolant flow through the radiator, a lack of air flow over the outside of it, or a combination of both. There is an updated regulator Part Number 324-4128 available as an upgrade to reduce thermal shocks on the radiator caused by cold ambient temperatures. Still should be fully open at the same temperature (180) though.
Genuine cat regulator. I originally put a new one at same time of rad replacement. Then, when heating issue came back, put in another in case that one was sticking. We are in Central Alabama, so temperatures aren't too bad during the winter but will get hot during summer. 55 two weeks ago and in the 90s this week.
Where in AL are you..? I lived in Walker County for a while
Lee/Macon Counties. From Dale County.
One reason the top of the radiator would be cooler than the bottom is that it isn't completely full. The recovery bottle is usually below the radiator and on the door side of the house. I've seen the hose from the radiator neck to the bottle get a worry mark and draw air. The bottle stays full but the radiator level is just above or just below the tubes. Check the level in the morning before starting the machine and see where you are.
Nige, I took another look at the foams this morning. All of 12 is not there, so I need to replace that. 7 & 9 are missing. 8 and 10 are there. Do you have part numbers for these? Do you think these alone may be part of my issue? Thanks.
Part Numbers for all the seals are listed below......... smaller ones are $20 or less each. #12 is around $65.
I had one do similar, made me pull my hair out til I found an exhaust leak that blew on the radiator.
And those things are so sensitive cooling wise that something like that is all they need to tip the system over the edge.
So today is the first day I’ve got in the machine in awhile. Even just tracking across the field temp goes past 12 o’clock. I’ve going to clean everything up good, get the foam pieces replaced then report back. Also have a problem with the stick coming in, it’s like it goes into neutral at vertical position then picks back up. Extending it out has no issue what so ever. What could that be?
Also I have codes 69:100 and 69-179 in the monitor.
Anyone?
The 100 code just indicates you changed the oil. The computer didn't sense the oil pressure after you changed within a couple of seconds so sets the alarm. I don't remember what the 179 code is but someone should be able to say. If one of the codes is live I think it will have something flashing the monitor or say something like SERV CD.
Nige, any further thoughts on my last couple of posts mainly now the lag in the stick in function and how to check through the system on it?
The stick function sounds like there is not enough oil flow. It will show more in one direction because the volume of oil required to move the stick cylinder piston is more when the oil is applied to the head end of the cylinder than what it is when applied to the rod end of the cylinder. So you see it when the stick moves out but not when it moves in. Per Erikkson is/was the Cat excavator man on HEF but I haven't seen him around in a while. Maybe Mark250 might be able to shed some light on your problem.
here is update for problem you are describing Mark
Thanks guys. My serial number is not the way that reads, seems to be the same issue and for now confirms to me that the issue is in the control valves.
Hi, I'm having the same exact problem has you, new radiator, new thermostat, new water pump, all the forms are in and still overheating to 8 after 15-20 work and cooling down to 5 after a couple of minutes of idling, did you fix yours and what was the problem? Pab06177
Just so you are aware it doesn't appear as though your machine S/No is included in the update mentioned by Mark250 in post #47 above. Do you have any way of testing the fan speed, or can you get hold of the necessary equipment.? You'll need an optical tachometer.