Hi guys,
I have recently brought a 2002 barchetta, great car but it has been 'amended' by the last owner in the engine bay.
Any advice appreciated, there are 2 rads fitted, the cooling rad with 1 fan, then a smaller A/C rad directly in front of it with one fan fitted to the front side. There is no gap between the 2 rads. She's overheating in hot weather.
Any ideas on the rad setup? I cannot find any info in the manual.
Mike
Hi Mike.
Welcome to the forum. Not too many of these cars here in the Middle East.
I used to own a Barchetta in Bahrain a few years ago. By chance I passed by the forum this evening and saw your unanswered post. So I thought I would try to offer some help.
The 2 rads together is perfectly normal for a car with A/C. The fan on the front side is Not! This was obviously added by a previous owner.
There should be 2 fans on the rear side of the radiator. Have you checked to see that they both work? I have a feeling that the second one will come on when the A/C is switched on? Been a while guys, please correct me if I am wrong.
I used to have problems keeping the car from overheating in the summer. But when it is working correctly it will cope with the heat in the Middle East.
If any of the 2 OEM fans are not working. First check the fuses. (from memory I think there is at least 1 in the engine bay and maybe others inside the car). There is also a resistor mounted in between the fans which can fail (itm 3 on the first pic).This will prevent the second fan from running.
Flush the coolant system. If you are using antifreeze then try to replace this with distilled water and water wetter if it is available in the UAE.
http://www.redlineoil.com/Products.aspx?pcid=10
Check or replace the thermostat. They have been known to fail.
Last thought.... Maybe the radiator is partially blocked. The flush / clean may help.
Also. Is the radiator an original ? I know it is common practice in the Middle east to have local companies remake rads from a copper core when they fail.
Although the copper should cool as good as (or better than) the aluminium. The quality of the core used here is very poor. I have had this problem with my current car. I replaced the radiator with an original and it cured my problem.
There are a lot of members on here that know the car a lot better than I do. And they can offer you a lot more help than I can. And as mentioned I sold my Barchetta a few years ago. So I am working from memory....
I would still love to buy another one if we move to a house with a larger garage.
Hopefully someone will drop by soon and offer you better advice.
