Motoring Discussion > Berlingo Running Hot Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut Replies: 15
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 16:25 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Bromptonaut
Been scratching my head for last three weeks over an issue we had with our Berlingo in France last month.

We travelled out via Caen/Ouistreham arriving early doors and then in one day's driving to a campsite outside Le Mont Dore (Auvergne) we've been going back to for decades. Autoroute pretty well all the way ending up on the A71 then the A89 from Combronde. Two adults and a caravan which I'd estimate as 1200kg laden. Engine is 1.6/115 HDi diesel, car is approaching 11 yrs and has 130k on the clock.

The A89 has French style long gradients, a little steeper than in UK, and climbs to a little over a thousand meters. The long climbs have 'crawler lanes' for vehicules lents which we use although we can usually manage to keep around 50mph.

On this occasion we seemed to 'run out puff'. I think I might not have managed the gears as well as I could and we ended up doing less than 30 with the engine turning at pretty high speed but unable to get from 2nd to 3rd. Coolant temperature - 30+ outside - getting very close to the red mark on the gauge. No red light or anything but the only time it's got much over 90 before was when I stopped the engine without giving it a few seconds to recover after a long ascent in the same part of the world but off the Autoroute network.

No obvious fault, no lack of coolant and it ran perfectly fine for the rest of the day including up the Col to the campsite. Reverse direction trip over the A89 a week later but in lower temperatures return home via a week near Tours and run back up to Calais all totally normal.

I'm wondering whether it was an effect of altitude or whether I should be looking for a fault in the cooling circuit, radiator etc.

What does the panel think.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 8 Aug 24 at 16:29
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 16:36 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Zero
If its happened just the once, it went away again quickly, with no sniff of issues previously or since, it sounds very much like you got into an issue of working the engine hard, with insufficient volume of cooling air through the radiator. `Keep an eye on it.
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 16:46 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Bromptonaut
>> If its happened just the once, it went away again quickly, with no sniff of
>> issues previously or since, it sounds very much like you got into an issue of
>> working the engine hard, with insufficient volume of cooling air through the radiator. `Keep an
>> eye on it.

That was my thinking with altitude compounding the lack of power.

The radiator fan seems to be OK. It was on in what I think is DPF self cleaning mode, where it runs on for ages after you park up, just before we left and I can hear it cut in/out with the aircon.

Monitoring.

I get nervous when I might have mechanical problems abroad; my daughter says I have a 'worried car face' saved for those cases.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 8 Aug 24 at 16:49
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 16:38 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Robin O'Reliant
Provided it doesn't start to recur I'd put it down to the heat and the long climb combined with the weight of that shed you drag round and forget about it.

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New Thu 8 Aug 24 17:16 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Runfer D'Hills
Could be something really simple like a temporary blockage of adequate air flow to the radiator. Random plastic bag caught in the grille for a while or something.
I once saw a car with an owl embedded in its radiator grille. It had pulled into a motorway services parking space next where I was walking back to my car and as it stopped, the owl (well, the ex-owl anyway), fell out onto the ground.
Couldn’t help mentioning it to the driver who seemed relieved to know why his engine had been running hot.
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 17:41 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Bromptonaut
>> Could be something really simple like a temporary blockage of adequate air flow to the
>> radiator. Random plastic bag caught in the grille for a while or something.

Had somebody behind me in local traffic a few years ago with a plastic bag from the local farm fodder supplier over their grille. Fell off when we all stopped at traffic lights and I collected it.

50 or so years ago, driving though snow fall in NE France just after Easter, the temp gauge on Dad's Ford Granada was climbing quickly towards it's upper stop. Main air source for the radiator was through scoops below the front bumper. They were obstructed by a build up of snow/ice...
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 17:50 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Kevin
Or it could be something really, really expensive like a turbo or head gasket on it's way out that might leave him stranded miles from anywhere with no phone signal at two in the morning ;-)
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 17:57 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Zero
No problem, he can have a wee and knock up a quick bacon sarnie in the van.
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 17:59 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Runfer D'Hills
Dodgy trying to do both at the same time that though. Bacon can spit…
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 18:32 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Zero
Its the brown sauce you need to watch
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 19:57 
 Berlingo Running Hot - bathtub tom
You could try flushing the rad with a hose, to remove any debris. Although I notice my entomology collection is much reduced so far. this year
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 20:45 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Zero
There does seem to be a significant reduction in Bees, wasps, and thankfully, Mozzies this year.
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New Thu 8 Aug 24 21:46 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Boxsterboy
>> Its the brown sauce you need to watch
>>

Assuming it is actually brown sauce...
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New Fri 9 Aug 24 09:52 
 Berlingo Running Hot - carmalade
The Psa Dv6 engine fitted to these is very efficient and don’t usually suffer overheating issues. From your description, I would think the radiator is partially blocked and not allowing full heat dissipation.
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New Fri 9 Aug 24 13:22 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Zero
Maybe give it a reverse flush
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New Fri 9 Aug 24 13:53 
 Berlingo Running Hot - Bromptonaut
It's being serviced a week today. I'll ask them to check the cooling circuit; it's probably due a coolant change anyway.
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