Radiator fan not working - update - FIXED!!

[Ralf85]

Hi folks, can anyone point me in the right direction of the radiator fan fuse and / or relay on my 1983 diesel van? I have checked the fan whilst it was off the van, connected direct to a battery and it works fine but it is not cutting in whilst fitted on the van.

I bled the cooling system today and the rad was hot but the fan did not cut in, is there any other way of testing things out ?

Thanks,Will.

Back to basics and before you dismantle stuff. Was the temperature up towards two thirds on the temperature gauge? If it wasn't and was only half way up (and your gauge is working ok) then in my van that does not mean there is a problem with the fan. It just means that it is not hot enough for the fan to switch on.

Patrick

[williamraff]

Update, I have three wires going into radiator thermo switch - one outer wire is a constant live feed 12v but no reading from the other two all the fuses are good and I have a good earth.

I have switched on the ignition and inserted a wire into the switch terminals and checked the possible permutations but the fan did not come on.

I bared the wires on the connector which connects up to the radiator switch and bridged them with a separate piece of wire - still no fan.

I can hear what I assume is the relay clicking under the dash but there is no movement at the fan. The fan works fine when tested off the car but it just seems like their is no juice getting to it now for some reason?

I am happy to stand corrected but I am not sure that this indicates a fault with the radiator switch as I assumed the fan would come on once the terminals were bridged?

I hope the above means something to those of you with more electrical knowledge than me and I would welcome any thoughts on the next step from here.

Many thanks,Will .

[Plasticman]

im trying to understand what you did , if you pulled the plug off the switch and you stuck a meter in the plug and one wire had 12v appx then that is correct, so a bent bit of wire from this live to eacvh of the other 2 wires in the plug and it should come on. all the switch does is what your doing with the jumper wirte in the plug except the switch makes the connections at a preset temperatures.
mm

[williamraff]

im trying to understand what you did , if you pulled the plug off the switch and you stuck a meter in the plug and one wire had 12v appx then that is correct, so a bent bit of wire from this live to eacvh of the other 2 wires in the plug and it should come on. all the switch does is what your doing with the jumper wirte in the plug except the switch makes the connections at a preset temperatures.
mm

You have got it Mike, that is exactly what I did but no joy. All I get is a clicking noise from behind the fusebox

[Plasticman]

ok. what voltage doid you get at the live wire in the plug?
can you get a length of wire from battery pos and touch this to each of the other 2 wires in the plug , sounds like you have afaulty supply to the plug
mm

[williamraff]

ok. what voltage doid you get at the live wire in the plug?
can you get a length of wire from battery pos and touch this to each of the other 2 wires in the plug , sounds like you have afaulty supply to the plug
mm

It was about 11.7 volts to the live. I will try and run a wire from the battery to the switch tomorrow and see what we have got.

Cheers,Will.

[Plasticman]

i think you will find it then works , sounds like a poor supply /bad connection on the feed,
mm

[williamraff]

Update - connected a live feed up to the switch terminals - no luck I am afraid, just a clicking sound from the fan relay

[Plasticman]

ehh. i may be missing something here but the plug has three wires ,one is 12v the other two surely go to the fan, so by supplying the temporary 12v to each of the non live terminals in the plug you should be supplying the fan direct, you got the fan earthed ok
mm

[jrt]

Have you disconnected the fan [from the wiring] and inspected the connectors, when i had a few fan issues last year the connector was full of water- just a thought.
David

[williamraff]

I am not sure what is going on, I have bridged fan wires in the past as a temporary fix and I have never had any issues. The fan worked fine off the car when I hooked it up, I will dismantle everything tomorrow and start again, crawling about in the dark and rain after work is no good, I have booked tomorrow off so hopefully i will get to the bottom of it.

Thanks for the input any way, Will.

[williamraff]

Update - two speed fan all present and correct! Thanks everybody for the input - turned out to be dodgy corroded / broken connectors in the two connecting halves between the fan and the radiator switch -all sorted now

Thanks again to everyone who offered assistance - much appreciated,

Will

[Plasticman]

good,which is why we said dont start buying stuff till you know it bust. fan worked of van so eliminate fans themselves.illiminate thermo switch and that leaves very little
mm

[williamraff]

good,which is why we said dont start buying stuff till you know it bust. fan worked of van so eliminate fans themselves.illiminate thermo switch and that leaves very little
mm

Good advice Mike and much appreciated - next problem is glow plugs but I will put that in a new post, Will.