I know this has been covered 100\'s of times but having searched and read the threads on the forum I\'m still unsure.
I have a standard cooling system on a 92 FD3S type r inc stock air filter etc with an aftermarket water temp gauge ( fitted in Japan )
Car has covered just over 16,000 miles since new and most of the internals are as good as new.
Water temp gauge warms to 84c and will remain there during normal driving (give or take a few degrees ) but rises to about 92c if stationary at t lights for a minute. When waiting for the turbo timer to switch the engine off after a decent run it can get up to 110c ( after 2 mins plus of idle ). I\'m certain the fans don\'t kick in even at this temp, having read the threads about turning the a/c on, I tried this and it cools the temp pretty quickly. I\'m pretty sure the a/c is standard although whilst it cools the water temp it does very little to cool the air flow into the car. On Sunday I kept the a/c on during the cool down and it kept the temp at a steady 84c for the 1 min 40 secs ( turned it off 20 secs before the turbo timer cut the engine out ) I could really feel the hot air coming from the underside of the car with a/c on plus the noise of course, something I haven\'t noticed before hence my comment about the fans not kicking in normally. Could the previous owner have changed something so the a/c button acts as a manual fan override? The car is mint and the previous owner spent loads on it ( tein coilover sus, full Kakimoto racing exhaust, earthing kit etc ) so I suppose it\'s possible?
So my question is, not being very techincal or handy when it comes to checking relays etc, am I safe to just turn on the air con when stationary to cool the temps and turn it off when driving? Perhaps I\'m trying to mask an underlying problem here but I really don\'t drive it that often so can live with this option if it\'s not causing any damage to the car. Or if I\'m being a thicko please let me know.:o
Any comments would be appreciated.
JB
Aparantly there are 2 speeds on the cooling fans.... think the low speed kicks in at about 95 degrees & then it cranks up the speed of the fans at 100 (I think)...... Has the car got a power fc or anything?? the reason I ask is you can set the temp you want the fans to kick in at, so possibly this is set too high???
Check the connectors plugs for the fans as mine were corroded a little, so this could be a problem with yours!!
Personaly I cant see the fans being wired in to the AC switch as this would be pointless, because you as a driver would have to watch the temps like a hawk to do the same job as the ecu!!!
Jono
You can\'t set the fans switch on temp manually with the power FC without the tuning software (I forget it\'s name!)
Another problem could the the earth points, certainly was the problem when my fans stopped. They are located behind the front bumper.
nige
QuoteSo my question is, not being very techincal or handy when it comes to checking relays etc, am I safe to just turn on the air con when stationary to cool the temps and turn it off when driving? Perhaps I\'m trying to mask an underlying problem here but I really don\'t drive it that often so can live with this option if it\'s not causing any damage to the car. Or if I\'m being a thicko please let me know.
It\'s ok/good idea, to use the air-con switch to on to run the fans, but it sounds that the gas has gone from the A/C if its not getting cold in the car, there is a wire from a thermoswitch (underneath rear of Alternator) which switches on relay three at 106c, i fitted a lower rated thermoswitch but the problem was the single wire from theremo had broken down, that could be the problem,this wire is basically grounded to earth on the engine when the thermo switches at it\'s rated temp, this single wire goes direct to the relay,
let me know if you need more info, and ill try and dig up some, certainly sounds as if it\'s getting hot, (not good) best use A/C fans for now even without any gas it will keep the engine cooler, heatsoak causes the temp to rise (a lot) after its swiched off,
Bob
You need to get the relays checked. The air con uses different ones to the fans when controlled by the ECU. There\'s also a sensor on the back of the water pump housing. you could probably bridge the relay pins to check that the wiring is good (You already know the fans work).
Thanks for your help guys, I\'ll do a bit of checking my end. Nige, will I need to take the bumber off to reach the earthing points? ( it\'s a 99 spec FB )
Jono, it hasn\'t got an FC but my gut feeling is that it did have one before I got it, had a cradle that looked like a holder stuck on the dashboard when I got it.
Could have been a phone holder but I suspect it was the holder for an FC or something similar.
Chers,
JB
Quotehaving read the threads about turning the a/c on, I tried this and it cools the temp pretty quickly. I\'m pretty sure the a/c is standard although whilst it cools the water temp it does very little to cool the air flow into the car. On Sunday I kept the a/c on during the cool down and it kept the temp at a steady 84c for the 1 min 40 secs ( turned it off 20 secs before the turbo timer cut the engine out ) I could really feel the hot air coming from the underside of the car with a/c on plus the noise of course, something I haven\'t noticed before hence my comment about the fans not kicking in normally.
As you say the fans work with A/C on as they should it\'s obviously not an earth fault, also the A/C relays are ok, that leaves the Thermoswitch
(unlikely) or the wire from thermo to relay no 3 or a relay, as i said on mine it was the single wire from thermo had broken down, i would start with that, have you got a continuity tester or voltmeter?
Bob
Quote from: ro284As you say the fans work with A/C on as they should it\'s obviously not an earth fault, also the A/C relays are ok, that leaves the Thermoswitch
(unlikely) or the wire from thermo to relay no 3 or a relay, as i said on mine it was the single wire from thermo had broken down, i would start with that, have you got a continuity tester or voltmeter?
Bob
I\'ve just bought a multimeter tester today, thought I had one but must have lost it along the way.
I checked all the fuses and took the relays out to have a look but as one of the other guys said, they can be shot but look OK.
Any pointers on how I can test the 60A cooling fan relay, or shoud l I just replace it? Sorry for being thick but I\'m trying to learn, honest!
Cheers,
JB
QuoteAny pointers on how I can test the 60A cooling fan relay, or shoud l I just replace it? Sorry for being thick but I\'m trying to learn, honest!
Do you mean fuse? I wouldnt think there is a problem with that, as the cooling fans are working,
Type in this
FAO: r0284
in search, Ash had problems which sound similar to yours, have a read, let me know how you get on if it\'s any help,
Bob