Removing the thermostat on some engines will cause serious overheating, while on other engines it could cause the engine to never get up to operating temperature. If running without a thermostat it is a real good idea to install a restrictor plate or baffle with a roughly 3/4" hole in place of the thermostat.
Not a good idea, particularly on some modern engines. And if they have a "bypass" thermostat you are guaranteed to overheat the engine without the thermostat unless you understand exactly how they work and you block off the alternate path.
In today's cars you are almost guaranteen you will, at the very least, throw a code and turn on the CEL. The computer knows from the outside air temperature, how long it should take to come to a specific operating temperature and if it takes too long, or not long enough, it reports an error. Even changing the thermostat temperature can cause problems (put in 180 instead of 190 and it takes too long to reach the
190 minimum operating temperature - light comes on.On Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 9:57:40 PM UTC-4, snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote :
in the summer when it was hot, me and the guys would remove the thermostats from the engines in our vehicles in the days before cars and trucks were p roduced with all kinds of electronic engine controls. My old cars from the
1960's and 70's ran great in the summer without thermostats but I had to re install the thermostats when the weather got cool. Life was simpler back th en. ^_^The Honda Odyssey uses Variable Cylinder Management which shuts down 3 of t he 6 cylinders when the ECU determines that they are not needed. Many Ody owners hate it f or a variety of reasons.
One guy determined that VCM will never engage below a engine coolant temp ( ECT) of 167F.
He determined that a ~100 ohm resistor placed between the ECT2 sensor and t he ECU fools the ECU into thinking that the ECT is about 15 degrees cooler and essentially d isables VCM. The 15 degrees Is not enough to impact the fuel air mixture at cooler ECTs so ther e does not appear to be any negative impact on vehicle operation or performance. Dozens of us ha ve been using the resistor for about a year now and there have been no reports of issues. Vehicles have passed state inspections with the resistor installed. The device is plug and play, using Honda connectors, so it can be removed in about 20 seconds if someone wants to ensure that th e resistor is not causing whatever problem the van is having.
The VCM system causes more problems than it is worth. Running with 6 cylind ers all the time makes the van so much more enjoyable to drive.
(Honda had to use special (read: expensive) motors mounts and a Noise Cance llation system to compensate for the physical vibration and auditory issues that are present when the back 3 cylinders are shut down. The motor mounts are known to go bad because of t he VCM so we are happy to know that we've eliminated the vibration issue that causes them to go bad.
te:
, in the summer when it was hot, me and the guys would remove the thermosta ts from the engines in our vehicles in the days before cars and trucks were produced with all kinds of electronic engine controls. My old cars from th e 1960's and 70's ran great in the summer without thermostats but I had to reinstall the thermostats when the weather got cool. Life was simpler back then. ^_^
the 6 cylinders
for a variety of
(ECT) of 167F.
the ECU fools the
disables VCM. The 15
ere does not appear to
have been using
s. Vehicles have passed
y, using Honda connectors,
the resistor is not
nders all the time
cellation system to
t when the back 3
the VCM so we are
no doubt this tampering breaks a bunch of fedreal laws.
cadillac years ago had a 8 6 4 engine that didnt work
On a lot of vehicles (don't know about the Odyssy) the torque converter also will not lock below the target temperature - and running without lock-up not only burns more fuel, but also burns out transmissions due to overheating caused by the slippage in the converter (which is not allowed for in the cooling design) Some also will never shift into the top (overdrive) gear untill proper operating temperature is acheived.
Because caddy tried to do it with analog electronics, since digital was not developped to that point yet.
rote:
re, in the summer when it was hot, me and the guys would remove the thermos tats from the engines in our vehicles in the days before cars and trucks we re produced with all kinds of electronic engine controls. My old cars from the 1960's and 70's ran great in the summer without thermostats but I had t o reinstall the thermostats when the weather got cool. Life was simpler bac k then. ^_^
of the 6 cylinders
it for a variety of
mp (ECT) of 167F.
nd the ECU fools the
ly disables VCM. The 15
there does not appear to
s have been using
ues. Vehicles have passed
lay, using Honda connectors,
t the resistor is not
linders all the time
ancellation system to
ent when the back 3
of the VCM so we are
Why and which ones?
Terry Coombs posted for all of us...
Have you tried back flushing just the core? Might be piece of safarkus in there.
ote:
e, in the summer when it was hot, me and the guys would remove the thermost ats from the engines in our vehicles in the days before cars and trucks wer e produced with all kinds of electronic engine controls. My old cars from t he 1960's and 70's ran great in the summer without thermostats but I had to reinstall the thermostats when the weather got cool. Life was simpler back then. ^_^
f the 6 cylinders
t for a variety of
p (ECT) of 167F.
d the ECU fools the
y disables VCM. The 15
here does not appear to
have been using
es. Vehicles have passed
ay, using Honda connectors,
the resistor is not
inders all the time
ncellation system to
nt when the back 3
f the VCM so we are
As far as we have been able to tell, the Ody (or Pilot) does not exhibit an y TC lockup issues with the device installed. Hundreds of devices used for thousands of miles; highway, city, towing, etc.
No high rev issues, no shuddering, no heat buildup. We're happy.
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