So I drove 200 miles with my temps just fine. I stopped to unload my friend's luggage at his apartment for < 2 minutes. The temp gauge shot up to a finger's width away from "H".

As soon as I put the car in gear and got into 2nd gear, the temps dropped to normal.

Things I know:

The fan works (at least sometimes).
- I first thought that the fan wasn't working which was why the car got hot when it was ONLY stopped. However, after putting the car into the garage (the temp was slightly higher than normal). I heard the fan kick on and it brought the temperate back down to normal, while stopped. I'm unsure if the fan was running while at my friend's place.

Yesterday I was messing around with the hood "pop" cable, because it was giving me issues staying opening and not locking the hood.
- Maybe something came lose with the fan's wiring?

Things I'm going to do to tomorrow:
-Check the fuses
-Flick the AC on and see if the fan comes on
-check coolant


Anyone have this weird problem before and can help me with diagnosis? I'lll report back tomorrow when I've checked the above list.

 

It's not the fan.

Possible Thermostat, coolant/rad leak.

Is the car low on coolant, my guess it is and you have a leak from your rad.

 

How do I check the thermostat? If I had a leak wouldn't the car have overheated during the long trip?

 

It's not worth "checking" a thermostat anymore, they are cheap... Just replace it if you have any questions. Go OEM as there have been issues with aftermarket thermostats.

Check your coolant level. The car can keep cool if you have low coolant while it's moving, as it's quickly circulating that coolant to the radiator, and the radiator has enough airflow to cool the little coolant that's in there.

In any case, whenever you have an overheating problem, it's always best to just do all the preventative maintenance at the same time.

Change your thermostat and cap, make sure your coolant is topped off, and check hoses for leaks.

When your car is hot, smell the engine bay.... yes, I said smell the engine bay. If you smell a sweet smell in the air, then you have a coolant leak somewhere.

 

could be the radiator cap. just had a problem like this on my lady car, and it was the cap.
MIKE

 

What do you mean by radiator cap?

 

You mean the cap may be leaking?

 

The radiator cap is what keeps the radiator full.

Thermostats can be checked by placing them in a pan of water on a stove. I usually throw the old one in with a new one. That way I can see if the new one works (opens) and watch to see if the old one opens at the same time. Use a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature.

You need to be sure the fan on the driver's side runs.

 

Grease the hood latch cable, it fixed my hood not locking sometimes problem, it wouldn't come back all th way,id replace thermostat, also its so cheap, I used a 2g dsm one from AutoZone cause there on hand, they dont have a evo one its actually listed as a lancer part , instead of evo, i haven't had a problem with it, after that listen to your fan,if its still overheating,

 

Where's the cap located?

I have to replace the hood cable. The rubber sleeve around it tore and causes it to lock up sometimes.

Gonna check the coolant tomorrow and report back.

 

If the vehicle's cooling system is full, a thermostat replacement may be needed.

 

Coolant was fairly low.

Refilled and took out for a test drive.

Opened the hood back up and there is some white smoke and coolant visible just above the turbo/intake.

Pictures:

 

Will get some better pictures when my phone charges so I can use the flash and not a flash light

 

the steam could be from anything you spilled evaporating. if not, you may have a leak on your water feed or return line. i'm guessing, as i can't see pictures at work.

 

With the car off gently squeeze all rubber coolant hoses. Rudimentary way of sourcing the leak. Chances are you have hairline break which looks sealed but cracks open when under pressure. Good luck.