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Mod Note : Please continue the discussion in our Engine Overheating Article. Thanks


Hi,

I'd posted in my travelogue (bom to chennai) about how my ford fusion petrol engine started heating up meaning that all the engine temperature bars would go up and the red light would start blinking forcing me to switch off the ignition and wait for 15 to 20 minutes before resuming my journey again.

Interestingly, this never happend on the highway at high speeds (90 to 100) but very frequently within the city limits at low speeds, idling and frequent gear changing. Also the fan humming sound is perpetually on with the AC on.

I got my car back after 4 days at the Ford service centre in Chennai wher they replaced the water pump, the belt and even the thermostat kit. just a month ago, my coolant had been changed too. And the ghosts seem to have re appeared. I'd not even reached home yesterday with the AC on that I once again saw the bars go up and the red light flash (the humming sound too) forcing me to stop and drive on without the AC.

I'm taking it back to the service centre today and have even written to Ford (the MD email) but I'm very depressed that after paying 6 K and 4 days, the problem still remains unsolved.

Any clue as to what this could be and what is the solution ?
Thanks

If you are experiencing overheating in the city, and not on the highway, that is almost certainly a problem with your cooling fan. Please have it checked ASAP and do NOT drive the car until resolved. Overheating will ruin the engine.

Get your temp sensor changed, i had the same issue in my car once. It costs around 1500 bucks.

Even in my case problem started after a regular service and coolant change :)

In so far as the temp sensor thing is concerned, did you also have the problem with the A C on ? I hear the fan humming noise with the AC on but not without the AC.

My symptom was cold start, the needle will slowly shoot up to max. If i switch on AC or just switch off for few mts needle will go normal. This deteriorated into shooting up and staying at max and only when AC switched ON temp coming down to half. iKON 1.6

Hi,

Im not sure about how the thing (fan) works in a Fusion. But I had a similar problem in my OHC Vtec and based on that experience I would like to add 2 cents:-

1.Please get your car checked for any leaks from the hoses, esp. for those that go from the radiator to the engine and back.

2. The frequent overheating could have caused your head gasket to blow (it just might). Please perform the following test

a. In a cold start (first start) keep the cap of your radiator open and have someone crank the car for you. If you notice the water/coolant oozing out of the radiator, then you can be rest assured your head gasket has blown. In that case you will have to contact the service center and have that replaced.

If not then, like other's mentioned please get the thermostat checked and have them show you that your fans are working when the car heats up. Can be done with your hood open and they revving the car at a high rpm.

What confuses me is, even when you had your A/C on you said that the car heated up. The thing is, in the case of the vtec, when the A/C is on the fans (2 in vtec's case) immediately switch on, so even if your thermostat is not working the fan will force cool the coolant down.

The only time when the A/C will also not help is if there is no coolant/water in the radiator. Please get it checked for leaks.

Another fast way of cooling you car down in case you are stuck in no man's land..

1.Switch the car to the "ventilating" (fresh air) mode from the recirculating mode
2.Change the temp gauge from "cool/cold" to maximum "hot"
3.Switch on the A/C and keep the fan running on maximum blast
4. Redirect the a/c vents towards the outside of the car.

By doing the above mentioned steps you will see a drop in the car's temp start to happen immediately. But please note that this is a stop gap arrangement.

Like GTO mentioned, engine heating can ruin your engine.

Hope this helps you.

Cheers,
Shrey

This might help you:

just got a call from ford. The guy says that the fan motor does not work and replacing it will cost 16 thousand. He said he will still try and change the cupplers (hope i got that right) and see if it works but if it doesnt he will have to change the fan motor. I asked him if they checked everythign else like the gasket etc and he said it was the fan motor that was not working causing the humming noise.

What i cannot understand is that the humming noise only comes on with the AC and not without it and secondly at constant speeds (empty roads), the over heating problem does not happen.

check if the fuse is intact first, and see if fan kicks in when the engine temp increases from normal. You can goto garage and ask them to demonstrate. And when you switch ON ac the fan will again kick in with a hmm or whrrrrr, again there can be a delay (it will wait for ac radiator grill to heat up in some cases).

Unless its 2 separate fans for AC and radiator, fan shouldnt be the culprit. It can be an issue with the circuit rather, since fan will get the required signal from different sensors/circuit.

Also radiator fan should be covered under warranty, if your car is still under warranty.

While running over 30-40 kph the fan doesn switch ON since the cold air draft will cool the radiator, only when the temp reaches a particular point the fan kicks in. But while running on AC fan has to work to cool the AC radiator grill, again this will happen ON and OFF (according to grill temp) and neednt run all the while.

Isnt it not covered under warranty?

16000

This is how much they cost in the UK!

Here

First they change water pump,belt & thermostat kit,coolant & made you pay for that. & now they want to change the FAN.
You should ask for a refund for parts changed earlier which were not at fault & 16K seems to be pretty high for a radiator Fan.

When the car is doing constant high speeds (60+) and is running without any obstruction, like on a highway (less use to gears, clutch etc) then air that it intakes from the grill keeps it cool.

In my experience car never heats up under such conditions, the temperature always remains considerably low, compared to city driving conditions.

agree: I was facing a similar problem with my Indica, and in my case it was the thermostat that was at fault. Since your's has been changed, I guess that's not the case this time.

Just what I thought, the fan is indeed the culprit. 16K is exhorbitant pricing but then, it is a Ford + one that hasn't sold well. As Ajmat has posted, consider importing the part on your own (if you are comfortable with it). And yes, they MUST refund you the 6,000 you paid initially. Why should the customer bear the cost of faulty diagnosis?

My Jeep temp goes on the higher side (old engine + new) only if cruising at a constant 80 - 90 kph. The minute you slow down or vary speeds, the needle falls back to healthy zone.