Fans Running For A While After Engine Switched Off.

[john-melbourne 6]

Hi Guys,

 

I took my CTI out for a good run today and noticed that the fans are staying on for about 5 minutes after i switch the engine off. I cant say i have noticed them on for this long in the past although i have only had her a couple of months and haven't drove it that much in this kind of heat.

 

The temperature gauge goes to about 3/4 of the way up and no more, the light never comes on, the oil temperature is fine as is the coolant level. Does this sound normal, do these engines run quite hot anyway?

 

Thanks Guys

 

John

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Mine doesnt it barely ever goes over the halfway mark is the coolant full up? Its been a right scorcher today remember ambient temperature was a lot higher it could have a higher rated thermostat than it should

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

They do tend to get quite warm if you give them a good drive. Never really payed much attention as to how long the fan stays on for, but its pretty warm out today. I beleive there are a few different types of sensor for the fan switch, some come on at lower temps than the others, so that may well play a part in it

[john-melbourne 6]

Coolant level in fine, looking at some other threads people say that 3/4 of the way up is the normal operating temperature?

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

peugeot dials arent known for thier accuracy

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

yeah thats very true lol

[sensualt101 31 1 Cars]

as said above my completely standard 1.6 gti goes to just under the 3/4 mark normally and i never have any issues with coolant loss or any high oil temperature and no overheat warning lamp flashing so i assume its normal and mine sometimes lets its radiator fan run after i have stopped the engine too but never for longer than 1 minute.

[kyepan 291]

Fans are on a separate circuit and will continue to run until the temp falls below the. Radiator fan switch temp

[john-melbourne 6]

Is there any parts that are worth replacing, i did the coolant recently and used some halfords bright orange/pink one?

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Its not causing any other issues is it? If it aint broke dont fix it

[john-melbourne 6]

Fans are on a separate circuit and will continue to run until the temp falls below the. Radiator fan switch temp

Fans are on a separate circuit and will continue to run until the temp falls below the. Radiator fan switch temp

 

So its possible i have a low temperature switch then?

 

 

Its not causing any other issues is it? If it aint broke dont fix it

Its not causing any other issues is it? If it aint broke dont fix it

 

Just worries me when the fan stays on that long

 

John

[GLPoomobile 958]

It's not normal for the fans to run on for as long as that. As an example, when I used to commute through London in my 1.6 and 1.9 GTIs, I'd often spend a long time crawling the last few miles through traffic with the fans cutting in and out. Even in the height of scorching London summer, my fans wouldn't run on that long when I parked up. You should be looking at something like 30-60 seconds at full speed if really hot, dropping back to slow speed, and then cutting out shortly after.

 

To me it suggest that either the the fans are not cooling effectively enough to drop the temperature quickly (perhaps running slower than they should, or maybe the radiator has seen better days), or, you've got a low rated fan speed switch, so it needs to drop the temperature much further before the fans will go off. I know it's probably difficult to tell, but have you ever noticed the fans coming on when you are actually moving at speed (when the radiator should be doing the cooling)?

[john-melbourne 6]

It's not normal for the fans to run on for as long as that. As an example, when I used to commute through London in my 1.6 and 1.9 GTIs, I'd often spend a long time crawling the last few miles through traffic with the fans cutting in and out. Even in the height of scorching London summer, my fans wouldn't run on that long when I parked up. You should be looking at something like 30-60 seconds at full speed if really hot, dropping back to slow speed, and then cutting out shortly after.

 

To me it suggest that either the the fans are not cooling effectively enough to drop the temperature quickly (perhaps running slower than they should, or maybe the radiator has seen better days), or, you've got a low rated fan speed switch, so it needs to drop the temperature much further before the fans will go off. I know it's probably difficult to tell, but have you ever noticed the fans coming on when you are actually moving at speed (when the radiator should be doing the cooling)?

