Ben Fung Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Hi all, I have just bought an R500 Duratec and whilst my Lotus Seven Club membership comes through (its in the post) Ben has kindly let me use his log on to gain some "fairly" urgent assistance. The car is absolutely amazing and I will place the standard new owner post with pics in due time but for now I have a bit off an issue I could do with some assistance/advice on. Essentially the fan is not coming on, so in traffic or standstill after a blat the water temp is rising to the high 90's/100degrees at which point i am turning the engine off. I have checked all the connections and they seem fine and referred to the manual for the fuse/relay but it seems a little allusive. Have also checked all the fuses and none have blown. The reason for it being "fairly" urgent is i am in Anglesey atm and live in Surrey and its highly likely that my 5 hr drive home I am going to encounter my fair bit of traffic. Any advise would be really welcome. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 23, 2014 Member Share Posted August 23, 2014 1 Do you have a multimeter? 2 You need to localise the problem: Have you shorted the sensor to see if the problem is the sensor or the fan (or the wiring)? Just say if you don't understand. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Fung Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 Hi Jonathan, No i don't but will pick one up tomorrow. I figure it must be a fuse/relay or blown fan but still concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 23, 2014 Member Share Posted August 23, 2014 Recommendations for meters in the archives: let me know if you can't find them. You can test the fan by running a new feed directly to it. (Shorting the sensor does something similar and is quicker but assumes the fuse and wiring are OK.) Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 23 Aug 2014 20:42:27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Temporary fix would be to direct wire fan to battery, I've done this on VW Transporter, but if someone here advises against it please chime in. Basically negative wire to chassis/earth and positive to battery positive. That's assuming you can find fan wire/plug. Edited by - Stridey on 23 Aug 2014 20:43:58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 23, 2014 Member Share Posted August 23, 2014 *arrowup*Yes. You should add an inline fuse and can easily add a switch in the cockpit if you want to be really posh... Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 The other tip to stop overheating is to put the heating on full blast.... If you have a heater. I know it seems counter intuitive and it is uncomfortable on a hot day, (exactly when overheating is more likely to happen.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Good one Jonathan.... Actually just remembered it was an old Sierra I had to bodge like that to get home. Long motorway drive. I'd also grab some water bottles in case it did overheat. Wait till cool before refilling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 23, 2014 Member Share Posted August 23, 2014 I've tried the heater trick several times on cars other than the 7 when they overheated. The only effect I noticed was that I was even sweatier than usual when I took them in to have the head gasket fixed. But still worth trying. Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 23 Aug 2014 20:58:43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Is it actually overheating? From memory the fan on my R500D does not come on till about 105 degrees is displayed on the stack dash. It never feels good to see that but never had any issues and I have also been told that its fine and working correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Fung Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 Will head to halfords in the morning and pick up a multimeter to diagnose the problem. Great idea about running a temp wire to the fan! I could definitely do that to get me home :-) any idea on amp for inline fuse ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 23, 2014 Member Share Posted August 23, 2014 Quoting simpy: Is it actually overheating? From memory the fan on my R500D does not come on till about 105 degrees is displayed on the stack dash. It never feels good to see that but never had any issues and I have also been told that its fine and working correctly.I don't know enough about R500s to comment. Has the fan ever cut in and now it doesn't? Shorting the sensor will throw some light on what's going on. I'd suggest a 15A fuse unless someone knows better. Don't forget the cable ties if you decide to fit a new feed. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Quoting Ben Fung: The reason for it being "fairly" urgent is i am in Anglesey atm and live in Surrey and its highly likely that my 5 hr drive home I am going to encounter my fair bit of traffic. Chris Chris When are are you travelling home? I'm in Ruthin N Wales and close to the A55 (or A5), so you will pass close en route, if you want me to take a look at the problem. I'm away tomorrow (Sunday) but around all week from Monday. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z3MCJez Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 On my Sigma this happens when the relay becomes loose. The relays are by the fuses - there are 7 on my car. The best giveaway is a relay in the passenger footwell! Jez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 First thing I would do is bypass the sender in the top of the rad. Basically unplug the 2 wires and touch them together. The fan should kick in instantly with the ignition on. If this works and you feel the sender is at fault rig up a switch between these two wires. Some people do this anyway piggy backing wires off the sender as a manual override I've got a K and the temp gauge does go pretty high before the fan kicks in. Regards Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colindavies56 Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 I have a multi meter I live in buckley and you pass my house Call in. I'm there all day. 07786456624. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetec Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 My Zetec temp is always 90C then rises to 100+ never a prob. If the fan works maybe try pushing the temp a little to see if it does came on.dont be scared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Fung Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Thank you all for your help, will have a go at shorting the sender today and if the fan kicks in will rig a wire to get me home. Will keep you al posted on the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 24, 2014 Member Share Posted August 24, 2014 Shorting the sender is useful for diagnosis. But if that does turn the fan on and you want to drive with the fan on then leaving it shorted there is as good as running a new wire and a lot easier. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6speedmanual Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Listen to Simpy and Zetec first! 100 deg C is not necessarily overheating and as mentioned, the fan may not yet be ready to switch on. Also the temp gauge is probably +/-5% Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Fung Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Dam, the sender isn't on the radiator! Looking round the cooling system i can see two connectors on a pipe under the thermostat housing. I would guess that one is the temp sensor for the stack dash and the other is sender for the fan. One connector is with spade connectors and the other is a more substantial plastic one. Does anybody know which is which or if I am complexly off the the mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mav Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 I'm not far from your route either and happy to pop up to Colins to help out too if you like. Alternatively if you're really not happy driving it all the way home I have a suitable trailer and Tow car just outside Chester, also on your way home if you go via M56 / M53. Give me a shout if you need me to come and help. Number on area meetings page under mads Edited by - mav on 24 Aug 2014 11:46:29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 24, 2014 Member Share Posted August 24, 2014 What colour are the wires? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Fung Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 thanks mav. Hopefully it won't come to that but its a very kind offer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Quoting Ben Fung: Dam, the sender isn't on the radiator! Looking round the cooling system i can see two connectors on a pipe under the thermostat housing. I would guess that one is the temp sensor for the stack dash and the other is sender for the fan. One connector is with spade connectors and the other is a more substantial plastic one. Does anybody know which is which or if I am complexly off the the mark. Sorry Chris, I'm not sure to be honest and I can't check it against my car for you at present. If it is the two sensors behind the engine just infront of the battery then yes I think you are correct but I am not sure which is which (at a total guess the more substantial one is for the stack). The only thing from memory I am sure about is the connector for the fan is behind the radiator and the large plastic air deflector tongue thing, the connector is cable tied to the chassis top cross bar somewhere. Have you checked the stack dash for the max / min readings the car has seen (since it was last reset). To do this press the top right button next to the stack to cycle through the different screens. Bottom left button to see the max / min readings. Edited by - simpy on 24 Aug 2014 15:15:49 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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