engine temp & cooling fans

[Gary406]

when is the fan meant to come on. today after my car ticking over for about 25 mins in traffic i noticed temp way over 90 .

it did go over 100 at one point but didnt stay there so long. anyway fans came on around 99

is this normal ?

[gumby6371]

I'm not sure about the exact temp they kick in but I'm struggling to get mine over 80 degrees in this weather even on a run so either my thermostat is buggered or you may have coolant/fan issues mate.

[Gary406]

if im running all the time at 30mph mine never goes over 80 as well.
its only sticking in half hour of traffic it went up.

i bet if you let your car tick over for half hour it will reach 90 mate. and if it doesnt the thermostat is sticking open.

[kevtherev]

thats exactly what mine does gary. 100c fans kick in for about 30 seconds then it's back down to nearer 90. used to think something was up with mine because my corsa used to kick in at 90.never had no issues. must be just the way they are..

[jonsowman]

Gary,

I was having problems with my 2.1 getting too warm when coming to a stop after a long period of fast driving etc (it later turned out that this was because there was no thermostat fitted!)

I wired in a 10K variable resistor in series with the Bitron coolant temp sensor on the thermostat housing, and I keep it set a little above zero. This brings down the temp at which the fans kick in, which is now at about 85C (since I have an 80C stat fitted). Works perfectly.

[Gary406]

thats exactly what mine does gary. 100c fans kick in for about 30 seconds then it's back down to nearer 90. used to think something was up with mine because my corsa used to kick in at 90.never had no issues. must be just the way they are..

will keep an eye on it . ive got 2 brand new temp sensors. the 2 that sit on the thermostat housing. maybe i'll change them while i have them spare

my old 1.9s fans use to kick in at around 93. that never reached 100 before.

[midsdaz]

100 seems a little high mines bout 92 and fans kick in and on a run dnt go over 75 and other pugs I seen are between 90 n 95 max

[Gary406]

ye i thought 100 was a little high. i might change those sensors very soon. and change thermostat for good measure.

[kevtherev]

ye i thought 100 was a little high. i might change those sensors very soon. and change thermostat for good measure.

yeah i always thought it was a little high, mine used to shoot up quite quickly in stop start traffic, so i changed the stat and put fresh coolant in,and it improved it, as it now takes 20 mins of stop start traffic to get that high as apposed to less than 10 mins before. the stat was shagged tho.normal driving it doesn't budge over 80 unless i'm really really hammering it
then again if the temp guage is anywhere near as accurate as the fuel guage then who's to say the coolant is 100c just because the guage says it is??

[midsdaz]

I would just to be safe mine takes a while to get high now but all done is change the coolant put red anti freeze -30 on the tester

[omega]

what are you guys doing?
ive had my 2.1 for about 5 years and have never had my fans come on and quite a few times my car is worked hard towing a trailer with a car onbut my temp dosnt go past 80.
still i do look after it with antifreeze and the coolant at the correct level

[jonsowman]

Well for a long time I was driving around without a thermostat! I have no idea how that happened.

[marty1979]

I have a 2.1, and the fans comes on around the same time as shown in the picture. I "think" that they're supposed to come on around 98 degrees, but aslong as they're coming on around 100 I think that's fine. The temp sensor for the fans was faulty on mine before I changed it and I saw it go over 100 a few times, never caused a problem for me.

[Gary406]

what are you guys doing?
ive had my 2.1 for about 5 years and have never had my fans come on and quite a few times my car is worked hard towing a trailer with a car onbut my temp dosnt go past 80.
still i do look after it with antifreeze and the coolant at the correct level

ye i ALWAYS make sure i have new anti freeze in before every winter. i change it once a year. for the price it would be daft not to..

i live just on the outskirts of a busy town so traffic is always gridlocked in rush hour from 3pm when schools come out.

ive got 3 green relays as well that go in the fan at the top behind the front grill so i will change them as well . there brand new so may as well why i allready have them altho that wont make a difference cos fans do come on.

[Gary406]

quite a few times my car is worked hard towing a trailer with a car on

you tow a trailor with a car on with your 406 ? dont let coppers see you
your not meant to tow heavier than what your towing with