Radiator fan comes on as soon as i turn the ignition key

[sammicool]

Hi all,

I've got a clio 172 phase 2

So i had to top my water up slightly every morning from doing about 50 miles a day for a bout 2 months... so took it to the garage and they said the headgasket had gone .

Just got the car back after 2 weeks and £1000 lighter, had the headgasket skimmed and the timing belt done (that was only done last year also) along with the water pump, new radiator and everything else you can imagine.

Now when i turn the ignition on the fan comes on automatically and the temp gauge moves up about 1mm :S. Rang the garage and said if the heaters are getting warm no need to worry all ok, (which the heaters do get lovely and toasty), Well im worried any advice or happened to anyone else?

Thanks
Sam

 

[MicKPM]

I've not seen the car but I'd honestly question a heads gasket failure on an F4R just because its using a bit of water. More likely to be a leaky rad, hose or water pump imo but hey-ho. Just out of curiosity, does it still use coolant?

If the fan is coming on straight away check the coolant temp sensor is properly plugged in and that the two wires aren't broken. They tend to do this when there's an open circuit.

Check you've not got A/C switched on also as this will turn the cooling fan on also.

Mick

 

[Carlv8415]

Isn't head-gasket failure on a F4R fairly rare? Don't hear about it to often ...

 

[Dan519]

as above, fans come on from cold if the AC is active.

Headgasket won't have been gone, they just don't go unless there are very extreme circumstances. I'd be searching for a leak. if they've used a non genuine water pump (likely for a non specialist) then it's probably leaking there

 

[Boyes]

I'm SammiCool's partner, when she explained the problem to me & that the temp gauge hardly moving I suggested the connector not plugged into the sensor.

It was took back to the garage and they found the coolant sensor unplugged, all plugged back in and working fine now

To cut a long story short we bought a Clio that had been neglected from a garage, 55 miles after we bought it (on the way home) the gearbox exploded and cracked the casing they refused a refund over the phone, and as they were 3 hours away we got it repaired locally and took them to court.

Since buying March 2012 it's had.

Recon gearbox with new casing/gears
Rear springs
Rear shocker
Cambelt
Dephaser
Water pump
Radiator
Header tank & Cap
All new engine mounts
New Strutt & wheel bearings
Full set of correct size tyres 195/45 R16 IIRC
Headgasket
Another cambelt
Water pump
Thermostat
Heater Rheostat
Both Track rod ends (& tracking)
Both genuine rear wheel bearings/discs & pads (which failed in the warranty period)

So at the moment we're a little tender, as the repairs/upkeep have cost more than the car itself...

As for the head gasket we believe this went/was caused when the radiator went/was leaking and kept having to top up, but it wasn't run with the light on it was always turned off... So I'm presuming with the harsh life it's had (Just to add, it came with no history!)

Myself I have a Peugeot 106GTi that I've had nearly 5 years, and I've maintained it myself and never encountered the problems as such as this car....

But it's a car she's always wanted a black 172.... so she's happy (well now it's fixed!)