Overheating :(

[Kelly16V]

Hi All

i wonder if you could help me please. My vavler has been off the road for almost 18months with engine problems ... mostly down to the fact that the weather hasn't been great enough to fix it at the weekends and i wont take it to a garage to be ripped off and lied to cos i'm female. However, i'm determined to get it back on the road this year

okay... heres the short story of the problem

had some issues with it so i took it to a garage who had a look at it and said the head gasket was gone as it over heated.... my a**..... so i took it to another garage and they said the head gasket had gone... again cos it overheated.... now both garages DID NOT run a compression test or any other sort of test and want £500 for the pleasure of fixing the head gasket.....??????

The oil is clear, the water is clear, theres no abnormal smoke pouring out of the back of the engine and despite the car being stood on my dads drive for so long, the car fires up first time, every time and the engine runs perfect.

I replaced the thermostat a few weeks ago (i had put it off for a while cos it looked harder than it was to replace) and my dad dropped the old one in a jug of boiling water. it opened, but not enough, so we thought we'd found the problem (alot cheaper than £500 to fix aswell i might add) so i ran the car until it was hot to make sure that the overheating problem was solved... however... its not.....

the problem i have found now is that the fan doesn't kick in...... until you switch off the engine ??

Any ideas why its not kicking in while its running but kicks in when i switch it off??

thanks
Kelly

[Laine_16v]

It runs when you switch it off because the Anti perc system works fine, this however is a different system to when the car is running.

I suspect your rad fan switch is broken. On the side of the rad near the alternator there is a plug that goes into the radiator, take this plug off.

Short the 2 pins on the plug and the rad fan should spark into life, if it doesnt then you have underlying wiring issues, if it does you need a new rad fan sensor.

[Wobba]

Yea, be carerful not to electrucute yourself.

Also I think a full coolant flush would do you good in case there are any air locks in the system, and new coolant is always a good thing.

[AndyFielder]

where abouts do you live... one of us mite be able to come over and give you a hand.

[Daz.]

Sounds like dodgy wiring is the problem, and very much cheaper than a headgasket!

In the end on my old valver I went to the scrappys and chopped the loom off another clio and repaired the corroded wiring - although the first time it happened I did shit myself :lol:

[Kelly16V]

Hi All..... sorry i've not been back since i posted, had a mad busy week

Thanks Laine_16V for the explanation of why the fan kicks in when the engine is off but not while its running.... i was SOOOOO confused when that happened, least i know why now :)

i'll check out the fan switch next chance i get, though thats dependant on the weather and this weekend doesn't look so great here (Warrington).

i replaced the bit of water i lost when replacing the thermostat with coolant but i think an engine flush would be a good idea... though again .... a job for when the weather is nice

thanks for the responses everyone ... at least i know where to look for the possible cause of the problem now...... hopefully its just a dodgy switch and i'll get another step further to getting it back on the road

[Lunner]

Mine didn't overheat but ran hot, replaced everything i could think of, turned out to be the rad, it was so shit up it didn't let enough water through to cool the car properly

[white16valver]

As above, getting the rad out (not that hard, even I can do it! lol) is an excellent idea - you'd be amazed how much crap comes out of it when you stand it on each end and run a hose through it!

I think wobba said it was still not clear after 5 hours?? :shock:

Mine was pretty bad too.

If you're going to get the rad out, you'll need some molegrips as the stupid clips are impossible otherwise lol

re: checking the fan, so you don't electrocute yourself, do it with a pair of plastic-handled scissors as you'll be insulated then :)

[Lunner]

or a short length of wire, with the insulation on ;)

[white16valver]

Maybe ;)


LoL

[Kelly16V]

hi all

Just wanted to say thanks for the help.... its took me almost 3 years but the engine is now fixed because of your advice. i feel like an idiot for not figuring it out before now, though alot of time has lapsed due to bad weather stopping me from looking at it mostly.

i fixed it on Saturday ...... someone (my money is on one of the garages i've been too) unplugged my fan switch so the car kept overheating!!! The rip off merchants wanted to charge me £500 to fix my head gasket !!! ...... this is why i don't trust garages anymore.

All it cost was £5 spent on some new connectors (cos the multiplug had been cut off at some point in its life and the connectors on the end were knackered) and its now running again (albeit a bit rough at the mo - nothing a run wouldn't sort)

Just got to get the front passenger suspension strut replaced and get some emery paper to the back brake discs (they're rusty at the mo but come up smooth as a baby bum with a little bit of emery paper) and then i can get it in for an MOT. Once its passed it'll be back on the road ...YAY !!! :D

Getting the arches resprayed and the customary leaky renault sunroof fixed is on the list of repairs at some point after that, but i'll be happy just to have my 'mini beast' back on the road again ha ha ha

thanks again all
Kelly :D

[busterhymes]

so longs your rear discs are not shot and calipers not seized suggest a good run will clean your discs up nicely and re your parts requirement check out the for sale section good luck :D :D

[white16valver]

Sweeeeeet 8)

Glad to hear you sorted it! :D

[Kelly16V]

looks like my Clio is going in for an MOT this weekend cos the Cambelt went on my dads car on Monday and my Clio is the only car thats 'running'

got SOOOO much to do this week. need to get a layer of fine filler on the arches put on and sanded down and then a layer of primer on to seal it all (re-spray can happen at a later date), and i need to get my sun-roof water tight :S (miracle needed) and the brakes cleaned up. i took it for a sneaky spin up and down my dads road last night to clean the brakes off (needs a few more trips)... forgot how much i LOVED that car. oh and it needs a ruddy good wash and wax (hence the reason for getting the arches primed first)

it's only been off the road 2 years not 3 like i said :S loosing track of the years

Thanks again for the help guys, it would still be stuck on the drive without you. Wish me luck !! and if you see me round Warrington (though it'll probably be my dad driving it for a while) then say hello :)

Kelly :)

[white16valver]

Good stuff :)

Get your arse to French Car Show this weekend if you can!

[Wobba]

Nice one, well done :)

[Coops]

glad its all sorted hun, dont see many valvers around warrington. i only nip back to see my parents occasionally but only one i see regularly is at kwik fit on wilderspool causeway, a n reg naples