Our daughters 1.2 Panda overheated today while waiting in traffic.
On checking the car this evening I noticed the cars cooling fan is not cutting in (which is almost certainly the problem)
does any one know if there is a fuse for the fan?
Or anyone have any ideas of the possible cause of the fan not working?

It will have a fuse. Not looked at it myself but normally a fusebox isn't that difficult to find. Engine bay or passenger footwell as a general rule. Think it's in the engine bay.

Other reason for fans not working:

a plug has come adrift.
fan thermostat has gone.
engine thermostat is stuck and the rad is not getting hot as it's not allowing the water to circulate through the radiator, if the stat for the fan is in the rad.

Have a read,

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/258996-radiator-fan-burning.html

The 1.2 has a temperature gauge so if this is working fine then look at the fuse/power supply to the fan/fan itself.

if the gauge isnt working its likely to be the sender on the engine.

Look like the fan motors packed up.
Removed fan yesterday and tested it by connecting direct to battery,
Result was ,no life in the fan motor .
Ordered a second hand one £63 inc delivery
Big difference in price to Fiat dealers £133
Hope now this is the problem
Will let you know the out come .
For a model that's getting on in years , I have to say there aren't many scrapped
Tried over 10 big scrap yards around our area, most of the scrap yard owners said they had never had a panda in ,but plenty of other Fiats.

if the motor is gone likely fuse has as well (engine bay fusebox, one of the big fuses) so check before heating car up again.

Remove the wire from the thermo rad sender.
Bridge the connections with a piece of wire, if the fan cuts in then all is well in that department. It will then likely (almost definately) be the thermostatic sender on the rad.

kipster1 said:

Remove the wire from the thermo rad sender.
Bridge the connections with a piece of wire, if the fan cuts in then all is well in that department. It will then likely (almost definately) be the thermostatic sender on the rad.

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Do not do this! On older cars, yes, this would work as the 'switch' on the rad was a simple on/off thermostat. On most cars these days (Panda included) it is an electronic temperature sensor, not a switch, which sends data to the controlling computer, which in turn operates a relay elsewhere else to run the fan when its needed... You need to plug in a diagnostic computer to detect if the rad-mounted sensor is sending correct data.

Herts Hillhopper said:

Do not do this! On older cars, yes, this would work as the 'switch' on the rad was a simple on/off thermostat. On most cars these days (Panda included) it is an electronic temperature sensor, not a switch, which sends data to the controlling computer, which in turn operates a relay elsewhere else to run the fan when its needed... You need to plug in a diagnostic computer to detect if the rad-mounted sensor is sending correct data.

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

The 2nd 1.2 I've heard about this happening to recently.

Fitted the replacement fan unit today , and everything working okay again.
Fan motor had failed but strangely no fuses had blown.
Cars theses days are becoming more and more difficult to diagnose when a fault
occurs.
Luckily on this occasion ,it was a simple case of ,connect fan motors terminals + - direct to battery, and if it don't spin its probably knackerd.
Thanks to all for your help .
These forums are a great source of information.

Herts Hillhopper said:

You need to plug in a diagnostic computer to detect if the rad-mounted sensor is sending correct data.

Click to expand...

I do not agree with this. This sensor does not exist. The body computer switches a relay in the fusebox under the bonnet based on the output of the coolant temp sensor beside the thermostat on the engine head. Same sensor it uses for all other temp related decisions, including cold start fuel en-richening and displaying temp to you on your dashboard. If your temp gauge works, the sensor is fine.

lewey said:

I do not agree with this. This sensor does not exist. The body computer switches a relay in the fusebox under the bonnet based on the output of the coolant temp sensor beside the thermostat on the engine head. Same sensor it uses for all other temp related decisions, including cold start fuel en-richening and displaying temp to you on your dashboard. If your temp gauge works, the sensor is fine.

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This is probably the reason I had to reset the engine management light with my fault code reader. It was detecting a fault in the fuel( cant remember exact code) circuit.
The reason I suppose being, I had run the car with the fan removed , and had broken the circuit .
Although the fault code reader never showed any other codes or faults when the faulty fan was connected.
Hence my posting for help.

lewey said:

I do not agree with this. This sensor does not exist. The body computer switches a relay in the fusebox under the bonnet based on the output of the coolant temp sensor beside the thermostat on the engine head. Same sensor it uses for all other temp related decisions, including cold start fuel en-richening and displaying temp to you on your dashboard. If your temp gauge works, the sensor is fine.

Click to expand...

Sorry, yes, I meant that engine temp sensor... the point was that the is no longer something you can bypass with a loop of wire.
Pete

lewey said:

I do not agree with this. This sensor does not exist. The body computer switches a relay in the fusebox under the bonnet based on the output of the coolant temp sensor beside the thermostat on the engine head. Same sensor it uses for all other temp related decisions, including cold start fuel en-richening and displaying temp to you on your dashboard. If your temp gauge works, the sensor is fine.

Click to expand...

Body computer has nothing to do with it.

T14086 said:

Body computer has nothing to do with it.

Click to expand...

This is correct. I've rechecked the wiring diagram and despite looking at it a few times before, I have now realised that I had mixed up the body ECU (M001) with the engine ECU (M010) as the codes in the diagram are very similar. The dashboard not being connected to it should have set off alarm bells but there we go.

Done a diagram so all can see how this very simple circuit works and for those in the future who want to diagnose problems themselves.