Somethings not quite right......

[PeteWild]

Please excuse me, new member and not very mechanical !
Seat Leon Cupra 2002 1.8T, up to now, very pleased.
Just recently, yesterday in fact, after 30 minutes queueing on the M25 carpark, the queue broke and I accelerated up to about 85mph and into 6th and thats it, despite flooring the accelerator, no increase in revs or speed, just stuck at 85 and a distinct feeleing of being 'held back'.
Glanced at the temp gauge with is normally dead centre once warmed up and it was now indicating I was running hot, then it dropped back to normal and then up to hot again all in the space of about 3 miles.
Other than that, it seems fine in the lower gears and still pulls as it always did from standing start up the 85 mph plateau.

Im wondering whether the temp sender, if faulty could cause this ?

Or failing that I'd appreciate any advice from anyone , thanks

 

[Ruddmeister]

Did the temp shoot up to 120degC and the red light come on?

Was the temp normal when driving below say 60mph only shooting up above that speed?

 

[Ruddmeister]

Also are the fans coming on? it's common for them to fail / fuses to blow???

 

[PeteWild]

Thanks both of you, I will check, I havent driven today so cant check the fans till I get home tonight.
I didnt get a warning light and the temp gauge never hit max, that I noticed anyway.
Would the fan failure and associated temp rise cause the loss or power etc ?
I'd like to imagine the ECU might do something if the temp went up but Im not sure.

 

[PeteWild]

PS I meant to say, it was hot so the climate control was on minimum at the time, when Im testing the fans, is it a case of one fan cuts in when normal running temp is reached and one only when climate control is on minimum ?

 

[Ruddmeister]

Yep the ECU should pull back if the temp's sky rocket.

On top of the battery is a fuse holder with metal plate type fuses check these haven't blown.

 

[Ruddmeister]

PS I meant to say, it was hot so the climate control was on minimum at the time, when Im testing the fans, is it a case of one fan cuts in when normal running temp is reached and one only when climate control is on minimum ?

Kind of

It's a two fans that come on at different stages, first one comes in at normal driving, second just comes on as more demand for cooling is required.

 

[Copra]

it could be the old classic water pump faliure.

symptoms of that would be temp going up when driving fastish and going down when idle.

although it sounds to me maybe its going up when stationary and the ram air effect is cooling it, which points to fans not working correctly

 

[PeteWild]

Well, brief update. Both fans are working, fine. Coolant level is fine.
On the drive in this morning, temp gauge up and down like the proverbial *****s drawers, sat at 90 degrees untill I hit a uphill dual carriage way and was able to increase speed at which point it went up to the next mark (105 I assume) revs seemed to be suppressed despite presing accelerator, no increase.
As I cleared the hill it dipped back to 90 again.
Same story all the way to work on the M25, hill or under load up went the temp down went the available revs/speed.
I cant believe it is actually the water temp though, as I exited the M25 it was 120 degrees at the top of the exit ramp and 90 by the time I reached the bottom, surely it cant cool off that quick !
Would a failing water pump create this scenario ?
Also, no warning light at any time.
Im starting to think the 'thingummy' that sends the temp may be at fault, the ECU is believing what its saying and is reducing power accordingly.
Do Seat garages have a clever plug in that could check this out ?

 

[Copra]

it might be the temp sensor in that case. they are cheap, £20 odd quid. you can check for fault codes, it might have logged one
where do you live? someone local from here could possably help with vag-com

 

[PeteWild]

I live in Croydon in Surrey, there is a local Seat dealership but I wasnt impressed on the two visits Ive made to them so far, for servicing I use Frosts in Shoreham, thats an extra 50 mile drive than the Croydon dealer so it shows just how unimpressed with them I was !

 

[Copra]

the only problem with dealers is its often a min 1hr charge just for diagnostics. there are a lot of friendly people on here who if they are local to you are willing to plug in their laptop and check for codes for you!

 

[PeteWild]

Oh I see.
Well if there are any such friendly people, please feel free. Id rather pay a fellow enthusiast rather than a dealer !

 

[PeteWild]

Mine looks like its def the water pump, and I doubt that there will be any way the diagnostic tools can detect that its failing.

Thanks for all the advice given anyway, Ill have to suffer the £300-400 costs now I guess, unless anybody has a good mechanic in the Croydon area??