Hey all,

So I noticed two things that slightly concern me about my radiator.

I noticed that there's a cut wire that seems to connect to my radiator, or at least used to connect. I have no idea what this wire is. It's to the right of my radiator when looking at the front of the car.

The second thing is that I noticed what looks like cracks in my radiator. I checked the coolant and it's still a translucent pinkish red. It's not brown or sludgey at all when I shine a light to it.

Should I be concerned about these two things? My car runs completely fine and doesn't overheat at all, and I'd like to keep it that way. The temp gauge never goes above halfway no matter how hard I'm driving.


Wire goes from main fuse box in the engine bay to the radiator.
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Thank you for your help guys. Not sure what I'd do without this forum.

 

Looks like the fan shroud has been literally chewed on by a critter probably same for the wire. Maybe that goes to one of the fans? I don't like seeing those stress cracks in the tank it usually means imminent failure.

 

Should I be concerned about the disconnected wire? How would I go about fixing that?

I'm looking into replacing my radiator in the near future.

 

The radiator is soon to need replacing. Eventually those cracks will become leaks. Usually it starts with minor leakage, but in some cases it just blows out and dumps coolant even as you pour it in. You'd be smart to order and have one on hand so you can be ready or replace it on your own terms, not when you find yourself on the side of the road.

I just went and took a quick look under my hood. The wiring you are looking at is not for the fans. I can't tell where it goes exactly, but it appears to go to a horn, airbag sensor, or hood latch. At least for now the engine should be staying cool.

 

Thanks for the advice. Would reattaching the bare wires to each other + some electrical tape work? My horn works and so does my hood latch. A mechanic I took my car to before said that one of my side air bags wasn't working when he had a OBDII reader plugged in. So maybe it's that?

 

Could be, you can add wire as needed to reconnect them. I would. Even if you just use but connectors and pinch them. And yes, keep them separated by a generous amount of electrical tape. I would solder them myself or pay to have it done correctly. But probably not something you have to do. Just better to have a good lasting connection and weatherproof when shrink-wrapped right.

 

In regards to the radiator, the G2s have this issue with cracking as the top is made from plastic. When there's discolouration it usually means they don't have long left, although I have seen these radiators go for as long 200k miles. Can't be that bad. I would agree to be ready to replace soon.

 

Of course they're made from plastic. -_-

Mine has 150k miles, but I ordered a replacement Denso radiator yesterday. I plan to replace it once it comes in the mail.

 

A lower quality plastic that is. For a lexus anyway.