COOLANT EVERYWHERE!

[jbcrane]

The smell of hot coolant brings up painful memories from the past. Cooling problems were ultimately what led me to part with my last car. The Jeep has been trouble-free for just over 4 years now, but I always have one eye on the temperature gauge. This is the first sign of trouble and I'm (really) hoping it's something simple like a fan/electrical-related issue. Hopefully know more tomorrow.

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[R3TRO]

My voltage gauge used to be up full time in my cluster because I was having so many issues with my aux battery. Based on recent posts here, I've changed it to coolant temp!

 

[Old Dogger]

If the engine cooling fan wasn't running, then that is the cause of the overheat. So, fan controller, fan motor, fuse or connection would fit the cause. You may want to read your extended warranty policy to see if these items are covered. Hopefully your engine is O.K.

 

[AmericanPatriot100]

Definitely read your extended warranty. When we bought our warranty(gold) for our Escalade it was the top/best warranty the company offered. 3 years later they added a new tier(platinum) and ours became a lesser coverage some how. Anyway. We needed our ac replaced and the gaskets for the condenser lines weren’t covered under this new tier we were put in like they were previously. They also added new coverage to the platinum tier that weren’t available on the gold tier 3yrs ago. Essentially we went from having a bumper to bumper extended warranty to a mediocre warranty. Dealership was kind enough to fight the warranty company for us but lost so they ate the cost of the gaskets. So we will definitely go to them again.

 

[mwilk012]

The smell of hot coolant brings up painful memories from the past. Cooling problems were ultimately what led me to part with my last car. The Jeep has been trouble-free for just over 4 years now, but I always have one eye on the temperature gauge. This is the first sign of trouble and I'm (really) hoping it's something simple like a fan/electrical-related issue. Hopefully know more tomorrow.

Turn your Air conditioning on.

Your vehicle's cooling system is kept under pressure to prevent boiling. The core of the engine is well above the indicated temperature of the coolant temp sensor. If there is a loss of pressure due to a small leak, like from the coolant reservoir cap, it will lead to flow oscillations and instabilities that create localized overheating until flow is re-established. The fan does not kick on without the A/C request until well after the thermostat opening setpoint of 194-212F.

 

[Hucke_250]

I’ve noticed a faint coolant smell at times and my coolant reservoir consistently stays below the half way mark (2018 3.6 ). No visible signs of a leak from the top of the engine/radiator and reservoir cap still had pressure.
After reading this thread I went out with a flashlight and found that my radiator has a small leak. I had to get under the Jeep with a flash light and look behind the fan shroud to see it.
Here is a link to a YouTube video I watched and my leak appears to be in the same place, inside driver side of radiator.

 

[CorvZ061]

Turn your Air conditioning on.

Your vehicle's cooling system is kept under pressure to prevent boiling. The core of the engine is well above the indicated temperature of the coolant temp sensor. If there is a loss of pressure due to a small leak, like from the coolant reservoir cap, it will lead to flow oscillations and instabilities that create localized overheating until flow is re-established. The fan does not kick on without the A/C request until well after the thermostat opening setpoint of 194-212F.

He said in the first post he had the AC on and no fan. Sounds like the fan controller failed to me.

 

[jbcrane]

If the engine cooling fan wasn't running, then that is the cause of the overheat. So, fan controller, fan motor, fuse or connection would fit the cause. You may want to read your extended warranty policy to see if these items are covered. Hopefully your engine is O.K.

This is exactly what I'm thinking/hoping. I spent the better part of the evening removing the winch for easy access to the radiator, fan & grill removal. And mopping up the coolant off the garage floor so the dog doesn't get to it. My extended warranty is Platinum bumper to bumper, less wear items. Last I checked electronics and fans aren't wear items. Thanks everyone for chiming in. I appreciate all the thoughts and help. Hopefully will know more tomorrow.

 

[jbcrane]

My voltage gauge used to be up full time in my cluster because I was having so many issues with my aux battery. Based on recent posts here, I've changed it to coolant temp!

Great minds think alike. I'm back and forth with one eye one oil temp, coolant temp and voltage - and the other eye on the temp gauge. It's a wonder I've not been in a collision .

 

[Idaho Explorer]

Ugh, that sucks. 3.6? There seems to be a very bad trend beginning with overheating and head gasket failure.

It is not a trend! It is an explosion! I had to replace my engine at the beginning of the year for the same problem. Now less than 10K miles later I have an appointment at a dealership to take it back in to be torn down. I had a local shop check out a #5 cylinder misfire code and they determined that the right bank had issue and there was a lot of metal in the oil . Their guess is that a cam follower has failed.
This is a known problem with this engine as are blown head gaskets and defective blocks. The 65K warranty is set up so that most of these problems occur after warranty. I feel we should ban together and file a class action lawsuit against Jeep for this known problem!

 

[mgroeger]

My voltage gauge used to be up full time in my cluster because I was having so many issues with my aux battery. Based on recent posts here, I've changed it to coolant temp!

Had a JL since 2018 and I had no idea you can change the gauge in the cluster. How do you do this?

 

[Heimkehr]

When we bought our warranty(gold) for our Escalade it was the top/best warranty the company offered.

3 years later they added a new tier(platinum) and ours became a lesser coverage some how. Anyway. We needed our ac replaced and the gaskets for the condenser lines weren’t covered under this new tier we were put in like they were previously. They also added new coverage to the platinum tier that weren’t available on the gold tier 3yrs ago.

Essentially we went from having a bumper to bumper extended warranty to a mediocre warranty. Dealership was kind enough to fight the warranty company for us but lost so they ate the cost of the gaskets.

It'd be interesting to know how the warranty company can amend and/or remove coverage, that you paid for in good faith, after the fact. Was there something in the fine print that allowed them to do so? I'd see red if they pulled that switcharoo on me...

 

[jbcrane]

It'd be interesting to know how the warranty company can amend and/or remove coverage, that you paid for in good faith, after the fact. Was there something in the fine print that allowed them to do so? I'd see red if they pulled that switcharoo on me...

Agreed. I read through my 6 pages and felt reasonably sure whatever this is will be covered. It's the 'good faith' thing... There's no way any reasonable document can cover every single part in a car. So you'd expect a lot of good faith from the issuer to fill in the blanks. To me that's common sense and good business.

Mine is a Platinum plan (11 yrs./150k miles) and I paid a lot for it - and a bit more for additional lift kit coverage when it was added. In 4 years I've not had one problem. Now that I'm having a problem there's a part of me feeling good about having spent the money 4 years ago. But without issuer integrity the warranty isn't worth the pixels it's displayed on.

We'll see how this goes. If it goes well I'll be a real proponent of buying an extended warranty on an automobile. New engines are expensive.

 

[mwilk012]

Just replaced main battery? Check the Z case fuse for power and continuity across the fan fuse. (N5)

 

[jbcrane]

Had a JL since 2018 and I had no idea you can change the gauge in the cluster. How do you do this?

At least in mine, I'm referring to the on-screen read-outs in the instrument display - not a hard gauge. cycling through the arrows on the steering wheel I forget what number it is.

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