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Slight Overheating Problem


Texas Jim

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A couple of times in the last couple of months, my 2006 DTS has slightly overheated when running down the highway.

It has been extremely hot here for the last two and a half months.

Daytime temps between 105 and 110...

OK... a little description of the issue...

I watch the temp gauge "A LOT"... because of all I have read about overheating.

When running down the freeway at a constant 80 MPH...when it is real hot outside... sometimes the temp gauge moves from the 12 o'clock position (normal) towards the next mark on the gauge.

If I slow down to 60/65... it will SLOWLY go back down to the "NORMAL" position.

It has never went "PAST" the next mark above "NORMAL"...

I have also noticed this same slight rise in temps when I am in the mountains, running below 50 most of the time and driving pretty aggressively... using first and second gear... on curves and up and down the hills between curves.

It almost seems like it does not have enough airflow thru the radiator to keep it cool at high speed.

It is full of coolant... the coolant was changed a few months ago at 90,000, at the dealer.

It has never lost any coolant.

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Jim, I think that the Northstar cooling system and all cooling systems for that matter can only dissapate so much heat. With ambient temps that you have been having of 105 to 110, the system dissapates less heat and I think that the ambient temp kind of 'adds' itself to the baseline if you know what i mean.

As far as the temp rise as the result of hills, the hills cause the tranny to work harder especially the torque converter, creating more heat.

About 2005 I was going north to Sedona from Scottsdale and there was a long 5 mile steep incline and a sign said, turn off air conditioning steep incline next 5 miles. I was like, YEA RIGHT, this a rental car. a Cadillac, frig that! Well I passed about 5 cars steaming from under their hoods and I looked down and my temp gage had risen two marks on a rented Cadillac Deville... I looked at my wife, shut the AC and opened the windows, the temp was 95 in Scottsdale and 80 in Sedona due to the altitude. I think the car works harder on hills.

Lets wait till the fall and see what you find, or when Obama stops the seas from rising and the globe from warming, whichever comes first, :lol:

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Jim, I think that the Northstar cooling system and all cooling systems for that matter can only dissapate so much heat. With ambient temps that you have been having of 105 to 110, the system dissapates less heat and I think that the ambient temp kind of 'adds' itself to the baseline if you know what i mean.

As far as the temp rise as the result of hills, the hills cause the tranny to work harder especially the torque converter, creating more heat.

About 2005 I was going north to Sedona from Scottsdale and there was a long 5 mile steep incline and a sign said, turn off air conditioning steep incline next 5 miles. I was like, YEA RIGHT, this a rental car. a Cadillac, frig that! Well I passed about 5 cars steaming from under their hoods and I looked down and my temp gage had risen two marks on a rented Cadillac Deville... I looked at my wife, shut the AC and opened the windows, the temp was 95 in Scottsdale and 80 in Sedona due to the altitude. I think the car works harder on hills.

Lets wait till the fall and see what you find, or when Obama stops the seas from rising and the globe from warming, whichever comes first, :lol:

Very true about it can only dissipate so much heat...

Two weeks ago when I was in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska.... I didn't have that issue...

I am going to clean the AC condenser REAL GOOD in the next few days...

I ran thru a flock of grasshoppers coming South thru Nebraska and Kansas, at about 100 mph, on the way back home.

Just went out and looked at it... there are quite a few grasshopper remains on the bottom 4 inches or so, and a few are also across the top of it.

...

I will take off the plastic cladding on top, between the grille and the radiator and wash all the bugs off.

.

.

Here is what the front of the car looked like ...:P

.

.

IMG_0130.jpg

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Oh My God! Those poor grasshoppers, :lol:

The other day, I climbed up on a ladder to take the face of a bird house off, to make the hole bigger, the sparrows are trying to get into it but the hole is too small...

I was only on the second step of a ladder. I unclip the front, and slide the front cover down and about 100 small grass hoppers explode out of the bird house and hit me in the face, I lose my balance and fall off the ladder. Didnt get hurt but, that is how accidents happen.... the sob's... who knew..

Yes, I would clean out your radiator/condenser with that amount grass hoppers, you probably have decreased the flow 20%! :lol:

I had a similar experience on the Allegator Alley in Florida in 1987, I don't know what was hitting my windshield locusts or something but I ran out of solution and my wipers did nothing but smear dead locusts. My son who was 7 at the time still remembers it

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Oh My God! Those poor grasshoppers, :lol:

The other day, I climbed up on a ladder to take the face of a bird house off, to make the hole bigger, the sparrows are trying to get into it but the hole is too small...

