1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - sarahj22
Hi I have a ford fiesta 1998 s reg 1.3 encore. The temp keeps going to the L of normal but the fan never kicks in. On motorway doing 60/70 mph the Temp stays in the middle. I know the fan works when powered off the battery.
Could it be the relay for the fan that is not working or is there another switch that should kick the fan in. I have traced the wires from the fan and they go to the fuse box in the engine bay this is why I thought it could be the relay.
Any help will be much appreciated.
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - Screwloose
sarah

Might be worth checking the end 60 amp main fuse in the engine-bay fusebox.

There are two fan control relays in there as well, right next to the fuse; although it would be unusual to have both fail unless you've air-con fitted.

Edited by Screwloose on 29/05/2008 at 19:48

1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - sarahj22
Hi there is only one relay in the box for the fan. The place where the other could go is just empty with no place to even plug another in.
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - sarahj22
Hi I ran the car today to see if I could get the fan to kick in at all. When driving the gauge would not go above the L but when I started it from cold and left it to idle after 30 mins the tepm finally got just to the red and the fan kicked in briefly. I have just spoken to ford and they said the car sounds fine as long as its not going into the red when driving anywhere in the normal is fine. They also said ambient air temp has a lot to do with the temp and I will probably find the temp will be quite low in winter. Any one out there own a 1.3 feista who can confirm this.
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - Screwloose
sarah

Provided that the fan cuts in before it boils and cycles out again; then there's not much more it can do.

It's possible that yours has only got the one-speed fan set-up - or it's resistored slow speed circuit isn't working. Is this high gauge reading a new phenomenon?
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - zookeeper
dont these fans only kick in when the car is stood for some time? why would it be spinning whilst on the move? cool air rushing thru the rad usually keeps things cool
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - sarahj22
I got the car in february this year so not really had it that long. When I first got it the gauge never went above the O but then it started to creep up till one day it went into the red fan never kicked in then. We changed the thermostat witch made no difference at all. Then I had my local garage look at it they said the new thermostat was faulty and was not opening until boiling point in a pan of water. They then replaced it and now the gauge is not going into the red unless is left to idle for half an hour or so. In normal driving conditions at 30mph the temp stays on the L and on motorway at 70mph it goes down to half way between the R and the M. I believe my car has only got a single speed fan. I think it is the endura engine is dose not say it on it but looks almost identical to one I saw in a scrap yard that said endura e on it.
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - Screwloose
sarah

On the face of it; you don't appear to have a problem. The gauge is only an indicator on those and may not be reading very accurately - it may even have the wrong colour temp sensor fitted.
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - sarahj22
I changed the temp sensor but its only a cheap motor mania one so I think I might get a proper ford one see if that helps. The car if definitely not boiling over but I have heard so many stories about head gaskets I can't stop myself getting concerned.

Edited by sarahj22 on 31/05/2008 at 02:24

1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - Screwloose
sarah

Getting the right colour is vital; they'll all give slightly different gauge readings at the same engine temp.

Do you know anyone with a laser thermometer?
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - sarahj22
I don't know anyone with a laser thermometer. Would ford not know witch on I needed? One thing I have been told is the temp sensor can become over sensitive and show a higher reading apparently ford revised the temp sensor in 1999 so my original one would have been one of the older ones. I'm not sure how accurate this information is I was told it's from the ford technical information system.
1998 1.3 Cooling fan not coming on help needed - Simon
You are worrying over nothing. The gauge will read somewhere in the 'normal' zone whilst driving as the air flow through the radiator is sufficient to keep the car cool enough. This will vary depending on the weather conditons and what speed you are driving at, there is no one single place that it will always read at.

As for the fan, it is working exactly as it should. It kicks in when the temperature reaches the 'hot' point and runs until it cools the radiator sufficiently (often around 10 to 20 seconds). As long as the car doesn't boil over whilst this is all going on then it is all working just fine.

Don't look for problems or go chasing proper Ford parts when you have really no need.