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by Anonymous on January 28th, 2007

Anonymous

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95 saturn sl overheats in city traffic. sometimes check engine light comes on. why?

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Answers. 14 helpful answers below.

  • by Low Saturn on June 3rd, 2008

    Low Saturn

    Does the car really overheat or does the needle go almost into the red? On 1991-1995 S-Series Saturns the needle will normally get almost into the red until the fan kicks on. This isnt a design flaw, just how the engine operates.

    As for the SES (Service Engine Soon) light. You can look up the codes yourself very easily with a paperclip. Here are instructions from my website.

    How to display trouble codes:
    http://www.differentracing.com/tech_articles/diag_info.html

    What they mean:
    http://www.differentracing.com/tech_articles/dtc_chart.html

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by MUDTech on July 16th, 2007

    MUDTech

    It could be many things, does the rad fan come on? it should when the a/c is turned on. Is the coolant in the rad low? Your headgasket could be leaking, or your rad could be getting pluged too...

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by perky262003 on March 3rd, 2009

    perky262003

    Have you checked the thermostat? If its sticking closed the engine might overheat. You might also want to check the fan to see if its coming on; start the car and engage the AC; if the fan fails to come on the fan motor might have gone bad. I own this car still and have only had problem with overheating or getting hot when the fan motor went out.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by steve on July 10th, 2009

    steve

    i have a 95 satern as well and it goes to 3/4 hot before the fan comes on i have changed the sencores and the t stat,flushed the rad and put new coolant in it im at a loss here i have no idea whay the fan isnt comming on sonner.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Wildcatconvertible on August 2nd, 2009

    Wildcatconvertible

    I have a ’95 SL2 with the 1.9L, dual overhead cam. My overheating problem is showing up after I shut the engine off. Water boils out of the plastic overflow bottle.
    I’ve determined that the radiator fan is not turning on when it should. Mine used to turn on before the temperature hit the halfway hash mark on my temp gauge.
    I can force the fan to turn on by turning on the interior AC. I will also turn OFF the INTERIOR fan switch because this disengages the AC clutch (reducing the extra load on the engine and saving gas). The radiator fan will keep running. My gauge drops back to normal and she doesn’t overheat.
    By doing the above, that tells me that both of the 30 amp fuses are good (one for the fan and one for the fan relay), the fan relay is working, the thermostat is working and the radiator is not plugged (although that doesn’t mean the thermostat and radiator are perfect). It’s just saying enough water is flowing to cool down the engine.
    I flushed the radiator because my water had turned muddy from overheating. I didn’t expect that to fix it and it didn’t.
    By the way, in my car, the radiator fan relay and the horn relay are interchangeable. Both are located in the same fuse box under the hood. Both are plug in relays.
    A couple of hints,
    1) DO NOT shut your engine off when it is too hot and you know how to cool it off. It’s WAY too hard on the motor and can “crack” (ruin) the oil.
    2) A blown headgasket is usually caused by overheating and warping a head or the head. The symptoms are
    a) Milky looking oil
    b) (Most likely) Don’t confuse this with an engine overheating, because the symptoms are the same. Remove the radiator cap when the engine is COLD. Watch the water as she heats up. If you start getting LARGE bubbles (not little ones), gun the engine. If they get bigger, it’s time to panic. The true test is a compression test.
    So far, it looks like my problem is in wherever my engine temp electronics are located (ECU?) or I have an intermittent wiring connection, because the problem comes and goes.
    If I figure it out, I will try to update.

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  • by steve on July 10th, 2009

    steve

    it goes right b4 the red then the fan comes on

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Hazard on July 16th, 2007

    Hazard

    It means that your engine might back fire or blow up!! Thats why people have made a cooling system.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by 8 Jan 2004-10 Dec 2009 on June 28th, 2007

    8 Jan 2004-10 Dec 2009

    As the former owner of a '95 Saturn SL1, I know that they have a design flaw that can give symptoms consistent with a blown head gasket while not actually having any problems in need of repair.

    It freaked me out when I first heard that but I have had independent confirmation from multiple other sources including a Saturn dealership mechanic.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by LOLCAT on January 28th, 2007

    LOLCAT

    The car heats up because it is combusting fuel and causing parts to move around. The vehicle is equipped with a radiator which runs liquid through the motor to keep the motor within an optimal performance range of temperatures. When your radiator is low on liquid, the car can heat up and even be damaged.

    You need to check the radiator for low levels of fluid. Open your hood. The liquid storage of the radiator should look like a plastic jug of water. If little or no liquid is present, you need to put water in it along with anti-freeze; if you have a specific fluid, use that.

    1 comment | Post one | Permalink

  • by scotty2006 on January 28th, 2007

    scotty2006

    Most likely this is due to an inoperative coolant fan, but can be caused by many things. Plugged up radiator, Low coolant, faulty coolant pump, T-stat, The check engine lite is most likely related to the engine overheating condition. I would take it into a shop and have it checked out.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by FLYxNIGHT on January 28th, 2007

    FLYxNIGHT

    Do you mean overheats? If that is the case it is possible that the fan that cools the radiator is not working.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Sarita1 Goes Bollywood on March 29th, 2007

    Sarita1 Goes Bollywood

    Check that cooling fan is coming on at the appropriate temp when its supposed to.

    Also,make sure there are no leaks in the coolant system and the level of coolant is full and once in a while in an older vehicle, the radiator cap has a pressure relief spring - if the cap is not holding good pressure, the car can over heat at a lower temp then otherwise, but it would be more likely to over heat then at any instance.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Chris C on June 28th, 2007

    Chris C

    Turn on A/C. If temperature goes down, it is because the fan that blows in front of the radiator energizes when A/C is turned on. So if A/C is not on, it could be the temperature sensor that changes resistance with temperature is bad, or the connection to the electronic module is bad, or the electronic module that supplies voltage to the fan relay is bad. It probably is the module. Thank goodness for junk yards. If fan does not turn on with or without A/C switch on, either fan motor relay is bad or fan motor is bad. With out this fan motor running on hot days and slow or stopped traffic, car overheats. Very poor design!!

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Darryl61 on January 28th, 2007

    Darryl61

    A few possible causes are low coolant level, bad thermostat, clogged radiator, electric fan not working.

    2 comments | Post one | Permalink

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