Freelander 2 (LR2) 2008 Td4 LHD - engine cooling fans failure

Hi Guys,

My problem - any advice gratefully received.

The vehicle cooling fans do not switch on under any circumstances. Previously they did, especially after a long run up a mountain. Fans are not running either with aircon switched on or under conditions of high engine temperature. The engine coolant temperature gauge is working, in that it remains at a centre reading except under overheating conditions when the needle flaps around towards high and the red gauge light comes on. I understand that this is normal i.e. “They all do that sir."

Both fans operate properly when directly connected to the battery.

Fuses and relays associated with aircon in the engine fuse box have all been tested and are ok.

A new fan control module has been bought and substituted for the original, with no change to the fault.

There is power on the two thick red/black cables entering the fan controller module.

The thin grey control wire entering the fan control module seems intact but the RAV manual says the voltage cannot be measured without an oscilloscope as it is a digital signal and not an absolute voltage.

All the above make me think that the engine ECU is not telling the fan controller module to wake up and power the fans.

How to diagnose further?

Cheers

You say the fans don't work with the air con on. When was the air con last re-gassed? They advise to do it every 3 years to keep the system topped up and to use it regular. If the gas level is low it won't switch the air con on. That won't stop the engine cooling fan option though.

The rave disc doesn't cover the Freelander 2. You need the maintenance manwell below:

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-2-repair-and-maintenance-manual.247438/

OK, thanks for the manual link.

The aircon works fine at normal road speeds but not when moving slowly (no fans to cool condenser) as expected. I'll get the aircon pressure checked - as you say it needs re gassing after 9 years!

I bought this 2010 vehicle as new in 2013 with only 6K Km on the clock, it now has 123K.

According to the manual there are several sensors feeding the ECU which affect the fan speed - aircon pressure as you say (I read it as when the pressure is low the fans should kick in?), ABS measuring road speed and ECT sensor for engine temp. The next thing to check is continuity of the control wire between the fan controller and the ECU. We get pine martens here which like sleeping in warm engines at night and they eat wiring insulation!

Be back in touch next week.

I had a similar problem with air con working at speed but not when driving slowly on my FL1. At speed the wind cooled the radiator when the fan would not power up, which allowed the air con to make cool air. After regassing it still didn't work when stationary due to fans not coming on but did work after a second regas. Garage man said they do occasionally get a car that only works after a second go.

Theres no guarantee yours will be fixed with just a regas. But after 9 years it will certainly need a regas. My FL2 was regassed recently. The level was just below half scale after 5 years since build but still working and doesn't feel any different after gassing as it worked before. But it will be a bit more efficient now and not need to "switch on" so often. Can't remember off hand what the cut off level is.

Hi Hippo,

Now back in the UK after a good trip home from Greece - 1800Km at an average of 110Km/hr and 42 mpg.

Yesterday my local LR dealer ran diagnostics after re-gassing the AC (first time in 10 years - since new) to further look into the "no electric cooling fans - ever" problem on this thread.

AC had 500gms of gas before and 730gms after. So it had lost a third of its gas in 10 years and was still working fine.

The problem of no fans still persists.

Diagnostics for Powertrain control module said "P0480-00 FAN 1 CONTROL CIRCUIT - no sub type information"

Apparently this is the fault, in ECU diagnostics speak.

Since this dealer has an oscilloscope the next step is to see if there's any signal on the control wire both before and after the connector into the fan contro module. I read in another thread on this topic that the male pin for the control signal within the connector itself can have an intermittent connection.

Finding a control signal going into the connector but not activating the fans would be first prize at this stage!

Otherwise its then either :

Taking out the plastic scuttle hiding the ECU to get access to the cable and connector at the ECU end, and checking for continuity and signal.

Or

Removing the connection to the Coolant Temperature Sensor (which I understand is below the inlet manifold on a Td4). I have read elsewhere that this will trigger the ECU to turn on the fans. Can anyone please confirm that this is true, and also confirm that the connector can actually be got at to disconnect it from the sensor?

As always, any advice gratefully received.

Thanks, Gazza

This is now fixed. The control wire into the fan controller module was scoped at the connector into the module and the PWM signal was ok. But the signal disappeared when connected to the module, or when under an external load.

Fault traced to an almost broken control wire in the loom from the ECU to the fan controller, which runs over the gearbox casing. Wire repaired and all is now ok.

Gazza

Thanks for letting us know the fix. Sorry I didn't reply to yer last post.