I was only on the second step of a ladder. I unclip the front, and slide the front cover down and about 100 small grass hoppers explode out of the bird house and hit me in the face, I lose my balance and fall off the ladder. Didnt get hurt but, that is how accidents happen.... the sob's... who knew..

Man... that would startle the crap out of me...

That would be enough to make me lose my balance too...

I never would have thought about grasshoppers being that high off of the ground...

Those POOR GRASSHOPPERS are causing me to have to clean the AC condenser.."AND" the front of the car. :) :)

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Those poor grass hoppers almost blew out my Achilles Tendon :lol:

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Those poor grass hoppers almost blew out my Achilles Tendon :lol:

I meant the ones on the front of my car... not the ones in the bird house. :lol: :lol:

Is there any kind of repellent that would work for the grasshoppers and not harm the birds ??

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Those poor grass hoppers almost blew out my Achilles Tendon :lol:

I meant the ones on the front of my car... not the ones in the bird house. :lol: :lol:

Is there any kind of repellent that would work for the grasshoppers and not harm the birds ??

Yes, a condenser flying at 80 mph through their swarm, I can see it works wonders :lol:

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Those poor grass hoppers almost blew out my Achilles Tendon :lol:

I meant the ones on the front of my car... not the ones in the bird house. :lol: :lol:

Is there any kind of repellent that would work for the grasshoppers and not harm the birds ??

Yes, a condenser flying at 80 mph through their swarm, I can see it works wonders :lol:

WRONG.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Look at the pic again... see the dark smudge on the front passengers side of the hood.. just above the chrome piece????

Slow bird... :(

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wow!

I need you to drive through my yard I have a red tailed hawk killing rabbits, birds and ducks....

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Jim, I think that the Northstar cooling system and all cooling systems for that matter can only dissapate so much heat. With ambient temps that you have been having of 105 to 110, the system dissapates less heat and I think that the ambient temp kind of 'adds' itself to the baseline if you know what i mean.

On top of this you had the A/C condenser shedding heat and THAT heat had to pass through the radiator and cool the coolant. I agree with Mike. I think you where running near the systems capacity. Those grasshoppers in the condenser probably didn't help much either.

I think the car works harder on hills.

Absolutely.

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Look at the pic again... see the dark smudge on the front passengers side of the hood.. just above the chrome piece????

Slow bird... :(

I wouldn't worry too much about the grasshoppers, but if that bird was an Endangered Species you could be in a world of trouble. Clean the car IMMEDIATELY. Destroy all evidence!

Regards,

Warren B)

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There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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Look at the pic again... see the dark smudge on the front passengers side of the hood.. just above the chrome piece????

Slow bird... :(

I wouldn't worry too much about the grasshoppers, but if that bird was an Endangered Species you could be in a world of trouble.

Clean the car IMMEDIATELY. Destroy all evidence!

Regards,

Warren B)

:lol:... Already did... :D

Wouldn't want the environmental wackos after me... :D

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I had a similar experience on the Allegator Alley in Florida in 1987, I don't know what was hitting my windshield locusts or something but I ran out of solution and my wipers did nothing but smear dead locusts. My son who was 7 at the time still remembers it

Hi BBF, if your trip in Florida was the spring or fall those were Love Bugs hitting your car and it doesn't take long until the front of a white car becomes black. They are seasonal down here, 7 weeks long once in the spring and once in the fall. They love the heat and are attracted to the smell of exhaust and have a lot of acid in their bodies. If you don't wash them off within 2 days you will have their image permanently emdebbed in your paint.

OldFart

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I had a similar experience on the Allegator Alley in Florida in 1987, I don't know what was hitting my windshield locusts or something but I ran out of solution and my wipers did nothing but smear dead locusts. My son who was 7 at the time still remembers it

Hi BBF, if your trip in Florida was the spring or fall those were Love Bugs hitting your car and it doesn't take long until the front of a white car becomes black.

They are seasonal down here, 7 weeks long once in the spring and once in the fall. They love the heat and are attracted to the smell of exhaust and have a lot of acid in their bodies. If you don't wash them off within 2 days you will have their image permanently emdebbed in your paint.

