Engine has trouble warming up.

**anarchyx34** · 2-6-07, 15:43

For those of us in cold climates, how long does it take for your FE3 to warm up? I had to drive mine to work yesterday, since my stupid diesel VW wouldn't start since it was 7f (-13c), reaffirming my suspicions that 15w40 oil might be a bad idea on a motor with 23:1 compression in the dead of winter. Anyway, back to the FE3. I had barely any heat the whole way, and it took a good 20 minutes of highway driving before the gauge even started to move. Seems like the thermostat is no good. I transfered the OEM thermostat from my F2T which was working fine when I did the swap, unless it somehow went bad during the process. How does everyone's motors do in the colder months?

BTW. when I left work, the car had been sitting all day and it was 13f out. Started with less than 1/2 second of cranking. I'm getting good at this megasquirt stuff

.

**zlyricist** · 2-6-07, 17:15

i know you're asking the fe3 guys, but figured id throw myself out there

my f2t has been experiencing 0-10 degree weather lately. it takes a good 10 minutes to warm up (even driving it) and the heater takes a good 20 minutes to actually spit out warm air

is your cooling fan always on?

**fredio54** · 2-6-07, 19:50

i wasnt going to say a word, but the few times i've driven cars in really cold conditions, they take some time to walm up unless you flog them hard. there is always some coolant flow through the thermostat, and because the coolant coming in is so cold, a little flow does a lot of cooling...

fred.

**shwine617** · 2-6-07, 21:02

mine is ice cold on an engine stand in the garage at the moment, but hopefully one day soon it will get a chance to warm up.

Is your cooling system all stock? what kind of fan do you have(always running?) My f2t never had a problem warming up in cold weather, but the past few days have been brutal, so it just may be too cold out. You can try a higher temp thermostat.

**anarchyx34** · 2-6-07, 23:25

The fan isn't running. It's not that simple. Nor would it matter if the fan was running anyway since you get the same effect when driving. I'm just comparing it to my F2T, which warmed up rather quickly. I had my roommate follow me in his LX from my apt to my parents house where I keep the GT. His was fully hot by the time we got there, mine was still fully cold. And LX's in my experience take a long time to get hot. This simply isn't normal for any car. Even my diesel warms up quicker, and diesels always have trouble keeping warm in the winter. It's acting exactly like a thermostat, so I guess I should just put a new one in, I'm just surprised since it was fine in my old engine, and truthfully, thermostats hardly go bad.

Next question, should i go with an OEM dual-stage, or a regular aftermarket one.

**fredio54** · 2-7-07, 4:19

definitely oem, the replacement generic ones are not even close in quality. i needed a new radiator cap for my ute a while back, mazda wouldnt give me a genuine one, so i went to nissan and got a genuine nissan cap. those are two items that really matter. dont skimp there.

my 2c worth anyway :-)

fred.

**carcenomy** · 2-7-07, 4:33

Amen. Even in winter, my FE-DOHC starts quick and comes up to temperature within about 1km with averagely aggressive driving (ie no 7k launches or any malarky like that).

**zlyricist** · 2-7-07, 18:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by anarchyx34

The fan isn't running. It's not that simple. Nor would it matter if the fan was running anyway since you get the same effect when driving.

reason i ask is my buddies rx7 takes forever to get hot, and the previous owner has it rigged up to where the fan is always running. if the fan is running and youre driving, i can only imagine you're getting a little more cold air than necessary

**fredio54** · 2-7-07, 18:16

my new telstar fe3 has an always on fan.

it still warms up quickly enough

fred.

**carcenomy** · 2-9-07, 7:40

I find this strange and he should investigate - I thought MINE took a long time to heat up. To my 1km of average driving, my friend's C2 doesn't have to go very far whatsoever and it's up to full operating.

**Dutch** · 2-9-07, 12:52

u DO know that F2(t) and FE-dohc dont have the same thermostat right???
they are not the same.... perhaps the original one wasnt working properly but then i think u should replace it for an original FE-dohc one and not the F2T thermostat.

**fredio54** · 2-9-07, 15:09

what differences are there dutch? got any pics of the two? i have an fe3 one to snap pics of if required, but no f2t one...

fred.

**anarchyx34** · 2-9-07, 15:15

Doh... They looked the same to me

.

Think I can get away with a Sportage thermostat? If not, where the hell do I get one in the US?

**Dutch** · 2-9-07, 17:07

ill post u a pic tomorrow.
i have one from an FE-dohc at my garage/shop.
i can sent one to u along with the cam (yea im busy lately.. its packed but not sent yet.)

