Hey all, another problem im having with my punto atm , Since we've been having these hot days recently ive noticed that my radiator fan isnt working its not as if i drive it calmly either its a punto mia too so i cant see a temp gauage and the iv never seen the temp light flash up! Even when i pull up at the end of a long journey the fan still isnt on! Ive felt the radiator pipes on the engine side and theyre bloody hot! As always, any help is appreciated

I wasn't sure mine was working till today, theyr very quite, the only way I know mine is working from testing it after repair, had the bonnet up and the car out of gear and the handbrake holding the car. manually throttling the engine showed it was working but my temp gauge is connected up...

Might be worth finding one of the 'how to connect it up' guides!

Check your fuses, failing that disconnect your fan plug and run a positive and negative wire to the fan as direct power to test the fan if the fan works and you are still unsure then swap the fan with a known good relay to test if all the tests come back positive then you have nothing to worry about just bear in mind that a cars operating temp is usually around 85 degrees celcius which will make the hoses feel bloody hot!

For added peace of mind you could always get another instrument cluster from a punto that does have a temp gauge and swap it with yours

IV had the bonnet up and revved it and i can see the fans not moving and even stuck a screw driver to make sure it wasnt one of those ilussions and it definately wernt as for the tests ill get on them now and ill tell you how it goes

Ok just ran a feed from the batt to the fan and it works properly not sure how to test if the ecus doin its job but i can tell you that the water hoses felt a bit empty so im trying to bleed them (not working to well i think that airs gettin in somewere). there is water in them but they are far from full, im wondering if thats why the fan isnt coming on. Its had a new thermistat and water pump in jan so all should be well in the system so im not really sure what i can do

I think i might get a cluster from a sporting or something and put that in for the temp gauage, sounds like a plan so im just wonderin if its difficult or wether it needs any more cables or sensors? Im an electrician so im not a novice with wiring .

Anyone?

iv just been out on the front garden for the last hour trying to bleed the hoses but they just seem to empty after a few seconds with the engine on! could the radiator be blocked up or something? its really stumped me

How have you tried bleeding the system on the car? What have you done to bleed it? (step by step please)

Make sure the expansion tank is above minimum as when bleeding it tthis level will drop and if its too low pull in air

1. I have filled the water tank to the max mark
2. then ive undone the 2 bleeding screw thingy's
3. then ive squeezed the hose just below the water filler until water pours out of the bleading holes
4. then iv put the bottom one back on at the radiator squeezed it some more and then put the top one back in
5. then put the cap back on the filler and fired it up for a bit

Think thats right

at the end the water level is still nearly at max

when i did mine i had engine running.. tha activates the pump.. this will circulate the water and air.. leave the valve open until u see water then close it.. keep topping up the water as you see it go.. dnt let it run past min.

i bled my rad last

if you have bled the sytem an your fan still aint kickin in it could be the switch on your radiator...you know it woirks coz u have bypassed the switch) from the info it points to either air lock/switch on the radiator. (you say it had a pump an thermostat in jan)

Sounds like the fan switch to me.

Have you checked the fuse. Mine is a 30 Amp one and is in the panel below and to the right of the steering wheel.

Have you felt the actual radiator around the fan switch to see if its hot. If there is air in the rad you may find that the hoses are both hot but the actual radiator itself is not getting hot enough to trigger the fan switch.

I have also found that leaving the car running stationary with the bonnet up may not even bring the fan on. Drive it about and put the engine under load and it will warm up a lot faster or shut the bonnet.

Ok just bled the radiator again the way kristouk21 said and the fan came on after a bit of idling i sat and waited for it, the fan just seemed to come on in bursts of about 30 seconds and then went off is that normal? And the fan also goes off with the ignition is that normal? I know for a fact it used to stay on for about a minute or two after the ignition went off, i just wonderin wether it is supposed to? Thanks guys for the help

if the fan comes on then goes off after 30 secs then that means its workin.. the water might not be hot enough or the switch is acually on its way out.. replace the switch.... see if that helps... cost u aboutn £5 if less.. be well worth it. (you see when the water gets hot in tghe system it activates the fan to cool it.. wen the water temp drops the fan goes off)

ok sounds like a good idea but im not sure what you mean by the switch? Ive traced the cables back to the fuseboard next to the batt but i dont see a switch anywhere near there? Cheers

daz215 said:

ok sounds like a good idea but im not sure what you mean by the switch? Ive traced the cables back to the fuseboard next to the batt but i dont see a switch anywhere near there? Cheers

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The switch is in the radiator. right hand side, half way down when looking at the radiator from the front of the car. The fuse for the fan is in the panel below and too the right of the steering wheel

Hmmm i wonder if the switch is fine then, because when i tested the fan i took the plug (with purple and white cables in the copex) out of the socket. Then brought the feed to the socket and the fan came on? does that mean those cables should be permanantly live? Cheers

daz215 said:

Hmmm i wonder if the switch is fine then, because when i tested the fan i took the plug (with purple and white cables in the copex) out of the socket. Then brought the feed to the socket and the fan came on? does that mean those cables should be permanantly live? Cheers

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As you say, that means the fan is OK. Have you checked the fuse? I'm not sure if the fan switch makes an earth when the rad is too hot or it switches the live through to the fan. More than likely makes an earth though. maybe the fans not needed and u have no actual fault.. has the car overheated

The car has overheated in the past yes and my car hasnt got a temp gauage being a mia. Ive never had the temp warning light up though even when it overheated, and that was major overheating too (warped my head and seized the engine). I would have thought the fan switch would of switched the live wire?