Warning light

[AUSTEN]

Hi, my mrs has just bought a v reg xsara and within hours it seems to be running hot and when you turn the heater on and select window demist a red warning light appears near the temp gauge and the engine makes a click and engine noise changes

[wheeler]

You have a fault with your radiator cooling fans, when you turn the heaters to demist it switches the A/C on & also the cooling fans. You will probably find that at least one of them isn't working. once you have confirmed that it will need a bit more investigation, may be either a faulty motor or a problem with the relays/wiring in the middle of the two fans.

[Hell Razor5543]

With care, you could (if you can access them) try turning the fans by hand to see if they are seized. Sometimes a fan can stick, and being turned by hand might clear it enough to allow it to spin up normally.

[Old-Guy]

With care, you could (if you can access them) try turning the fans by hand to see if they are seized. Sometimes a fan can stick, and being turned by hand might clear it enough to allow it to spin up normally.

DO NOT TURN FANS BY HAND WITH THE IGNITION ON OR WHEN THE ENGINE REALLY HOT - if the fan powers-up while your fingers are in the way....

Only rotate the fans in the designed direction - reverse rotation is likely to trash the brushes.

In my experience with cars that don't spent lots of time stuck in traffic, after a few years and plenty of miles, radiator fans can get stuck through lack of use but if caught early enough, can still be freed up by rotating by hand and the application of something like WD40 (less to lubricate than to de-water, de-salt and de-gunge) at the point where the fan shaft enters the motor body. If this works, once the WD40 has mostly dissipated, a tiny squirt of white grease in the same spot will help keep salt spray at bay.

[Hell Razor5543]

My bad. I should have said only to do so when the car is cold (i.e. not been running for several hours).