**allmazda** · 2-9-07, 19:37

Dutch will verify- the great benefit of having heated seats.

After installing my new radiator I have the same effect. While NC is a lot warmer it takes a long while for the car to come up to normal. It does sound like to much coolant is passing by the t-stat. See if Frank will also post what is the openning temp for the FE3.

I checked FE3T's web site and it looks as if the t-stats are the same range.

Has this occured all winter or just recently when it went really cold? You may have to get a single stage 193.

Also for a quick fix I would place some cardboard in between the a/c fan and rad. Take it for a spin and see how long it takes to warm up. This maybe a simple solution if you only need to use it when it is really cold. Your other choices would be to have a winter and summer t-stat. I would be afraid to use a 193 during the summer and get stuck in traffic with the a/c on. A 193 with a turbo I think you would be asking for trouble while stuck in traffic.

2-6-07, 15:43	#1 (permalink)
anarchyx34 Experiment 626 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Staten Island, NY Age: 31 iTrader: (0)	Engine has trouble warming up. For those of us in cold climates, how long does it take for your FE3 to warm up? I had to drive mine to work yesterday, since my stupid diesel VW wouldn't start since it was 7f (-13c), reaffirming my suspicions that 15w40 oil might be a bad idea on a motor with 23:1 compression in the dead of winter. Anyway, back to the FE3. I had barely any heat the whole way, and it took a good 20 minutes of highway driving before the gauge even started to move. Seems like the thermostat is no good. I transfered the OEM thermostat from my F2T which was working fine when I did the swap, unless it somehow went bad during the process. How does everyone's motors do in the colder months? BTW. when I left work, the car had been sitting all day and it was 13f out. Started with less than 1/2 second of cranking. I'm getting good at this megasquirt stuff . Last edited by anarchyx34 : 2-6-07 at 15:48.
	Anarchyx '98 VW Jetta K2- Daily driver. '94 Miata C-package- Tein S-tech, Tokico Illumina, FCM bump stops & 15" OZ Superleggera, MSPNP

2-6-07, 17:15	#2 (permalink)
zlyricist Join Date: May 2004 Location: arvada, CO, USA Age: 24 iTrader: (5)	i know you're asking the fe3 guys, but figured id throw myself out there my f2t has been experiencing 0-10 degree weather lately. it takes a good 10 minutes to warm up (even driving it) and the heater takes a good 20 minutes to actually spit out warm air is your cooling fan always on?
	I'm Zlyricist, and I approve this message 91 GT - 95 LS 06 maxima - the daily

2-6-07, 19:50	#3 (permalink)
fredio54 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Auckland, New Zealand iTrader: (1)	i wasnt going to say a word, but the few times i've driven cars in really cold conditions, they take some time to walm up unless you flog them hard. there is always some coolant flow through the thermostat, and because the coolant coming in is so cold, a little flow does a lot of cooling... fred.
	DIYEFI.org - TRUE DIY engine management Mazda FE3/FE-DOHC Master Index Thread (work in progress) Mazda truck with FE-DOHC/FE3 "BIG like your house" Holset Turbo drinking 2.2 litres of fuel per minute ~= 385hp crank RIP SleepCounter :-( we will miss you! - RIP fredio54 :-( will we miss you?

2-6-07, 21:02	#4 (permalink)
shwine617 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Spotswood, NJ, USA Age: 23 iTrader: (0)	mine is ice cold on an engine stand in the garage at the moment, but hopefully one day soon it will get a chance to warm up. Is your cooling system all stock? what kind of fan do you have(always running?) My f2t never had a problem warming up in cold weather, but the past few days have been brutal, so it just may be too cold out. You can try a higher temp thermostat.
	90 MX6 GT http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2036393 Stock: 15.446 @ 88.78 F2T Best: 12.71 @ 104 FE3T: 11.941 @ 99.03 (missed 4th) 470 WHP Turbonetics 50 trim @ 30psi videos:http://videos.streetfire.net/uploaded/Shwine617.htm

2-6-07, 23:25	#5 (permalink)
anarchyx34 Experiment 626 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Staten Island, NY Age: 31 iTrader: (0)	The fan isn't running. It's not that simple. Nor would it matter if the fan was running anyway since you get the same effect when driving. I'm just comparing it to my F2T, which warmed up rather quickly. I had my roommate follow me in his LX from my apt to my parents house where I keep the GT. His was fully hot by the time we got there, mine was still fully cold. And LX's in my experience take a long time to get hot. This simply isn't normal for any car. Even my diesel warms up quicker, and diesels always have trouble keeping warm in the winter. It's acting exactly like a thermostat, so I guess I should just put a new one in, I'm just surprised since it was fine in my old engine, and truthfully, thermostats hardly go bad. Next question, should i go with an OEM dual-stage, or a regular aftermarket one.
	Anarchyx '98 VW Jetta K2- Daily driver. '94 Miata C-package- Tein S-tech, Tokico Illumina, FCM bump stops & 15" OZ Superleggera, MSPNP