You mean like this????

I was in Florida the End of April.. :) :)

.

.

P5010024.jpg

I cleaned it every night that we were in S Florida... :( :(

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Jim:

Love bugs and grasshoppers and slow birds aside for a moment. Air flow across the condenser/radiator is important, if not critical. When you are seeing an accumulation of crud on your windshield you can expect the rest of the front end is seeing the same thing at a less favorable angle of attack.

As for coolant temperature, you can use this picture as a "guide".

Smallertempguagewithnumbers.jpg

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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Jim:

Love bugs and grasshoppers and slow birds aside for a moment. Air flow across the condenser/radiator is important, if not critical. When you are seeing an accumulation of crud on your windshield you can expect the rest of the front end is seeing the same thing at a less favorable angle of attack.

As for coolant temperature, you can use this picture as a "guide".

Smallertempguagewithnumbers.jpg

jimD,

I agree about getting it clean....

It will be done ASAP...was gonna do it today, but I spent all day at the hospital with my Brother.

He had back surgery today.

I made it a point not to get in any hurry today.

As far as the temps...It never over halfway between 12 o'clock and the next mark that is labeled 235.

Maybe just a hair less than halfway...

It was worrying me, because it has "NEVER" gone past 12 o'clock, even driving across the Arizona desert in mid summer at 100+ for an hour or two straight.

Thank you for the picture.

Based on that... it was probably around 225....but not close to the 235 mark.

After tomorrow and I am no longer on hospital duty... IT WILL BE CLEANED... :) :)

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Mike, here is an updated and I think more accurate version.

Thank you Ranger....

It didn't get close to the next mark after normal... only about halfway...

It will be cleaned tomorrow evening of EARLY Sat morning...

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I honestly cant stand the needle gauge for coolant temp. it can be very decieving. On my 97 Seville I set the DIC to display the actual coolant temp. and I was shocked at the temp variation that was not registered by the gauge. Also no numbers. So all we know is 12:00 is normal

GM FAN FOREVER

Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile

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I honestly cant stand the needle gauge for coolant temp. it can be very decieving. On my 97 Seville I set the DIC to display the actual coolant temp. and I was shocked at the temp variation that was not registered by the gauge. Also no numbers. So all we know is 12:00 is normal

The analog gage is buffered so it does not show all the variation to prevent the average driver from becoming nervous about slight temperature fluctuations.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Jim:

Love bugs and grasshoppers and slow birds aside for a moment. Air flow across the condenser/radiator is important, if not critical. When you are seeing an accumulation of crud on your windshield you can expect the rest of the front end is seeing the same thing at a less favorable angle of attack.

As for coolant temperature, you can use this picture as a "guide".

Smallertempguagewithnumbers.jpg

jimD,

I agree about getting it clean....

It will be done ASAP...was gonna do it today, but I spent all day at the hospital with my Brother.

He had back surgery today.

I made it a point not to get in any hurry today.

As far as the temps...It never over halfway between 12 o'clock and the next mark that is labeled 235.

Maybe just a hair less than halfway...

It was worrying me, because it has "NEVER" gone past 12 o'clock, even driving across the Arizona desert in mid summer at 100+ for an hour or two straight.

Thank you for the picture.

Based on that... it was probably around 225....but not close to the 235 mark.

After tomorrow and I am no longer on hospital duty... IT WILL BE CLEANED... :) :)

Hi Jim,

I just got back from a round trip; Cameron Pk, CA to Naubinway, MI with my 2004 DTS, mostly along Interstate 80. The odometer just went over 100,000 miles.

My DTS temperature normally runs rock solid in the 12 o'clock position. Several times on this trip it rose to the first index past 12 o'clock.

Once while in Madison, WI; "stop and go" 0-30 MPH, temp 88, humidity 70%.

And a couple of times on fairly steep grades ( 65-70 MPH) where the transmission was shifting between 3rd and 4th a number of times.

Steady driving at 75-80 with temps at, or above 96, did not bother it at all. I think that the transmission must be putting a heavy load on the cooling system; at least in my case. When it needs to do some extra shifting work, the transmission just temporarily overloads the cooling system. I am going to look into adding more transmission cooling capacity.

PS

Trunk was packed absolutely full; about 400-500 pounds of books, suitcases, sewing machine, the list goes on...

-George

Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................

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