Re: Spider cooling systems

[bgiller@mitre.org (Bruce Giller)]

> Here's a thought: the stock 4 cylinder cooling system is adequate for =
> speeds to approximately 70mph above that it's only marginal. Do I have a =
> point or am I just full a shit?

	I don't think that a lack of a Spider's cooling efficiency has
anything to do with higher speeds.  My '86 Spider has a stock radiator and
stock fan.  Yesterday it was around 100 here in the DC area.  I got caught
in the usual Beltway traffic jam in the afternoon.  My temp. gauge normally
is rock steady at 175F but when I was in the stop'n go stuff, it went up
one notch from there.  There wasn't even a breeze anywhere.  And I've got
A/C condenser in front of my regular radiator!  And when I got up to 30mph
for maybe 1/2 mile, the temp. gauge went back down.  And later, at speed
(~70mph, at least that is what my speedo tells me), the temp. went back
down to 175.

	Been caught in the same Beltway traffic with the temps in the 90s
with a shattered radiator fan (just little stubs on the fan hub) and the
temp didn't rise very much at all.  Nothing near to overheating.

	The only time I had overheating problem was when I had air in my
cooling system which didn't allow the thermostat to open (the thermostat
was surrounded by the air bubble).  If you refill your radiator system,
make sure that your bleed the air out and do it on a level surface.

	If anything, the Spider has abundant cooling capacity.

	Re: dead battery from a shorted A/C fan sensor.  It took all night
to recharge that battery at 10amps.  In the first 3 hours, the idiot needle
hardly moved at all.  It was REALLY dead.


"Is dis a system???"  Mr. Natural

Bruce Giller
Takoma 'Radiation-Free-Zone and Finally ReUnited' Park, Md
'73 Alfa GTV 2000
'86 Alfa Spider
'72 Moto Guzzi Eldorado