500E High coolant temps.

Hello,

I was a bit alarmed this weekend when I waited in line at the US/Canada Border and the 500E's coolant temperature gauge read over 100 degrees and was approaching the red zone. I had waited in line for over 30 minutes, but I thought the temperature should not climb for such a modern vehicle.

The car just came out of the 30,000 maintenance from the dealer, so I think everything is okay. Does anyone know how to solve this problem, and is it specifically a 500E problem area?

Thank you!

Henry Liu

[-fad]

Hi Henry- congrats on the 500e

if you do a search, you'll find plenty of info on:

>cooling harness piggy tail (JimF)
>Redline "Water Wetter"

also, you first should't ignore checking the basics:
>coolant condition/ mixture
>proper aux fan operations (3 speeds)/ sensors/relays etc.
>hoses, etc.

...sounds like your aux fans weren't kicking in if you hovered near red for an extended period: JimF's site has info on stock fan kick in temps w/ also info on mod'd lower'd kick in temps with his piggy tail...

with the piggy tail and proper mechanical cooling system operation (fan/coolant/H20 pump/etc) 500e/e500 temps should not normally see 95 even idling in 100degree ambient temps

good luck and let us know what turns out...it's worth checking into now with such low miles on your car.

-fad

This does happen with 500E's, part of the design trade off of stuffing a V8 into the space where only a I-6 was designed to go.

fad is right on with his assessment, Redline brand "Water Wetter" is a additive that when added can reduce the temps somewhat, say 5-10 degrees? The pigtail modification will allow your aux cooling fan to kick in at lower than standard temps, preventing the car from ever reaching 100 degrees.

This issue is brought up usually during Spring and early Summer but thanks to you, we can all do a little preventative maintenance and get our Cooling Systems in shape before our worries start.

BTW, don't you just love the Border???