over heating

[marruss]

what are the causes of this....my battery was dead so i jumped started the car from my other car(obvioulsy) and ran it for about 10 mins....i turned it off to work on it and then turned it back on to put it back in the garage...reversed it into the garage and it lost all power..so i gev it more revs..parked it and got out as soon as i got out pssssssssssss loadsa steam...loads and loads!!what could this be...i dont think my fan works..how can i test this??

[mowgli]

Hi to test a fan, you disconnect the wires from the fanswitch, and short the two spades together (with a spare bit of wire) the fan should run ok. the switches can fail. If i were you i'd sort out the flat battery problem. if the battery is flat or the alt is not charging, there will probably be just enough power to keep the engine running at tickover. if you rev it, there is not enough voltage to keep up with the extra sparks needed, thus no power.

[ade]

loads of causes for over heating. steam would indicate you at least have coolant/water in the system - how much though? where was the steam coming from - is the water pump ok, hoses blocked, radiator blocked, engine out of tune ( I'm just listing haynes by the way...;) ) When was the car last used (said working on it)

[Rich Dale]

CHECK THE FAN FUSE!

lol......I had mine overheating the other week in the traffic to get into Donny, and again when the engine was left running for the emissions test for the MOT.

I tried the "wires together trick" but the fan didn't work.
Then I though...ahh....what about the fuse...doh! That's all it was! :p

It's true though that the sensor/thermal switch on the rad can fail....difficult to check it without removing it and dipping it in hot water.
Check the fuse first and see of the fan works, then just let the engine get hot...that way if the fan doesn't come on when it should, you know that the thermal switch is faulty.

[gez]

try changing your thermo stat, or take the old 1 off and put it in a pan of hot water, it should open up, mine was like that but it wouldnt fully open, once i bought a new 1 it was fine ive had no probs since :)