(G) 1993 k reg 1.0 ie advice please!

hi, i have a 93(k)uno 1.0ie and it keeps overheating. the problem started about 2 months ago when the gauge was goin up to 3/4 but it didnt overheat at first. then 1 night it did and ever since that the fan doesnt cum on when the gauge goes above halfway... ive replaced the fan switch but is it poss this can still be at fault? as it did work when i replaced it but since it overheated it doesnt seem to work. the car is the best ive ever owned and has 115k on her at mo...so i really want to get the old bitch sorted, any advice on what to check/replace first... it doesnt lose any water or use any either and starts an drives ok but obviously will overheat if i leave it running for too long.. thanks

Best to assume at this stage that it is just the fan or its switch. Since you've replaced the switch, have you tried running the fan motor straight off the battery? Get a couple of wires, strip the ends, and hold them on the battery (and with your third and fourth hands, hold them in the motor socket). Expect a fat spark as you connect the motor (quite high current) but it will be obvious if the fan motor is working or not.

You can probably take the motor apart and clean/lubricate the bearing. I'd imagine that it has had little use for months and has probably just seized. If you don't feel like doing this, though, I'm sure that a replacement will be easy to find - anyone here got one hanging around? They don't fail often.

-Alex

If its not leaking any water then its most likely an electrical fault. The wire may have burnt out to the fan. This happened to my uno once.

F R O $ T Y

Hey thanks for the reply. the fan motor works as i did wot u said with the wires to the battery! i'm gonna try replacing the fan switch. do u think if the water pump had gone it would cause this? as it had a new one at 57k and has now done 115k... when i say gone i mean someone told me ages ago the blades or whatever they are on it can wear so it doesnt pump water round properly!! is this true and how would i go about checking it? the car doesnt use any coolant and doesnt leak. the other thing is their a sensor for the temp gauge and is this easily replaced? thanks for your help in this matter!

here is the old bitch!

hello, I don't think that the blades can wear away on the uno pumps as they are made of some sort of alloy metal, my old uno did 350000km on the same water pump and it was still in excelent cond when i stuffed up my engine and had to recon.

dunno if the uno has a fuse for the fan, pretty sure it's got one. maybe someone will know, as i'm to lazy to go klimb under my dash to check.

If the water level is fine the check your cam timing maybe jumped a tooth or two, i know that that can also cause the car to overheat.

Getting the water pump off the FIRE is a slightly involved job in that the cambelt has to come off. Easy, but you want to be careful and thorough, particularly with the cleaning/resealing the pump housing.

I think you should continue with the electric fan diagnosis. Yes, there is a fuse, labelled with the fan-in-a-radiator symbol.

Anyway, the only way you will diagnose the water pump is by removing it and having a look. I haven't known problems with the FIRE engine's water pump (or any FIAT water pump, for that matter) but I have seen water pumps off other engines where the impeller was loose on the shaft, or where the blades had all broken off for some reason...

The Uno looks very smart, by the way
-Alex

Hi, thanks for the compliment about the uno... i do try to look after it and although its gettin on in years i refuse to part with it! its by far the best car i have ever owned.... Anyway got some good news, ive just tried the motor and the fuse and the fan worked so i thought its either thermostat or fan switch!!!! got a new thermostat this morn and have fitted it on....refilled and bled cooling system and the car is now heating up as it used to and when the gauge is on halfway the fan kicks in and so on... so it looks as though it was the thermo... only cost me £12 so thats even better thanks for the help everyone!!