It's not normal for the fans to run on for as long as that. As an example, when I used to commute through London in my 1.6 and 1.9 GTIs, I'd often spend a long time crawling the last few miles through traffic with the fans cutting in and out. Even in the height of scorching London summer, my fans wouldn't run on that long when I parked up. You should be looking at something like 30-60 seconds at full speed if really hot, dropping back to slow speed, and then cutting out shortly after.

 

To me it suggest that either the the fans are not cooling effectively enough to drop the temperature quickly (perhaps running slower than they should, or maybe the radiator has seen better days), or, you've got a low rated fan speed switch, so it needs to drop the temperature much further before the fans will go off. I know it's probably difficult to tell, but have you ever noticed the fans coming on when you are actually moving at speed (when the radiator should be doing the cooling)?

 

I cant say i have noticed when moving at speed, but i am sure i have noticed it when pulling up to traffic lights if that counts?

 

Dont know why its double quoting either

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Check that the radiator fan switch hasn't fallen off and hanging down if its not sat on the rad it will detect the hotness a lot later and cool down later too if you follow my drift???

[john-melbourne 6]

Yea i understand what you mean, sorry for the stupid question but where abouts is this located? One more thing i realised, when i replaced the coolant a month or so ago, i undid the drain plug and noting came out! only when i started squeezing the pipes did anything happen. I didnt think at the time but the radiator could be full of crap! Could this cause the problems i described? Is is worth using some form of radiator flush?

 

Thanks again for all the help

 

John

[welshpug 1,657]

I would just replace it tbh, the price has gone up in recent times but its still only about £50.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

yep ill second that just replace it, if it is blocked up with rusty s*ite the chances are if you unblock it the areas inside that were blocked will have rusted through and the prescence of water will probably find new ways to leak out. the fan switch should be located on top of the rad near thepassenger headlight, its a round silver thing and has 3 wires coming out of it to a multiplug

[john-melbourne 6]

Are the radiators on ebay anygood? GSF are £100+ for one but ebay are about £45? Is it a big job to complete?

 

Thanks Again

 

John

[welshpug 1,657]

that's the aircon rad, you wan the other one, no idea on the ebay rads without a link.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Cheapest on ebay

 

LINK

 

It says 83-97? but its for a phase 1.5/2 as phase 1 has the fan switch on opposite side!

 

Swapping it is quite simple altho use new jubilee clips and check your hoses while you have them undone particularly the metal one which is prone to coroding away to nothing

Edited May 25, 2012 by Slo

[welshpug 1,657]

Cheapest on ebay

 

LINK

 

It says 83-97? but its for a phase 1.5/2 as phase 1 has the fan switch on opposite side!

 

yup, that's what the blanking plug is for, you'll notice on the end above the bottom hose connection that the phase1 hole is there.

[Alan77 78 1 Cars]

I bought one of these a few years ago...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PEUGEOT-205-1-6-1-9-GTI-1-8-DIESEL-1983-1997-RADIATOR-BRAND-NEW-2-YEAR-WARRANTY-/270974586437?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Car+Make%3APeugeot|Model%3A205&hash=item3f17580e45

 

It's been faultless, takes half an hour to fit, including draining and topping up and even has a handy bleed screw/tap at the base.

I also bypassed the slow/high speed fan resistor and connected the wire up to the fast speed, meaning that when the fan does kick in, it runs fast for maximum cooling.

Touch wood, haven't overheated in years...

[john-melbourne 6]

Thanks for all the help guys,

 

Is it worth repacing anything else at the same time as the rad, any sensors or anything like that? Also is it worth putting a better coolant in than the Halfords one? If so which do you guys use/recommend?

 

Thanks Again

 

John

[Alan77 78 1 Cars]

Halfords coolant has always been good for me. The bluey/green one is the type for older cars IIRC.

[welshpug 1,657]

I usually use Citroen Antigel or whatever is cheapest at the motorfactor!

 

Definitely worth checking the condition of the hoses and clips, and the metal pipe in the wheelarch, Stew at BBM is doing stainless replacements for these now