Engine cooling fans - never come on ?

Hi all

On my S reg freelander 1 the temperature needle never goes beyond half way mark which is good, however, the 2 large fans under the bonnet and in front of the radiator seem to never come on at all.

I did a test to ensure they were working simply by unplugging the temperature sensor and the came on so they do work.

I am now wondering one of 2 things.

1. Does everyone's freelander act the same as in the fans hardly ever kick in.

2. Do I have a dodgy temperature sensor.

Does everyone with a freelander 1 hear the fans coming on ?

Your feedback would be appreciated.

Regards

Dave

if it's an L series diesel - you'll be hard pushed to ever get them to come on. Very cool-running engine

Ah yes should have mentioned its a 1.8 Petrol.

davidporthcawl said:

Hi all

On my S reg freelander 1 the temperature needle never goes beyond half way mark which is good, however, the 2 large fans under the bonnet and in front of the radiator seem to never come on at all.

I did a test to ensure they were working simply by unplugging the temperature sensor and the came on so they do work.

I am now wondering one of 2 things.

1. Does everyone's freelander act the same as in the fans hardly ever kick in.

2. Do I have a dodgy temperature sensor.

Does everyone with a freelander 1 hear the fans coming on ?

Your feedback would be appreciated.

Regards

Dave

Click to expand...

Completely normal. The radiator is sized for the hottest places on the planet. In our temperate climate the fans almost never come on. The exception is the V6. The fans run reasonably often on those. With the 1.8 and diesel engines, you won't see them on often.

Cheers everyone.

As I mentioned the car never overheats but glad to hear its normal for the fans not to come on

Can I just say what a fantastic forum this, makes me feel I am not alone when things go wrong with the car lol.

Cheers all

Dave

davidporthcawl said:

Cheers everyone.

As I mentioned the car never overheats but glad to hear its normal for the fans not to come on

Can I just say what a fantastic forum this, makes me feel I am not alone when things go wrong with the car lol.

Cheers all

Dave

Click to expand...

There are 2 ways to test the fans.
1: unplugging the sensor fools the engine ECU into thinking there is a fault. In response the this "fault" the ECU protects the engine from possible high temperatures buy running the fans at 80% of max speed.
2: Put the AC on. This sends a signal to the engine ECU to switch the fans on low speed. The engine ECU will alter the fan speed based on engine/ auto gearbox temperature. If engine or auto gearbox is to hot, the engine ECU can disable the AC.

Oh and the temperature gauge has been programmed to show normal with the engine in the normal temperature range. This normal range it anything between 75 ° C and 115° C.
Hope this helps?

I did the test by pulling the sensor out and they worked but its a good tip to switch on the AC.

Nice one - thanks