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This morning I got in my car, started it up, let it idle for about
2 minutes, then proceeded to drive conservatively for about
5-6 blocks. The temperature outside was about 65 outside.
As soon as I hit stop and go traffic, I noticed the car was
idling quite high (1,500 RPM). At the same time, this is when I
discovered the temperature was nearly pegged hot. I
immediately turned back and started heading for home while
putting as little load on the car as possible. As I was driving
back (climate control off), I see a light puff of smoke kick out
of the front center air vent. It smelled like coolant if I recall
but was not really a burning smell. It quickly dissipated. I
immediately pulled the car over and let it cool for a couple of
minutes, then started back up to drive the rest of the way
home. The thermostat continued to climb and I shut the car
off and coasted as much as I could. When I was less than a
block away, the temp gauge started to drop slightly, or so it
seemed.I didn't have time to diagnose these problems at all and
needed to get to work quickly. I am guessing it is either a
coolant leak or a faulty thermostat. Possibly unrelated: Sometimes I noticed in the past that when
I had the climate control set to 75 degrees or so and
expecting heat shortly after starting the car, it would kick out
cold air instead of warm. I'd have to shut it off for a minute or
so, then turn it back on before it'd actually start blowing heat. The car is a 94 with 56k original miles. Thoughts?
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