86 N/A questions

[redneckz]

HelloI'm new on the forum and have a few questions about my z. A little background first, I bought the car in January, and has been my daily driver. I have put about 11000 miles on the car so far and it has never really left me stranded. This summer though, I was driving through washington, and it was about 100+ degrees, doing about 80, and the temp gauge went through the roof when I'd hit any hill. So when I got back home, I put an electrical fan on it and removed the stocker. but every now and then, the temp gauge will rise to right below 270 (digital dash) but I don't think its overheating, with a new water pump, thermostat, and a recent flush.So my questions are:

1. Is it the stock gauge that is faulty? I would think that at 270 I would be getting steam blowing from under the hood.

2. Is a 2500cfm fan enough to cool a 300zx? I plan to turbo it in the future and get rid of the digital dash.

3. Where would be a good place to hook the fan controller underneath the hood for an switched ignition source? I have it wired into a constant hot and it gets annoying having to pop the hood every time I stop to shut the fan off.

Thanks in advance!

[evildky]

unless ti says 270 at all times the gauge is likely right or at least in the right ballpark, temp spikes like that generally are due to air int he system, when you flushed did you have the heat on? if there was air int he heatercore that got into the system it could be the source of your problem

electric fans can be tricky, the mechanical fan does a better job in general

the fan should have a relay taht handles the high current power you jujst need a switched voltage signal wire, like form your radio, or leave the hot side hot and run a ground wire to a swithc int he cab but I vote ptu the mechanical back on, it could also bee a clogged radiator, might be time to replace the radiator

[Perrenial Badass]

Make sure no air is in the system, put the mechanical fan back on, and get a new sensor for the gauge, they are about $8. If that isn't it then you have some issues that need to be worked out.

My 87 is cooled by a fan from a V6 Accord and has no shroud, and has never overheated. Cheap switch from Autozone controlling it too.

[redneckz]

Thanks for the replies, I really dont think it is overheating, when its "overheating" it dosent steam, or even smell hot if that makes sense. I ended up hooking it up to the cigarette lighter with a fuse tap/pigtail, and doubled the fuse, havent had any problems. When I changed the thermostat, I made sure the heater was on, and had it running with the cap off for about 20 min.

I have one more quick question, my alternator dosent put out enough amps, and I know about the maxima alternator, but I think I need more amperage than 90 amps. What other alternators are out there that I can swap in besides the maxima alternator?

[Perrenial Badass]

Pretty much anything. All that is needed to swap one in usually is modification of the bracket and tensioner, and changing the plug maybe.