Technical Radiator Fan

[Bob in disguise]

It all started yesterday morning when i turned my car on to warm up for 10 mins and when i went out to get into it to drive off i noticed the raditor fan was on. I thought nothing of it at the time, but it was odd it was on since it was so cold in the morning. I got to work and got out while the engine was on and the fan was still on, so I thought i'll wait till lunch and start it up again from cold and see if it does it and sure enough it did. I now thought it was stuck on.

Today i took the fuse out from the box next to the battery and replaced it with a new one, started the car and the fan was still on With that i thought id check the connection to the fan. I unclipped the connection on the back of the fan, wiped it over and blew it and reconnected it. I started the engine again and the fan never come on

So i dont really know if this fixed it or is it just stuck off now?

I drove home on the M4 as usual tonight and the temperature stayed constant in the middle where it usually is and even when i had to que through Reading for a little bit it stayed the same, so im not really sure

I'm just worried as i have to basically que through the centre of Reading on Thursday and i dont really want it over heating

So has anyone got any ideas?

 

[PNL]

Hi Jay get the thermostaticaly controled switch checked out thats where the power for the fan comes from ie car runs hot thermo kicks in fan switches on fan cools rad

 

[Bob in disguise]

So does that mean i got it stuck off now lol

 

[PNL]

So does that mean i got it stuck off now lol

Not nessesserely may have been dirty/wet conection electricity can track across water you wont really know till car overheats and the switch doesnt turn the fan on a new switch aint that expensive prob chearer if not fiat part have a phone around and price it eg try halfrauds hope that help a little

 

[Stilo Multijet 140bhp]

If you want to find out, drive the car around for a while, get it nice and hot and then just stop somwhere and wait a minute, if the fan works, it should come on.

 

[PNL]

If you want to find out, drive the car around for a while, get it nice and hot and then just stop somwhere and wait a minute, if the fan works, it should come on.

But only if the rad gets above a fixed temp

 

[Stilo Multijet 140bhp]

As long as he drives it around for a good while, making the engine work for it's money, when he stops the fan will deffinately turn itself on (i know by experience 'cause i have to get out the car to open my garage door and the fan always comes on while i'm doing so)

 

[Bob in disguise]

Well my fan is now on permently

Took it to fiat today and they said it would need to go on the diagnostic machine for £44, so i said i'll leave it and took it to the garage that did my exhuast. Had the test and it found "FAN RELAY SWITCH 1" at fault, but the guy at the garage didnt know where that was, so he rang Fiat and asked about it and they said it was on the side of the thermostat but the fiat guy couldnt be sure and said if it isnt there tell the owner to bring the car into Fiat

They still couldnt see the switch, so he said it be best i took it over to them to look at as he thought the relay could be built into the ecu or leave the car with him for a day and he'll take all the engine cover off and the air box and have a better look around for it. Best thing though was when i asked how much do i owe you for the diagnostic test he said "dont worry about"

So i am now not really sure, dunno whether to take it to Fiat and probably get ripped off or let the other garage have a better look for it.

I dunno whether theres anybody on here that works for Fiat and knows where this relay switch on the thermostat is?

 

[Deckchair5]

Could be totally wrong as it depends on engine but I believe, rather than having a separate radiator fan switch and then a different sensor to feed the dashboard temperature gauge like older cars, your radiator fan is controlled directly from the ECU just like a 1.2 Bravo.

There's a thermistor which I would guess is in your thermostat housing which feeds your dashboard temperature gauge but also feeds your ECU with the information. It'll probably look like a normal temperature bulb with an electrical connector. I'd check for poor contact there

It works on resisitance so you could check resistance with cold then warm engine

Mind you, it's better to have the thing permanently on than never switching on when needed

 

[Bob in disguise]

Well today the fans been off and the engine hasnt been over heating when its stationary, so i think my fan just has a mind of its own lol

 

[Big Black Stilo]

My 1.2 fan hasnt had any trouble apart from once it never came on and the temp shot straight up, and wouldnt come down.

A mechanic mate of mine was in car with me and had a look, about 3 seconds after the bonnet went up the fan come on.

He said it was a loose connection (insurance company hadnt done it right) and was all sorted- not done it since!

He muttered something about the great clueless (his old VW garages slang for car owners who dont know how to add screenwash) would have took that to a dealer and the diagnostics would have said all different kinds of faults.