Fans not working

[OliRose1994]

Hey, guys.

I have a '98 306 with the turbocharged XUD engine, and the radiator fans have not worked since I bought the car a couple of months ago. I have tried a few things, but nothing has seemed to work so far. I have changed the fans (thanks to all who posted on my previous thread!), but that didn't work: the fans do work, as I had them tested before putting them in, and the relays are fine. I have checked all of the relays and fuses in both the cabin and under the bonnet - nothing seemingly wrong there, either. The radiator looks to be in good nick, too.

The only thing I haven't done is change the thermostat. I thought that changing it would be the answer to my problems - but I have been told that, if the thermostat was stuck shut, I wouldn't be able to regulate the air coming into the cabin: I can control the temperature of that air just fine - cold blowing cold and hot blowing hot - and, apparently, that means the thermostat is functioning as it should.

If I put the heaters on to fully-hot and full-blast pointing into the cabin, the temperature doesn't seem to creep-up as fast - but I'd rather not have to do this every time I'm at a red light! Also, the temperature seems to stay pretty low whilst I'm driving: it only shoots-up when I'm stationary. My last port-of-call is that it may be the wiring between the fans and the thermostat or something - is this easy to diagnose/fix?

Also, if this helps, the oil dipstick seems to be coming out of the filler hole whenever I'm driving. When I stop to put it back in, it has whispy steam coming out of the filler hole, too. After doing some Googling, it seems that this could point to the breather hose not functioning properly, or it could mean that the head-gasket is on its way out. The oil is black and has been changed about 3,000 miles ago, along with the filter, so I'm not sure what that could be. Either way, would this have a bearing on my radiator fan issue, or am I right in treating them as two separate problems?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

Oli

[Piggy]

Yes. Take the brown plug (iirc) off the brown sensor on the stat housing while engine running...
That should make the fans run full speed.
If not...likely knackered fans/relays or both

[OliRose1994]

Yes. Take the brown plug (iirc) off the brown sensor on the stat housing while engine running...
That should make the fans run full speed.
If not...likely knackered fans/relays or both

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I have tried that on both the old fans and my current ones - neither of which worked. I tried both the brown and blue plugs. The fans were checked before installation and the relays have been double-checked by myself. Further re-enforces my thoughts that it could be a wiring issue .

Thanks again, though!

[bigcheez2k3]

What are you plans for the car?

I was having the same issue and as I plan to put a front mounted intercooler on I just put a slimline fan in and wired it up to switch.

[OliRose1994]

What are you plans for the car?

I was having the same issue and as I plan to put a front mounted intercooler on I just put a slimline fan in and wired it up to switch.

Coincidentally, I was looking at front-mount intercoolers today - haha! To be honest, though, I would just like the car to last me until I'm financially stable enough to afford a new car, and then the 'better half' can have the Pug. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic car, and it will be kept after she is done with it as a restoration project more-than-likely - but, as for the short-term, I'd just like it to run.

I never thought of getting another fan wired-in, but is that something that is feasible/easy to do?

Thanks!

[bigcheez2k3]

It wasn't too hard tbh and I'm not the greatest with electrics. Once I figured out a wiring diagram I got from here it was pretty simple. Just some 15a wire, a relay I had left over from a previous 306, switch (I used a hazard switch so it was all OEM) and an inline fuse.

I haven't really mounted it very well, but it works and cools the car which is the important part. Check my post history and there should be a thread that has the diagram in it.

[OliRose1994]

It wasn't too hard tbh and I'm not the greatest with electrics. Once I figured out a wiring diagram I got from here it was pretty simple. Just some 15a wire, a relay I had left over from a previous 306, switch (I used a hazard switch so it was all OEM) and an inline fuse.

I haven't really mounted it very well, but it works and cools the car which is the important part. Check my post history and there should be a thread that has the diagram in it.

Awesome stuff - thanks again!