2-7-07, 4:19	#6 (permalink)
fredio54 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Auckland, New Zealand iTrader: (1)	definitely oem, the replacement generic ones are not even close in quality. i needed a new radiator cap for my ute a while back, mazda wouldnt give me a genuine one, so i went to nissan and got a genuine nissan cap. those are two items that really matter. dont skimp there. my 2c worth anyway :-) fred.
	DIYEFI.org - TRUE DIY engine management Mazda FE3/FE-DOHC Master Index Thread (work in progress) Mazda truck with FE-DOHC/FE3 "BIG like your house" Holset Turbo drinking 2.2 litres of fuel per minute ~= 385hp crank RIP SleepCounter :-( we will miss you! - RIP fredio54 :-( will we miss you?

2-7-07, 4:33	#7 (permalink)
carcenomy Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Invercargill, New Zealand Age: 23 iTrader: (0)	Amen. Even in winter, my FE-DOHC starts quick and comes up to temperature within about 1km with averagely aggressive driving (ie no 7k launches or any malarky like that).
	Moderator - one who arbitrates Dictator - one ruling absolutely and often oppressively Contrary to popular belief, these are not the same things...

2-7-07, 18:16	#9 (permalink)
fredio54 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Auckland, New Zealand iTrader: (1)	my new telstar fe3 has an always on fan. it still warms up quickly enough fred.
	DIYEFI.org - TRUE DIY engine management Mazda FE3/FE-DOHC Master Index Thread (work in progress) Mazda truck with FE-DOHC/FE3 "BIG like your house" Holset Turbo drinking 2.2 litres of fuel per minute ~= 385hp crank RIP SleepCounter :-( we will miss you! - RIP fredio54 :-( will we miss you?

2-9-07, 7:40	#10 (permalink)
carcenomy Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Invercargill, New Zealand Age: 23 iTrader: (0)	I find this strange and he should investigate - I thought MINE took a long time to heat up. To my 1km of average driving, my friend's C2 doesn't have to go very far whatsoever and it's up to full operating.
	Moderator - one who arbitrates Dictator - one ruling absolutely and often oppressively Contrary to popular belief, these are not the same things...

2-9-07, 15:09	#12 (permalink)
fredio54 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Auckland, New Zealand iTrader: (1)	what differences are there dutch? got any pics of the two? i have an fe3 one to snap pics of if required, but no f2t one... fred.
	DIYEFI.org - TRUE DIY engine management Mazda FE3/FE-DOHC Master Index Thread (work in progress) Mazda truck with FE-DOHC/FE3 "BIG like your house" Holset Turbo drinking 2.2 litres of fuel per minute ~= 385hp crank RIP SleepCounter :-( we will miss you! - RIP fredio54 :-( will we miss you?

2-9-07, 15:15	#13 (permalink)
anarchyx34 Experiment 626 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Staten Island, NY Age: 31 iTrader: (0)	Doh... They looked the same to me . Think I can get away with a Sportage thermostat? If not, where the hell do I get one in the US?
	Anarchyx '98 VW Jetta K2- Daily driver. '94 Miata C-package- Tein S-tech, Tokico Illumina, FCM bump stops & 15" OZ Superleggera, MSPNP

2-9-07, 19:37	#15 (permalink)
allmazda Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: , NC iTrader: (2)	Dutch will verify- the great benefit of having heated seats. After installing my new radiator I have the same effect. While NC is a lot warmer it takes a long while for the car to come up to normal. It does sound like to much coolant is passing by the t-stat. See if Frank will also post what is the openning temp for the FE3. I checked FE3T's web site and it looks as if the t-stats are the same range. Has this occured all winter or just recently when it went really cold? You may have to get a single stage 193. Also for a quick fix I would place some cardboard in between the a/c fan and rad. Take it for a spin and see how long it takes to warm up. This maybe a simple solution if you only need to use it when it is really cold. Your other choices would be to have a winter and summer t-stat. I would be afraid to use a 193 during the summer and get stuck in traffic with the a/c on. A 193 with a turbo I think you would be asking for trouble while stuck in traffic.