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wheelnuts
01-12-2011, 21:19
Hi all,

Went to look a nice willy 3 today. I starded the engine to make sure the fan would kick in. While i was waiting for the engine to reach temp i was looking throught all the paper work and after a while i thought i still dont hear and fan? went to check how the temp was doing and the needle was in the last 1/4 and the fan was not running and the engine was roasting. i popped the bonnet up and turned the engine off and the fan came on? turned the ignition back on and the fan stopped? turned it off again and the fan started back up? The hoses were all rock hard and the pressure was venting through a tiny crack in the header tank.

Anyone have any idea why?

Also there seamed to be oil weeping from the corner of the rocker cover where the distributer is? Is it normal for this gasket to go? or is it somthing worse?

Car has done 84000 miles

Jon

16v_paddy
01-12-2011, 21:26
The rocker cover gasket is a common problem but very easy to sort

The fan problem suggests to me that the wiring has been tampered with as normally I'd say that the fan switch in the rad is faulty but if it kicks in with the ignition off it's working as it should (in a fashion) & the ignition being on somehow stops it from working

Might be the relay for the fan at fault but where that is I couldn't really tell you :oops:

cliokiz
02-12-2011, 13:15
The fan issue will be the fan switch/radiator temp sensor plug on the RH side of the radiator as you look at it from the front.

Its very common for the wiring to break on that plug.

When the ignition is off the ran runs from a different sensor on the thermostat housing, which is why it does work with the ignition off.

If you chop the knackered plug off and bridge the two wires leading to the radiator temp sensor with the ignition on, this will activate your fan.

An easy fix would be to put two spade connectors on the wires instead, and connect back to the temp sensor on the rad. Doesn't matter which way around they go.

cliokiz
02-12-2011, 13:16
Oh, and don't do what all the other idiots do and fit a switch on the cabin, it's really easy to fix the underlying issue!

16v_paddy
02-12-2011, 20:34
When the ignition is off the ran runs from a different sensor on the thermostat housing, which is why it does work with the ignition off.


Aaaaahhh, I always thought the fan was run entirely, ignition on or off, from the 1 sensor on the rad.

Been playing with these bloody cars for over 5 years now & I'm still learning new stuff :D