I have a ford focus 1.8 zetec 2001, i have a problem that nobody can seem to solve.... i have a sometimish fan! when i drive especially on hot days my fan does not seem to be cutting in, the temperture guage stays normal so shows the car is not over heating but in fact the car is roasting!!! an when i stop an turn engine of the water resoviour begins to bubble because its so hot!! when ever i take it to a mechanic to show them, the car runs an the fan kicks in.... luckily when showing a friend the other day the fan wasnt cutting in an he could see the water begining to bubble as gettin so hot but he is NOT a mechanic which didnt help an he also said wat i said the fan is being sometimish an not cutting in. Iv had my head gasket looked at pipes are fine an no water mixing with the oil etc... an was told it was fine. so what is the problem with a sometimish fan an the temperature guage staying normal when car is hot !!!! please help! also being a woman, im getting fobbed off with anything but i just would like the truth...

 

please introduce your self as none will help

 

Dodgy fan switch? Wiring? Could be a number of things...

 

There is no fan switch on these cars the fans as with any modernish car are ECU controlled. I suspect a dodgy NTC (AKA CTS in older speak) sensor as this is what provides the temp info for the fans along with other things when the connector is removed the fans should run all the time as it registers a fault then when reconnected the fault disappears and fans should go off, although I would think the car would not drive well if this was the case.

IIRC the Focus CANBUS keeps the temp gauge at half as there was complaints when new about high temps, but it should read hot when overheating.

As a emergency measure you could use the A/C as this SHOULD also switch on the cooling fans so this would be a easy test.

Martin

 

Zetecs do run very hot, sometimes over 100C, this is why the coolant is under pressure so it doesn't overheat the coolant, if you've been using the car and it hasn't done anything drastic like chuck lots of water out the exhaust, or expeansion tank chances are it's ok.
My dads mondy zetec hits the red just before the fans come on, but never overheats, ford temp gauages are notoriously innacurate.
The sure fire way of telling is to leave running, if they come on then go off once cooled all is fine, even at normal running temps it will be way too hot to touch.

 

Thanxs Guys for ur advice, i will pass it on to another mechanic i had found..... the car is running fine an no problems at all, except gets to hot and bubbles begin to rapidly appear in water bottle and i can hear it when switch engine off from inside the car and this just happens when car gets to hot an no sign of fan but does not seem to happen all of the time, i have left the car running to show a friend and was running for bout 40 mins no fan cut in temp guage stayed normal an car got hot an the bubbling started in the water bottle... i shall pass on all ur advice an let u no the outcome. thanks x

 

No problems, as said the Zetecs do run hot and I know the fans on most only cycle on the hottest days, when in traffic etc.

Did you try turning on the A/C as this should bring the fans on as well as a test?

When was the coolant last changed?

The other thing is the cap may need replacing, it is actually reccomended these are changed every two years, as this is what pressurises the system and the higher the pressure the higher the boiling point.

Martin

 

I will try the A/C definatly and i had coolant put in last week along with a new thermostat and rocker cover. il shall buy a new cap to rule that out aswell. Thankyou for your Advice.

Gemma

 

The system been bled properly?