Car is STILL overheating, Need help! Options

[ILoveMySilly97]

Car:
1997 Toyota Celica GT

Location:
Central California(It's pretty hot nowadays since it's hitting summer)

When I started to notice the overheating problem:
My car ran with no over heating problem until AFTER I replaced both the ECT sensors because I had a P0115 CEL code. When I had the code my car would start then idle rough and then stall. So I bought an OBD2 CEL reader and I had the P0115 code. So I replaced both the ECT sensors and the CEL went away. The next day I was driving to Fresno(45 min drive). It drove ok(but I'm not sure because I didn't keep an eye on the gauge) until I started the car again about 6 hours later. At first it was at the correct temperature until about 15 min into the drive and I noticed it jumped up to 70% and back down. That was how and when I started the notice the over heating problem.

Problem:
Overheats once the car has been driven for about 30-40 min. My normal operating temperature is about 45%. When it starts to over heat. It'll jump up to about 65-70% then back down to about 50%. Then slowly to 45% again. Then like after another min it'll jump back up and repeat the process.

I noticed that when I was at a stop. The fan kicked in and the temp gauge jumped up to about 55% then slowly up to 70% then back down to 50% again.

EDIT: Just got back from testing my car and it seems to like to heat up to about 60% right until the fan kicks in. It'll drop to 45% then immediately and slowly climb back up to 60% and then stays there until the fan turns off. It'll slowly crawl back down to 45%. And it repeats itself. I'm thinking I might just have a faulty Coolant Temp Sensor, the one that goes to the ECU and not to the Dash. This was all done while the car was idling. Any ideas?

What I've done so far in order:
1st- Replaced both ECT sensors. 2nd- Replaced thermostat. 3rd- Replaced upper radiator hose. 4th- Flushed out the cooling system. 5th- Bled it out correctly. 6th- Replaced the radiator cap & bled it again. 7th- Checked for leaks, there were none. Coolant level stays the same.

EDIT #2: Ok. So here's an UPDATE. So. I let my car idle and heat up to about 70% and I just let it idle. It kept jumping when the fan turns on and off so I decided to unplug the sensor/switch so that the fan will always be on. When I did that trick. The gauge went down to about 45% and stayed there and never climbed or jump?

When it's connected. The fan will turn on for about 2-5 seconds max. I know that's too short. I think that's why I'm getting these problems. My fan is just not turning and staying on for the right amount of time. What I did was replaced the radiator and the fan switch. So I don't know why the fan isn't staying on for the right amount of time? Any ideas?

EDIT #3: Ok so I finally took it into a shop to test it out and they said my car is not overheating but the ECT unit isn't grounded properly because I had teflon tape on the threads. So I bought a new ECT sensor and installed it without the teflon tape. Results are NOTHING! The only relief is that it's not overheating at all. The gauge on the cluster is saying it's over heating but it really isn't. At least that's according to the mech I took it to. Any ideas about the ECT, PCM, and etc.???

This post has been edited by ILoveMySilly97: Jul 18, 2012 - 7:21 PM

[delusionz]

couldnt tell if its been asked or answered yet but is it blowing out water from the radiator into the overflow bottle?


by the way, instead of rewiring the radiator fans to run them full time you simply unplug the thermo-switch in the bottom, just leaving it hangin there the ecu will run the fans will full time.

[ILoveMySilly97]

couldnt tell if its been asked or answered yet but is it blowing out water from the radiator into the overflow bottle?


by the way, instead of rewiring the radiator fans to run them full time you simply unplug the thermo-switch in the bottom, just leaving it hangin there the ecu will run the fans will full time.

Yea it's blowing out water to the overflow bottle. That should mean there's good pressure. Right?

[Galcobar]

Yea it's blowing out water to the overflow bottle. That should mean there's good pressure. Right?

No. That means the cap is seeing enough pressure that its valve is opening to allow water out. If the cap is an incorrect rating, isn't on properly, or is not functioning correctly, then the pressure in the system and subsequently the temperature will be incorrect as well.

There's some simple tests for the temperature gauge. Disconnect the sensor (on the water neck, single-wire sensor) and ensure that the gauge reads cool. Ground the connector through a 3.4W test bulb and turn the ignition to ON; the gauge needle should move towards HOT. The gauge may also be checked at the cluster, for resistance. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the sixth-gen's BGB so I can't tell you which terminals on the back of the cluster are involved in testing.