Overheating problem 2003 Escalade with 6.0

[beav626]

My Escalade 2003 EXT with the 6.0 is having a odd overheating issue.

 

When it is Summer in Oklahoma or above 90 outside my truck will be cruising along fine but when I stop or cruise in town My External Temp gauge (on mirror) starts to climb rather fast. Then my AC starts to kick on and off. This is mainly while Im sitting still

My mirror has read temps as high as 145 degrees....

 

My engine temp is normal and my tranny temp is just under 200

 

Any thoughts here?

[gmtech4]

the sensor is no good i would say ,,,,outside temp sensor and a/c have nothing to do with each other

[beav626]

The Temp is accurate while cruising on the highway...

[asc08]

If I recall, the temp sensor for the mirror is installed in front of the radiator, so it catches the ambient air, before the radiator. If it has shifted, and is now touching the radiator, it will probably read normal with the air flowing over it while cruising, but be effected by the heat from the radiator when you are not moving, or moving slowly.

[gmtech4]

yup in frt of the rad behind the grill ,,

[beav626]

The sensor is still attached correctly. Is my radiator heating up beyond normal while Im sitting there in traffic or do you think its still a bad sensor.

 

I saw 145 (Mirror Temp) sitting on the boat ramp last summer.

[Carder09]

Did you look over the sensor itself? Check to see if anything was damaged or melted in any way or form? Best bet would be to either relocate the sensor closer to the grill, or better yet, replace it...

[asc08]

Since your engine temp is normal, this may be a completely useless post, but I would check the engine temp with a handheld scanner to verify that your temp gauge on your cluster is working.

 

Since the outside temperature sensor is located in front of the radiator, and senses the air before it goes thru the radiator, you get a fairly accurate outside air temp. reading. When you are travelling at highway speeds, there is plenty of airflow over the sensor and thru the radiator. When you are stopped in traffic, or at the boat ramp, and there is no airflow from the vehicle moving, the fan will normally kick in and create the required airflow to keep the engine cool, and it will also draw ambient air over the outside temperature sensor to continue giving you a fairly accurate reading.

 

If the fan is not operating, heat will build up in the area of the outside temperature sensor, and cause the reading to rise. A defective fan should also cause the the engine temperature to rise, if not overheat, and will also cause the A/C to cut off.

 

Check the radiator fan operation, and monitor the coolant temperature with a scanner.

[beav626]

well it got a tad warm here in OKC today... 103 with a heat index of 1,000 degrees.

 

driving around town all was good. External temp was close to normal, coolant temp stayed at normal, tranny temp was normal to warm, around 200 degrees.

This evening a towed my boat to storage and while it was an easy tow for the 6.0 once I got to the storage place I let the truck sit for a bit (running)

 

When I got back in the truck the External temp was 134, the coolant temp was between the 210 and the next tick up. Tranny temp was good.

 

The fan is spinning normally, and I cleaned the radiator grills

 

Also once I drove off all the temps came back to normal...

[beav626]

Update:

 

I have a Belt driven fan E-Fans were installed in 05

 

I replaced the Fan clutch and and the freon checked at my friends shop. There was metal shards on the orifice tube so we replaced the AC Compressor.

 

When it is warm outside over 100 My temp gauge goes high and the AC doesn't blow cool.

 

What else am I missing?

[00Silverado4x4]

I have a Belt driven fan E-Fans were installed in 05

 

 

Just a clarifying question but do you have a belt driven fan or e-fans? The wording here confuses me.

 

Did you ever try replacing the outside ambient temp sensor. As was posted earlier the outside air temp gauge and the engine temps have no connection. When my truck idles the outside temp gauge will rise as well, but my AC works fine. When you replaced the compressor did you also replace the orifice tube? If the tube is getting blocked your AC isn't going to work at peak efficiency either.

[beav626]

I have the Belt fan

 

I never replaced the temp sensor because it reads accurate while cruising

 

we did replace the orifice tube.

[beav626]

This weekend after towing my jet skis back to storage I left the truck at idle in the storage yard for a few minutes while I secured the toys.

 

When I got back in the truck the air was not cold, coolant temp was over 210 and tranny temp was over 200

 

All went back to normal after a short drive.

 

Im gravitating back to the fan clutch.

 

I understand how the thermal fan works

 

Is the fan supposed to get louder while at idle when the temp gets hot. Because mine does not.

 

I does engage and sound like a semi truck while accelerating tho.

 

So In wondering if its not engaging while at idle...

[nGAbear]

Metal shards in the o tube and intermittent success with the ac... Might want to flush your ac system and recharge.

[beav626]

Metal shards in the o tube and intermittent success with the ac... Might want to flush your ac system and recharge.

 

 

that was done when the compressor was replaced

 

Im going by the shop tomorrow to see if the freon level is a bit low.

 

Also I replaced the fan clutch again with a haden one- it makes noise through all RPM's... But did not help with the AC problem.