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Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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minimhayhem
New User
Mar 19, 2012, 9:26 AM
Post #1 of 6
(2281 views)
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Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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Hello forum!
I bought a 99 Accent about 7 months ago and really like it, however I've got a couple of problems I was hoping some of you may be able to help me with, I'm sure its something simple but I cant figure it out.
Car details:
Year of vehicle - 1999
Make of vehicle (Ford/ Chevrolet) - Hyundai
Model of vehicle ( Taurus/ Cavalier) - Accent
Engine size (2.0/ 5.7) - 1.3i
Mileage/Kilometers - 47k
The main and most worrying problem is that the car smells like its overheating, even after quite a short (15/20 minutes) journey. The smell comes from the engine bay but you can also smell it through the interior fan.
If I take the car onto the motorway and hit around 60/70 then the smell gets very intense and begins to smell quite like overheated oil as well as hot engine, then after 10-15 minutes of standard driving it just smells like hot car again. Wierd thing is, the temperate gauge on the dash never goes above a certain point. Could the ECU or ECT be broken?
I've noticed no smoke or steam coming out of the engine. I checked the fan fuses and can make the fan work by playing with the fuse so that seems ok.
I'm not sure if this is related but another issue is that once in a while, maybe every mile or two, the car will suddenly lose power but all eletrical things in the car, such as the stereo, lights, interior fan, suddenly get much louder/brighter/intense. Not sure if this is caused by the fan coming on or not - it normally lasts a few seconds, and the car makes a whining noise at the same time. Checked timing belts and they are tight/not worn. I was thinking that somehow a power system of some kind was kicking in to top up the battery, maybe a dodgy alternator?
Anyway, the overheating problem is more worrying for me, I really dont want this car to die. What do you suggest? I am going to grab some more tools tomorrow and take out what I think is the ECT to take a look at it.
Cheers!
(This post was edited by minimhayhem on Mar 19, 2012, 3:39 PM)
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Mar 19, 2012, 12:00 PM
Post #2 of 6
(2212 views)
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Re: Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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If you think you are smelling antifreeze that is a distinct odor. You do have temp gauge don't you? What is it reading?
If not somehow take the temp with an infrared thermometer right at the thermostat.
Smell of oil may be some dripping on hot exhaust parts. You'll have to look around for evidence and certainly verify coolant is full and stays full.
A cooling system pressure test would help among things to test out.
If "playing" whatever that means with fuses causes fan to come on then perhaps it isn't always and that's a problem,
T
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minimhayhem
New User
Mar 19, 2012, 3:42 PM
Post #3 of 6
(2189 views)
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Re: Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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Hey Tom,
Thanks for the reply. I have a temp gauge but it does not go above a certain %, I'd say it sits around 35%, this I know cant be the correct reading as the car absolutely stinks of burning oil when running hot, the heat coming from the engine bay is quite intense too.
This problem has quite quickly gotten worse over the past few weeks, I have noticed however that the engine is using hardly any coolant - could this be an indication of a broken thermostat?
To clarify what I mean by playing with the fuses I simple held down the connector on the fuse to complete the circuit and the fan started up until I release the circuit. Problem is these look like Hyundai specific fuses.
Thanks for your help,
James
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Mar 19, 2012, 4:33 PM
Post #4 of 6
(2182 views)
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Re: Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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Hard to go by odors on the web but the hot burning antifreeze smell is somewhat of a burn sweet if that helps. Oil or greasy engine might be dripping onto VERY hot parts as said. To me that smell is more like and exhaust odor.
Temp gauge should IMO stay pretty steady once up to normal temp. Fluctuations for most are not normal but you said this fuse can make the fan(s) work and if they aren't that's trouble and it would cause a hot engine even if moving along fast enough several cars still want the fan(s) to operate. THAT PROBLEM MUST BE FIXED WITH THIS FUSE!
You said it uses hardly any coolant?! No - it should use ANY at all so if you need to add even a little that problem needs to be found out or you will end up with a hard overheat if only the smallest pin hole leak or gasket seepage is not acceptable. Get help if you don't have the tools and equipment. If you don't trust the thermostat then fine put in a new one of exact correct rating for the car but watch out as many cars are VERY hard to refill coolant if drained and the unseen air still in engine will cause problems.
I do believe there's something going on that isn't right. Will take you eyes and tests to confirm things or get help as you may be risking the whole engine!
If needed just pay for a diagnosis if you wish to do whatever work is needed.
Again - this fuse thing and fan(s) is a must to fix as if they don't work (could be just one) it won't be happy and will be the beginning of who knows how much possible damage?
Tom
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minimhayhem
New User
Mar 24, 2012, 8:54 AM
Post #5 of 6
(2133 views)
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Re: Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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Thanks for the reply Tom.
Following your advice I removed the fan fusable link and took a look at it, it seemed to be fine but just in case I swapped it around for the headlamps - I'll be testing tonight to see if they cut out (I wont be driving the car whilst testing, this is one of the bad sides of being a poor student, no money for equipment) as my local autoparts dealer didnt have any to sell, gonna grab a couple of a Hyundai dealer next week just in case it needs to be replaced.
Following the replacement the fan did actually seem to come on more often during the test drive, however I could still smell the engine after 5-10 minutes. I got back from the driver and popped the bonnet, took a look at the engine and use the throttle switch to see what I could spy, and low and behold ther was a small amount of smoke coming from the engine underneith the 4th piston. Just above that is a pool of oil - I think whats happening is that I have a minor oil leak that over time (car has smelt hot since I bought it, but its gotten a lot worse recently) has dripped onto components that get very hot during running, basically burning the oil. Bloody stinks! Also might explain why when driving down the motorway the car smells like its just burning oil like crazy.
Does that sound plausible to you? The car doesnt use very much oil at all, plus there are no oil drips on my drive but there is a small amount of oil possibly seeping out it seems. I've cleaned the engine bay today so I can see if it is actually oil leaking or if I'm barking up the wrong tree.
James
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Mar 24, 2012, 9:38 AM
Post #6 of 6
(2128 views)
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Re: Accent 1999 - Possible Overheat?
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James: Bit out of total context for this but the oil or odors could be just leaking tidbits of oil burning off like the exhaust manifold but should quit that.
All these oil sealing gaskets: Keep in mind anything involving the crankcase area which includes up to valve cover is supposed to be under slight vacuum so very small leaks should really leak air in not oils out??!!
Teacher 101: Engines make SOME blow by as we call it which means some loss of compressed gas/then a vapor is lost to crankcase but normally at some insane minimum beyond my own comprehension as to how they do that.
PCV no matter how achieved is to make that slight vacuum. You can see it by pulling a dipstick on oil and blow out a match till it just smokes and watch it get drawn IN that tube if so equipped. When that can blow back out it stresses any oil sealing gaskets. Why is usually a worn out engine but not always so needs finishing that diagnosis w perhaps some pro help.
All regulars here usually named a moderator are here for suggestions as best as a web site vs being there can do,
Tom
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