Ok, well kind of getting sick of my car getting very hot at the track.
After a run or two my gauge is like 1 line below the 270 mark...
or whatever the top line is.

That isnt too good.
So im constantly having to shut my car down and leave my electric fan on and pop the hood.

I'm running the stock radiator (think 2 row, whatever it is without the ac)
and a stock water pump.
stock thermostat too...

Im having to keep my heat on full blast with my electric fan on just to keep the engine sorta normal

BUT, my electric fan switch ALSO heats up. What could be the cause of this?
The power to the fan switch is running straight to the fuse box, into where say a fuse would go being wedged in between a fuse and the fuse box itself(hope that wasnt confusing).

If the switch is left on too long(its metal) it heats up so bad it starts melting the plastic where its located...

Edit: fergot to ask the question I was going to ask. Since my fan is too big(on my radiator) im stuck to the current one that im using. Cant go 3 row or whatever row it is with the AC, the fan wont fit if I had that.

So what could I do to keep my car running cool?
It runs fine when just cruising...
Its just heavy traffic and at the strip

 

You should start with a cooler thermostat - go with 180* (160* is TOO low, I don't care what ppl say - your engine needs to be at 180* + for many reasons). You may also want to look into getting another fan mounted on the bumber side of the radiator as well. Usually 1 electric fan just won't cut it when you're running hard with just an electric fan and a 3 row radiator. Making sure your coolant system is clean is a good idea too. They make antifreeze additives that are supposed to cool the car better as well. If all else fails you can back the timing off some, as increased timing means increased heat.

As far as your electric fan, you really should be sure you're using a decent gauge wire(rated for however much current the fan draws) and powering it from the battery via a fuse right off the battery and a relay. You can run the relay wire through a toggle switch if you prefer or to a switched ignition power wire so the fan only runs when the key is on. Also lots of fan kits come with a thermostat so they only come on when needed.

Thats all I can think of, other than going with a power robbing more efficient water pump or a bigger radiator.

 

id say if its the stock water pump and thermostat. then they prob could use a change. and your sytem could use a flush. get a colder thermostat and i think they have performance water pumps for racing. they are not much more than a regular one. your car is over 10 years old if that stuff is original then its probably wearing out. also ive seen radiator coolent by royal purple. i think its called purple ice or something it can keep you temps almost 20 degrees lower than water and regular radiator coolent. hope thats what u are looking for .

 

that bumper side fan sounds like a good idea, also i replaced the radiator a couple months ago with a stock 2 row.
Like i said the 3 will not fit.
But replacing the radiator would be good if its going to keep temps down.
And just a bigger gauge wire will solve the overheating switch issue?
If so sounds good...

Just what radiator do ya suggest, thats the same size as a 2 row that's in there now?

 

Your switch is heating up because you are running full voltage through the switch to the fan. You need to put a normaly open relay in. That way the relay takes all the voltage and the switch only needs to flow enough current to close the relay. That should solve the swithc problem.

Give your collant a nd good flush and change to a 180 stat. That should help the heat problem.

 

man that is freakin hot mine barely makes it off of 150-160 ever so i probably have a stuck thermostat or its just a real cool thermostat

 

So, what exactly is this relay?

just like another fuse or something and you splice it in the lines?

 

It acts like a remote switch. Basically on one side it has the incoming power that would go to the accessory, and the power feedline from a switch somewhere else in the car, the other side has the rest of the accessory power feed and a ground. The relay only requires very little power to activate, reducing the draw through the switch (that's causes it to get hot) but the relay is rated for a much higher voltage and can handle the load needed to run the accessory. Relays are how you headlights, foglights, wiperblades, starter....work. They handle the load better and safer than a switch.

If you go to an autoparts store and tell them you need a relay that is normally open so you can wire a fan you should be fine.

Relays are very safe practice for accessory wiring, most switched cannot handle a high load through them for substained periods of time and potentially start a fire if held for to long. I recall melting plastic.

 

a HV water pump isnt too expensive. it will outflow your stocker by about 30%. that might be the fix. you could even go electric if you wanted to save a couple ponies.

and the new wire wont fix youe cooling system. what he was saying is that maybe the wire is sending a false reading to the gauge and that is why you should replace it.

 

?
The wires we were talking about was for my Electrical Fan switch.
The switch is made out of some kind of metal and I guess getting too much juice to it.
It then overheats after prolonged use and starts melting interior plastic surrounding