When I went to turn on my car after work today I noticed the temp gauge needle was pinned and no longer moving at all (see pic). I’m not particularly electrically inclined so do you think it’s simply a temp sending unit that need replacing? Also I noticed a smell of burning plastic coming from under the front hood when stopped at lights. When I got home I opened the front and that’s definitely where the smell is coming from. I noticed liquid on top of the engine coolant reservoir as well (see pic). Would really appreciate any help as I just bought the car and I’m pretty confused. Gauge . Coolant reservoir
Thank you for the heads up! I was looking around and it looks really clean, no obvious leaves or anything but I can try to get in there deeper to look, I need to find a tutorial video. Any idea on why the gauge isn’t working? Is there maybe a connection between that and the burning smell?
If the smell is the heater resistors, you won't smell anything until you run the heater at a low setting. I think the temp gauge is a separate problem....maybe the connector is failing.
This may or not have any bearing (as you'll see, that's a pun) on your situation.
The HVAC blower in my Formula had been squeaking for the past couple of months. It was a nuisance, but nothing the volume control on my radio couldn't solve. However, last week while I was driving home on the freeway, something smelled hot... like it was burning. I didn't know where it was coming from. None of the gauges showed anything unusual.
When I got home, I noticed my HVAC blower was no longer circulating air. I turned off the car, opened the hood, and touched the blower motor. It was HOT.
The next day I pulled the blower. It was next to impossible to spin the squirrel cage. I took the blower motor apart. As I suspected, the Oillite bearings were completely dry. GM had cut corners and limited the oil supply to only last 31 years. I re-soaked the felt pads which hold the oil for the bearings (I used 3-In-One Oil), and it now works fine again.
With a cold engine, and preferably with the back of the car higher than the front, remove the thermostat cap (not the radiator cap) and see where your coolant level is at. Should be full. If not, top it up, run the engine, and see what happens.
Have started and test driven several times and it appears normal again. FYI previous owner told me the A/C doesn’t blow cold so I have NOT used the A/C or heater at all since I’ve owned it, only opened the vent, not sure if that negates the HVAC or fire starting issues listed above as possible culprits. I’m going to try and see where my coolant level is at tomorrow, that’s a simple suggestion that hopefully is all that is wrong: I haven’t checked the level yet (I know, foolish of me).
[This message has been edited by chaotichamster9 (edited 06-21-2019).]
"Boil over" is often a bad cap but can be engine and/or coolant system w/ problems. See my Cave, Radiator Caps and rest of section. "Pegged" Gauge can be several things. highlights Bad ground(s), sender and wire to it, even the gauge.
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Originally posted by Patrick: I re-soaked the felt pads which hold the oil for the bearings (I used 3-In-One Oil), and it now works fine again.
Is a temporary "fix" at best and often will fail again. 3-In-One and many others are the wrong oil for this use and can bind up far worse. Is very hard to clean out old oil and crap and "new" oil can react badly with them over hours to weeks.
Ac/heat blowers for cars aren't only ones w/ same problem. Many 120/240 AC fans of all kinds have same issues and using wrong lube to "fix" them don't last long either.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
3-In-One and many others are the wrong oil for this use and can bind up far worse. Is very hard to clean out old oil and crap and "new" oil can react badly with them over hours to weeks.
Ac/heat blowers for cars aren't only ones w/ same problem. Many 120/240 AC fans of all kinds have same issues and using wrong lube to "fix" them don't last long either.
I knew you were going to say this. I promise, perhaps by the end of the year, to report back on the status of my blower motor!
The pegged gauge is the needle getting stuck in the foam that prevents dash backlighting from bleeding through the cluster from the wrong angles. The quick fix is a good pothole to jar it loose. The correct fix is swapping two very specific wires that feed into the cluster, as well as two wires at the sending unit/switch, which is located at the corner of the engine cylinder head quite near the distributor. Search for "temp gauge fix" to find out the exact procedure.
It may have worked itself loose for now, but it will happen again. You will notice the needle making a lot of movement each time you start the car. It is not supposed to move like that, and was a factory mistake.
As for the burning smell, pull the blower motor (what, 6 bolts?) And the rubber tube attached to it. You should be able to get at least some idea of imminent danger, though further peeking will be peace of mind. All fieros should be inspected here now and again, it's just so common.
I suspect you overheated and smelled hot coolant on various underhood plastics. The cooling system needs gone through, starting with the aforementioned thermostat cap removal to ensure proper coolant level.
All of this is very well documented on this forum. Do try your air conditioning buttons, these turn your cooling fans on automatically, regardless of coolant temp. Quick way to rule out a bad cooling fan.
Our beloved cars can drive quite a while without the fan kicking on as long as you regularly exceed 30 mph. Stop and go traffic or idling a while is where we find out something isn't working as it should.
Bringing the thermostat to a boil to observe it opening visually is simple. Water boils at a higher temp than the thermostat is due to open at. Thermostat: 195 if stock. Water boils at 212. Boiling water but no thermostat movement? Need a new one.
The list goes on. This is just the basic stuff to start with.
The pegged gauge is the needle getting stuck in the foam that prevents dash backlighting from bleeding through the cluster from the wrong angles. The quick fix is a good pothole to jar it loose. The correct fix is swapping two very specific wires that feed into the cluster, as well as two wires at the sending unit/switch, which is located at the corner of the engine cylinder head quite near the distributor. Search for "temp gauge fix" to find out the exact procedure.
