I read in these forums that if your car is getting too hot, you should turn on your fans which should cause the temperature to drop. I also heard that if you turn on your headlights it also turns on your fans and causes the temperature to drop. I tried both of these methods and it did the exact opposite. It caused my aftermarket temp gauge to rise. What's up?

 

Those suggestions are based on quirks in the RX-7 electrical system. If your car doesn't have those quirks, turning on the lights or fan will not help. You can switch the thermosensor (the one on the filler neck) with a Miata one - this lowers the temp. that the fans come on, or you can program your PFC (if you have one) to turn the fans on at a lower temp. - but you need the Datalogit to do this.

First step is to try to figure out why your car is overheating - is the rad dirty? Is something else blocking air flow? Are the "air seals" on either side of the rad. in place and in good condition? Do both fans work? Do they work at all speeds? Is your undertray in place?

Sometimes the simplest thing will fix a problem!

 

I agree, find the source of our cooling problem that also a few other things to check would be to presure check the engine and the ast and filler neck caps.l Also if your fluid isn't new may what to flush it and and new green stuff.

 

first off what is your idea of overheating?

 

you just stole my next question... it is strange though that turning on headlights and other electric items causes a rise in temps

 

I doubt it would - but if you just sat there idling, waiting for something to happen, then the temps would naturally rise.

IIRC (and someone feel free to jump in an correct me), the earliest FDs had a quirk where high electrical load would prompt the fans into action - if this isn't happening, then turning on the lights, ac and stereo... is just going to make you look stupid :p