Fiat 500 Lounge Twinair sprouted a radiator leak. Must be corrasion I thought. Got a torch and had a good look about. No corrosion but 2 leaks.
Leak 1 was from the radiator drain plug. It was loose. The coolant has not been changed for 3 years and a garage did it then. As a result I would suggest checking this if you get coolant dripping from the radiator on the passenger side. I was a bit put out by this as if you are the sort to say something like "Oh, it's probably just condensation from the aircon" and are too lazy to actually look under the bonnet you could be in for a very nasty surprise. I am just glad I was particularly bored that evening.
The torch also picked up pink deposits on the radiator that seemed to start at near the top of the radiator on the passenger side. With the engine running when the fan kicked in I could see a fine mist in the wind created by the fan as it drew air past the radiator.
Radweld Plus was added to the coolant and the drain plug was tightened. Fine for 2 weeks and than more fluid under the car.
New radiator time.
What had happened to create the leak from the top of the radiator was this:
After removal the radiator showed clear signs of two impacts just below where the fan (slow speed) resistor pack sits. The pink deposit started at this point and spread out from there down the surface of the radiator. Question is, what could have caused the impact? I had a horrible feeling I might have left a socket lying about or something even though I am careful about that sort of thing.
Further investigation suggests that components from the fan (slow speed) resistor pack had corroded through, fallen loose onto the turning fan and been forced into the radiator. This caused slight damage to the fan but it still seems to work OK.
The fan still runs on high speed when needed so the resistor pack fault may have happened a long time ago and it is only now that the components have actually been shaken free (speed bump maybe?) it has led to the radiator damage and come to light as a result. Said components were lying on the base of the font bumper. One is a large wound coil and the other is a standard circuit board resistor. Replacement unit £38.00.
Hope this helps anybody with a leak. Two possibilities easy to rule out as the resistor pack is accessible with no special measures and the drain plug can be seen with the car jacked up and then viewed from inside the engine compartment. I took the front bumper off to get a good look at mine and glad I did. It was fiddley to get at and tighten even with the front bumper removed.
Leak 1 was from the radiator drain plug. It was loose. The coolant has not been changed for 3 years and a garage did it then. As a result I would suggest checking this if you get coolant dripping from the radiator on the passenger side. I was a bit put out by this as if you are the sort to say something like "Oh, it's probably just condensation from the aircon" and are too lazy to actually look under the bonnet you could be in for a very nasty surprise. I am just glad I was particularly bored that evening.
The torch also picked up pink deposits on the radiator that seemed to start at near the top of the radiator on the passenger side. With the engine running when the fan kicked in I could see a fine mist in the wind created by the fan as it drew air past the radiator.
Radweld Plus was added to the coolant and the drain plug was tightened. Fine for 2 weeks and than more fluid under the car.
New radiator time.
What had happened to create the leak from the top of the radiator was this:
After removal the radiator showed clear signs of two impacts just below where the fan (slow speed) resistor pack sits. The pink deposit started at this point and spread out from there down the surface of the radiator. Question is, what could have caused the impact? I had a horrible feeling I might have left a socket lying about or something even though I am careful about that sort of thing.
Further investigation suggests that components from the fan (slow speed) resistor pack had corroded through, fallen loose onto the turning fan and been forced into the radiator. This caused slight damage to the fan but it still seems to work OK.
The fan still runs on high speed when needed so the resistor pack fault may have happened a long time ago and it is only now that the components have actually been shaken free (speed bump maybe?) it has led to the radiator damage and come to light as a result. Said components were lying on the base of the font bumper. One is a large wound coil and the other is a standard circuit board resistor. Replacement unit £38.00.
Hope this helps anybody with a leak. Two possibilities easy to rule out as the resistor pack is accessible with no special measures and the drain plug can be seen with the car jacked up and then viewed from inside the engine compartment. I took the front bumper off to get a good look at mine and glad I did. It was fiddley to get at and tighten even with the front bumper removed.