It may have worked itself loose for now, but it will happen again. You will notice the needle making a lot of movement each time you start the car. It is not supposed to move like that, and was a factory mistake.
As for the burning smell, pull the blower motor (what, 6 bolts?) And the rubber tube attached to it. You should be able to get at least some idea of imminent danger, though further peeking will be peace of mind. All fieros should be inspected here now and again, it's just so common.
I suspect you overheated and smelled hot coolant on various underhood plastics. The cooling system needs gone through, starting with the aforementioned thermostat cap removal to ensure proper coolant level.
All of this is very well documented on this forum. Do try your air conditioning buttons, these turn your cooling fans on automatically, regardless of coolant temp. Quick way to rule out a bad cooling fan.
Our beloved cars can drive quite a while without the fan kicking on as long as you regularly exceed 30 mph. Stop and go traffic or idling a while is where we find out something isn't working as it should.
Bringing the thermostat to a boil to observe it opening visually is simple. Water boils at a higher temp than the thermostat is due to open at. Thermostat: 195 if stock. Water boils at 212. Boiling water but no thermostat movement? Need a new one.
The list goes on. This is just the basic stuff to start with.
These are all great suggestions, I too believe the smell may have been coolant getting kicked up by the fan and hitting plastic under the hood (some of the wires near the A/C accumulator had coolant on them). To visually inspect the thermostat working I need to open the cap, start the car, and look for fluid movement with the cap off correct?
As for the needle, I will keep an eye on it, if it gets stuck again I will try that temp gauge fix, still trying to locate where the sending unit is, I think I’ve got it, just looks pretty buried under other wires. Large detail I should have mentioned: I actually drove the car 16 hours home, performed flawlessly the whole way, just noticed these issues after work yesterday.
To visually inspect the thermostat working I need to open the cap, start the car, and look for fluid movement with the cap off correct?
Ummm... not the way I'd do it. Someone else may wish to correct me, but I suspect you'd get coolant exiting the open thermostat housing in short order!
To test the thermostat, it might be less messy to put it in a pot of water on the stove and see if it opens as the water reaches the temperature rating of the thermostat. Factory rating is 195°F. It should be fully open at least by the time the water is boiling.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-22-2019).]
Like Patrick said, boil a pot of water. I run a string through the thermostat and tie it to a stick/utensil to keep the thermostat suspended in the water. Allowing the thermostat to rest in the bottom of the pan may give you a false reading (pan metal will heat faster than the water).
You can safely burp the cooling system with the thermostat cap removed if the engine is presently cold. You will be covered in coolant if the engine warms up before you replace the cap. So while the engine can be run without the cap, it is only while cold for a brief period. Do NOT open a radiator or thermostat cap on a hot car. You WILL get burned.
Took a flashlight under the front hood and saw these wires near the brake booster. Does that look normal? Maybe that is the cause of the burnt plastic smell?Wires
These are all great suggestions, I too believe the smell may have been coolant getting kicked up by the fan and hitting plastic under the hood (some of the wires near the A/C accumulator had coolant on them). To visually inspect the thermostat working I need to open the cap, start the car, and look for fluid movement with the cap off correct?
As for the needle, I will keep an eye on it, if it gets stuck again I will try that temp gauge fix, still trying to locate where the sending unit is, I think I’ve got it, just looks pretty buried under other wires. Large detail I should have mentioned: I actually drove the car 16 hours home, performed flawlessly the whole way, just noticed these issues after work yesterday.
The area by the AC accumulator should be sealed from the coolant. How the heck did it get in there?
Yeah that makes sense with the A/C oil being on those lines, would that cause a burning smell? Going to top off the coolant, do you fill from both the front radiator cap AND thermostat cap out back in these cars or only at one spot? Going to order a new coolant bottle cap too so that fluid isn’t getting blown around.
Yeah that makes sense with the A/C oil being on those lines, would that cause a burning smell? Going to top off the coolant, do you fill from both the front radiator cap AND thermostat cap out back in these cars or only at one spot? Going to order a new coolant bottle cap too so that fluid isn’t getting blown around.
To fill cooling system, pour coolant in the thermostat housing until radiator is full. Then cap radiator and finish filling at thermostat housing. To top off if system has lost some coolant, fill at thermostat housing.
I never liked factory coolant reservoir cap. Coolant splashes out when it sloshed around in tank. I'm using Dorman cap like this instead (NOT SURE if this is correct part number) Check the parts in Help section at your local auto parts store. https://www.amazon.com/Dorm...nt-Cap/dp/B000C5G8CM
Got the new reservoir bottle cap, going to change oil today. I have a Mobil 1 M1-201A, will that work? I see the M1-201 has been recommended, what’s the difference from the “A” one? Putting 5w30 Mobil 1 advances full synthetic oil as well.
Found the source of the burning smell!! Was driving to the oil change and saw smoke coming out of the passenger front tire. Checked and the rotor appears to be gouged. Looks like I’ll need a new rotor caliper and brake pads.
However, last week while I was driving home on the freeway, something smelled hot... like it was burning. I didn't know where it was coming from. None of the gauges showed anything unusual.
I re-soaked the felt pads which hold the oil for the bearings (I used 
I promise, perhaps by the end of the year, to report back on the status of my blower motor! 
