Originally Posted by
Driver
My EM1 has overheated the last two times I got it inspected. The first time I kind of wrote it off as a wierd fluke, turned on the heat at full blast and by the time I drove a few miles it had dropped back down to normal. This time however I tried the heater thing again and it didn't drop down it just stayed at about 4/5 of the way up. It only sat in the bay connected to the machine for 15 minutes at the absolute max and I've sat in my car listening to music for almost an hour before(w/engine running) and it didn't overheat. I was just curious if anyone else has had that or other odd things happen on their obd2 while getting inspected. What in need cleared up for me is the thermostat opens by itself, it's purely mechanical right? so what could cause this to happen?
Testing emissions... Right? That means Dyno? If yes and yes, then remember that your car idling is burning like zero gas, and making almost no heat. When your engine is under load (ie, on a dyno) the car is in gear, under load, and burning gas... but what ISN'T present is the wind. The jackholes at your dyno shop should be putting a big fan in front of your grill to help the radiator do what it's supposed to do and cool your engine. No airflow=no heat exchange.
If your car doesn't overheat when you drive it, that's normal. If your car doesn't overheat when it's idling, that's normal. If your car overheats with the AC on and the radiator cap in your pocket on a 105° day. That also is normal. I'd chalk it up to inspection tech is teh fail.