engine cooling fans

[allanmc]

My Son's Peugeot HDI engine cooling fans don't work where do we start

Thanks
Allan

[xantia_v6]

What model of Peugeot?

Does it have one fan or two?

Have you checked the fuses?

[allanmc]

It's a 2004 HDI 110 unsure how many fans in the hand book and Haynes Manual cant find a fuse listed
Allan

[jimmymarsbar]

Is it a 307, 308, 407, 206, 5008...?

I've got the same issue on my 307. My 2.0 hdi has 1 cooling fan, with 2 speed settings. I've narrowed down the fault to either both relays or a faulty fan assembly.

It's essential to find out what set up your son's car has.

What you need to do is get hold of the VIN, private message it to me and I can get the car's spec for you - I can then give you all the details on the fan and info required for a proper "plan of attack".

Also, get the car on Peugeot Planet - there's a facility to perform an actuator test on the fan assembly. It's worth testing the fuses and wiring looms just to be sure. I've heard the 407's are prone to developing wiring problems, which is solved by replacing the loom to the fan.

Relays are always suspect owing to their position on the car (on my 307 anyway).

[allanmc]

Thanks will get back tonight with the Vin

allan

[spider]

While we wait for the model (307 / 407 etc etc) do it have Air Con ?

If so, switch it on (with the engine running) , do the fans run with the A/C on ? Generally at least one of them (if not both at low speed) will run all the time the A/C is on, regardless of engine temperature.

Note: The A/C may not work if the fans are dead but this is likely to vary depending on the fault in question. Its just a quick simple test to determine if the fans really are dead for some reason.

[allanmc]

I have been trying to reply to the posts all week about the engine cooling fan on my son's 406 HDI 110 bhp so I hope this time I will be lucky There is only 1 fan and the A/C has stopped working could it be the switch on the radiator that is faulty I cant find a fuse listed for the fan
Allan

[spider]

OK its a 406.

Do you actually have a radiator fan switch ? As a/c models tend to not have them.

The fans are controlled by relays fitted just in front of the radiator, under a cover usually. You may be able to see them with the bonnet open, the square black (or blueish) block in the centre. Caution: Fans + fingers = not good news.

If you look on the thermostat housing, do you see a brown plug ? Unplug it if so. Keep hands away from the fans. The fans should start after a few seconds automatically. If they do not then its likely either the bitron controller, the relay or the fuses are at at fault. Fan fail itself is possible but not too common.

Fuses are in the engine bay fuse box if I remember correctly for this model.

[allanmc]

Thanks Andy,it's getting a bit too complicated,I think he is going to get an auto spark to fix it
cheers
Allan

[jimmymarsbar]

I had a play around with my cooling fan yesterday, and this is what I found.

- Fan wouldn't work when engine was hot - both settings were inoperative and wouldn't work on the actuator test on PP2000.
- I took a gamble on assuming the issue with my fan was due to dodgy relays.
- On my 307, there was no need to remove the bumper etc. to get to the relays, which is contrary to what you'll read in Haynes. I found there was plenty of access just by simply removing the top cover/fascia which sits on top of the bumper and over the bonnet catch and latch.
- Both relays had quite heavily corroded pins (see pics).
- Gave the pins a clean with a wire brush and sandpaper, followed with a dollop of vaseline on each pin to help prevent further oxidisation.
- Plugged the car into PP once the relays were back in situ and performed actuator tests.

Thankfully, the high-speed setting worked, but the low speed setting still seems inoperative. It's looking like the previous owner has had a bump in the past, as every time I start working on something, I notice a new little hint of a front end bump - this time the retaining clip on the top relay was knackered, leaving the relay hanging free, and the top relay looked like it was coming away from it's casing.

In all, it took no more than 5 mins to get to the relays, remove them and put everything (fascia included) back. I spent about 15 mins cleaning up the pins, so all in all I'd say that it was worth hedging my bets on dodgy relays. I know that the fan is serviceable, as is the motor and the electrics, apart from the low-speed relay.



[edited to make images wor( they needed .jpg adding)]

[spider]

I can't see your pic.

The relays can get a bit um damp sometimes so a bit of corrosion here is a cause as you've found. Are the relay sockets OK corrosion wise ?

[allanmc]

Andy,I am back had a look at the peugeot today after reading your post and took the trim off above the grill but cant find the relays I had a Xantia and the relays were just there between the fan's but cant see them on the Peugeot forgot about the brown wire you mentioned he has gone home now so will wait until tomorrow cheers
allan

[jimmymarsbar]

Hmmmm, might have to right-click the images.....

The sockets looked OK, but it was hard to look right through, as they're pretty narrow

[spider]

I can see the pics now.

Suggest cleaning the sockets up if you can (disconnect battery as they are permanent live in most cases!) , do you have three relays here ?

Generally (I know you said you have a single fan) you have one per fan and one control one. The idea being if the signal is lost from the bitron sensor (the brown plug I'm sure on the thermostat housing) then the fans will be engaged as it will try to protect the engine from overheating as its 'lost' its temperature signal. Note: The gauge may function normally (or not) but it does not use this for fan control on most models.

[jimmymarsbar]

The fan is definitely 1 fan 2 speed assembly - as far as I can tell there are only 2 relays at the fan side of things - whether there is another one "upstream", i'd have to have a look.

I'm having the timing belt and water pump changed on Monday, I bought the temp sensor and thermostat as I was going to do them myself, but common sense tells me that if the mechanic will drop the coolant to do the pump, then he may as well put the stat and sensor in at the same time.

Hopefully this will correct the problems with temp readings