Jonthechippy
New member
Hi,
We've just bought an "ex demo" Ducato, MH2 140bhp with a plan to convert it into a campervan. It's still under manufacturer's warranty but soon developed an odd problem!
Over the years I've owned and fixed/maintained a few cars Morris Marina, Astra, Volvo 240and 940 and a Doblo. So not entirely new to this sort of thing.
Firstly, we picked up the van and drove about 400 miles at a steady 60 along the motorway to see relations. All fine.
Next we drove to see a friend about 10 miles away, stopped for about 20 minutes and headed off home only to get stuck behind a tractor, so it was 25mph from then onwards. Soon after meeting the tractor a loud constant whirring sound came from the front. At first we thought it was the tractor but then suspected the van.
After going down a hill and up the other side (about 5 miles in all and still following the tractor) we pulled into a lay-by to have a look under the bonnet. Sure enough the big fan was on.
This was at an outside temperature of 8°C and after a gentle drive up the hill.
This was puzzling as in all my decades of driving cars and vans with electric cooling fans I've only heard them come on a dozen or so times and this was in hot weather and slow moving traffic situations.
There was also a smell of shall we say hot metal or a smell similar to welding coming from the nearside. A bit worrying.
What was also strange as the fan stopped the instance I “dropped” the bonnet closed.
Got home and booked in for the local dealership to have a look.
They did their examination and smelt a similar smell (the fan didn't come on) but couldn't come up with an explanation as they dealt mainly with cars at their branch.
Next we took it back to the dealer who sold the vehicle for them to have a look. They also found nothing.
Ok, without looking for trouble it could have been down to a one-off and “bedding in”.
However 30 miles from home after cruising along the dual carriageway at 60 followed by a gradual slope to a roundabout, the loud fan came on again (this is only the second time now).
The temperature outside was 7°C, pretty cool.
After about a mile we pulled into a lay-by, lifted the bonnet and the same fan was going full pelt and there was a waft of hot air coming from the engine.
Switched the engine off and restarted it after a few minutes. Fan was now off.
Just before home we pulled into a another lay-by to have another look. The fan was off and no smells.
Being new to the Ducato I don't know if all this is normal or if there's something in the engine that needs fixing. I suspect that the thermostat is occasionally sticking closed or is not opening up enough to let sufficient flow into the radiator.
But, like with any intermittent mechanical problems it's difficult to diagnose without examination when the fault is occurring or with a handy sensor to help out.
Any ideas much appreciated.
Thanks
Jon
We've just bought an "ex demo" Ducato, MH2 140bhp with a plan to convert it into a campervan. It's still under manufacturer's warranty but soon developed an odd problem!
Over the years I've owned and fixed/maintained a few cars Morris Marina, Astra, Volvo 240and 940 and a Doblo. So not entirely new to this sort of thing.
Firstly, we picked up the van and drove about 400 miles at a steady 60 along the motorway to see relations. All fine.
Next we drove to see a friend about 10 miles away, stopped for about 20 minutes and headed off home only to get stuck behind a tractor, so it was 25mph from then onwards. Soon after meeting the tractor a loud constant whirring sound came from the front. At first we thought it was the tractor but then suspected the van.
After going down a hill and up the other side (about 5 miles in all and still following the tractor) we pulled into a lay-by to have a look under the bonnet. Sure enough the big fan was on.
This was at an outside temperature of 8°C and after a gentle drive up the hill.
This was puzzling as in all my decades of driving cars and vans with electric cooling fans I've only heard them come on a dozen or so times and this was in hot weather and slow moving traffic situations.
There was also a smell of shall we say hot metal or a smell similar to welding coming from the nearside. A bit worrying.
What was also strange as the fan stopped the instance I “dropped” the bonnet closed.
Got home and booked in for the local dealership to have a look.
They did their examination and smelt a similar smell (the fan didn't come on) but couldn't come up with an explanation as they dealt mainly with cars at their branch.
Next we took it back to the dealer who sold the vehicle for them to have a look. They also found nothing.
Ok, without looking for trouble it could have been down to a one-off and “bedding in”.
However 30 miles from home after cruising along the dual carriageway at 60 followed by a gradual slope to a roundabout, the loud fan came on again (this is only the second time now).
The temperature outside was 7°C, pretty cool.
After about a mile we pulled into a lay-by, lifted the bonnet and the same fan was going full pelt and there was a waft of hot air coming from the engine.
Switched the engine off and restarted it after a few minutes. Fan was now off.
Just before home we pulled into a another lay-by to have another look. The fan was off and no smells.
Being new to the Ducato I don't know if all this is normal or if there's something in the engine that needs fixing. I suspect that the thermostat is occasionally sticking closed or is not opening up enough to let sufficient flow into the radiator.
But, like with any intermittent mechanical problems it's difficult to diagnose without examination when the fault is occurring or with a handy sensor to help out.
Any ideas much appreciated.
Thanks
Jon
