Xantia radiator fans not working

i3 · Post by i3 » 28 May 2011, 19:33

Hey all,
assistance required with a xantia s1 2.1td.
i think that the rad fans are not working. i can not recall the car ever overheating...through the winter i would rarely see the temp even reaching 80, but, nowadays the temp is usually around 80 driving, then it goes up to around 90 in traffic.
as it goes over 80 i get worried that it may overheat so i put the heating on full and the temp then drops to below 80 and then i leave it like that until i am out of traffic.
i have been reading up older threads...dont really understand much bout electrics
i just went out, started the engine, and removed the brown plug next to the blue plug, shown in an image in another thread on here.
that did nothing to the fans, they did not come on at all, i was watching them through the front grill.

what is the next step now?

i am going to try to remove the front grill to get access to the three fan relays (although im not too sure what exactly i am going to do once access is gained???) do the headlights need to come off to remove the grill? how do the headlights come off?

apologies if the question are stupid, but i am a novice...

thanks all

Post by **CitroJim** » 28 May 2011, 21:31

Isa,

Have a good gander through this thread...

That should give some pointers...

Post by **xantia_v6** » 28 May 2011, 21:41

But don't ignore the possibility that there is nothing wrong with your car. With the A/C switched off (or if not fitted), the fans only come on when the coolant reaches about 90 degrees.

Leave the engine idling and see whether the fans come on when the gauge gets a bit higher, you won't do any damage until the point where the system starts ejecting coolant (should be well north of 110 degrees).

With the A/C on, the fans should be running all the time.

trooper30 · Post by **trooper30** » 28 May 2011, 21:44

Yea im crap at anything electric as well m8. Dunno if it eases your mind but the wifes Hdi has only had one of the two fans working very weakly for 2 years now, and its never got anywhere near overheating winter or summer.

Post by **CitroJim** » 28 May 2011, 21:55

That's a good point. the 2.1TD takes ages to get to fan cut-in temperature and when I owned mine, they did, just once, stuck in a traffic jam in London.

That said, pulling the brown temperature sensor plug on the thermostat housing should make the fans burst into life at top speed so prima-facie there is a fault.

Also, pressing the aircon button should make the fans run at half-speed.

First check is fuses and then relays as detailed in the linked thread. If the fuse is popped than a fan may be seized up. Poke the fan blades with a stick to see if they spin freely...

i3 · Post by i3 » 29 May 2011, 08:01

thanks Jim, i will try to follow the linked thread (and it's linked threads) and try to check the fuses and relays later today.
i did try to spin the fans manually yesterday, and they appeared to spin freely, but then i have never tried any other fans so not sure really...

in Vince's thread here:
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... ht=#270068
he removes just the front grill...how exactly do i remove it?
there appears to be a screw on either side between the grill slots, and on either side behind the sidelights (which i cant access)

i3 · Post by i3 » 29 May 2011, 08:02

also, why am i not being notified of responses to posts?
i used to receive instant email notifications but no longer am...

Post by **CitroJim** » 29 May 2011, 08:08

i3 wrote: he removes just the front grill...how exactly do i remove it?
there appears to be a screw on either side between the grill slots, and on either side behind the sidelights (which i cant access)

Undo the two screws at the very ends under the indicator lenses - remove the indicators first by pushing down the tab on top of them and pulling them forward. You'll then see the screws on each extreme end of the grille molding. Then remove the two screws you can see through the grille proper and then remove the two 'poppers' on top. Carefully ease out the inner of the popper and then pull out the outer of the popper.

The grille will now come away.

That's for a MK1 but the MK2 is roughly the same...

Have you ticked the box to notify you of replies received in this tread?

Post by **CitroJim** » 29 May 2011, 08:09

On the email front, sometimes the big ISPs block the mail from the forum. I believe your ISP may be one who does....

VertVega · Post by **VertVega** » 29 May 2011, 08:42

i3 wrote:... he removes just the front grill...how exactly do i remove it?...

I checked the pics in above link. Front grille is hold by 2 plastic "pins" on top and 2 screws in front.
... but motor removal is difficult and I don't know how it is done in above link

Here's a link to thread in Handy Tips section --> Xantia II - Radiator fan motor removal
As Jim commented in that thread, MK1 and MK2 should be same.
I hope this helps.

i3 · Post by i3 » 29 May 2011, 10:29

thanks...

Jim, i have checked, and that box is ticked...
i used to receive instant mail notifications, and haven't changed email address or anything else...???

i3 · Post by i3 » 29 May 2011, 22:50

Okay...
Had a little look around the car today...

Firstly, in the engine fusebox, i have:
At the top right a black relay,
then below it a purple relay,
then to the left are 15 assorted fuses,
then to the left screwed to the frame is the green ABS relay,
then to the left are 6 high amp fuses with two empty fuse plugs furthest left,
then there are three relay holes, the first is a blank round hole with no relay or plughole, the next to the left is just a blue coloured plughole with no relay plugged in, then the furthest left is a green relay.
IS ANYTHING MISSING?
It seems as though there should be a relay plugged into the blue plughole besides the green relay...???

Which are the fan fuses? Are they in the engine fusebox or elsewhere?

Ok...
Now, all the relays and fuses seemed fine, haven't yet used the multimeter, will do that tomorrow hopefully, but they appeared fine, no breaks or corroded connectors.

Removed the front grill, and the three black relays at the front between the fans again, appeared okay, no corroded plugs or anything.
Now, i tapped the fans with a hammer, nothing, ignition, engine started, same thing, nothing.
Then, with the engine started brown sensor plug removed, tap on the N/S fan started the fan up spinning, not sure if it was high pr low speed, but it began, and continued to spin. Plugged brown sensor back in, and the fan switched off, tapped again, restarted. Repeated third and fourth time and it was alot more reluctant to start spinning, and required a manual spin of the blades to start it spinning, and it remained spinning.
No amount of tapping did anything to the O/S fan.

The blue plug next to the brown plug, what is it? Should i be removing that to check operate the O/S fan?

i3 · Post by i3 » 29 May 2011, 22:55

Oh, and also, is my car actually an s1 or is it an s2?
It looks like an s1, but it has the all black coloured ABS ecu...i thought that this ABS ecu belonged to s2 xantias, and the one with the silver coloured face belonged to the s1 xantias...
Jim you know my car right...?

just a little confused now...

dieseldoggy · Post by **dieseldoggy** » 29 May 2011, 23:41

At that i guess ???? that you're fans are what we call buggered!.
Thats a front bumper off job then you can get at them.

theres plenty of info about sorting fan problems out/removing/replacing them.

what i do on mine now is run them once in a while removing brown plug so go on full speed(like a hurricane on full speed so you always will know what thats like but most times only come on half speed so hardly hear them. that way they get a run so don't seize up so much.
If you remove blades don't forget the screws are threaded other way round

VertVega · Post by **VertVega** » 30 May 2011, 06:54

dieseldoggy wrote:... Thats a front bumper off job then you can get at them...

Not necessarily

I think you missed this --> Xantia II - Radiator fan motor removal without removing the bumper.