Engine Cooling Fans Inop

On my car both eninne bay fans work as a pair and both do the same thing at the same time. Also, If I unplug the sucking one, the blowing one carries on.

The oil temp sensor is on the side of the sump, drivers side. See the parts manual, page 10.501 item no 31. The engine needs to idle for quite some time before it is triggered, but you could make up a 2 inch wire with a quarter inch spade connector at each end. You can make another to substitute for the 60 deg turbo sensor too. This saves a lot of fuel and time when testing.

You "may" have a different set up if your sump pan has been replaced in the past with a non-alpine one????

see this thread also......
http://www.renaultalpineownersclub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1314&highlight=fans

If you need a pair of working sensors Ive taken mine off and have them still attached to the bracket and ready to post out in a jiffy bag!

[BIG_MVS]

On my car both eninne bay fans work as a pair and both do the same thing at the same time. Also, If I unplug the sucking one, the blowing one carries on.

The oil temp sensor is on the side of the sump, drivers side. See the parts manual, page 10.501 item no 31. The engine needs to idle for quite some time before it is triggered, but you could make up a 2 inch wire with a quarter inch spade connector at each end. You can make another to substitute for the 60 deg turbo sensor too. This saves a lot of fuel and time when testing.

You "may" have a different set up if your sump pan has been replaced in the past with a non-alpine one????

see this thread also......
http://www.renaultalpineownersclub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1314&highlight=fans

Cheers Simon, your thread seems very helpful. I think there is a fundamental problem with the wiring though somewhere... I'll try what you have said above though.

Seems strange that most later cars have no oil temp sensor in the sump like the earlier cars though?? Maybe they just used the temp sensors near the turbo to start the fans and did away with the oil temp sensor located in the sump.

[BIG_MVS]

If you need a pair of working sensors Ive taken mine off and have them still attached to the bracket and ready to post out in a jiffy bag!

PM Sent.

I tested my sensors in a saucepan of water on the cooker with a temp sensor and voltmeter connected while the water was heated up.

You can test the wiring by shorting out the sensors, to simulate their operation.

Its easy to test them.....just take the wires off each and touch them together like Simon says.

[BIG_MVS]

Fixed!

I had the wires crossed! basically one of the previous owners must have taken the wires off the temp sensors near the turbo and mixed them up when re-fitting

My only argument for not picking this up earlier is that all the wires look exactly the same, also I presumed they were in the correct position!

Another Alpine lesson...never assume

Has anyone got any sensors ,just broken a terminal off the fan sensor one

Could you stick it back on with liquid metal, or even solder a wire tail to what ever "stub" is left?

[BIG_MVS]

Right, need some more info. Simon your thread is extremely helpful but is based on an early 86 car, mine is an 88 and does not have the oil temp sensor.

When I switch the car off after a long run the fans kick in after a few minutes and stay on for a while, not timed it 3-5 mins say. My fans do not come on at all while driving, also when I bridge the two top wires on the sensors the fans come on at high speed but do not stay on for 3 mins they just go off when the link is broken.

Can people with later cars 88 onwards comment on how their engine bay fans work? I have spoken to a few people including turbodog who all have early cars where the fans kick in on 6v after some time whilst driving then goto 12v after the ignition is switched off.

I have an 86 workshop manual and on page c49 it shows how the fans are wired and all the relays. Under the dash behind the radio I do not have the green resistor and only have a black with a blue bottom relay with 4 spade connectors coming of it (located on the drivers side). Does anyone have an 88 workshop manual explaining what should be there?

Any comments greatly appreciated?

WHat is your "fault" and symptons.

I have 2 sensors by the turbo, 1 is for "hot" and this is how it switches from 6v to 12v and the other is for "over-hot" and all it does is put the warning light on the dash to on.

[BIG_MVS]

They do not come on at all whilst driving????

Your car is an early car as well so has the temp sensor in the oil sump.

I need someone with a later car to tell me how the fans operate(generally do they come on whilst driving or just when you switch the engine off), pretty please anyone?????????????????????????????

I read somewhere that the oil temp sensor is only used on the Swiss / German versions of the GTA and not the UK ones - that said it still doesnt explain the earlier models in the UK having them !!

Mine is a 1991 and works as follows:
I have just two sensors mounted on the vertical plate opposite the Turbo housing. One senses engine temp above 90 the other above 115

The only sensor that drives the engine bay and turbo air extractor fans is the 90 one (top one I think) The other sensor is just to indicate the overheat situation to you in the car (illuminator on the dash).

Whilst driving and then, say, stopping in traffic for a length of time, the engine temp gets up to the 'really warm / hot ' stage then..
(apart from me staring at the temp gauge hoping and praying the thing doesnt overheat)
....the blower fan for the engine bay comes on in sync with the fan sucking air away from the turbo.
If I then start to drive off both engine bay & turbo fans stay on until the temp in the engine bay drops below 90.

If the car has had a run and is stinking hot when I park it up. The fans both kick in if the temp in the engine bay rises above 90. They then seem to stay on until the temp drops. This could be 2, 5 or more minutes and it does vary.

I understand the fans are driven totally from the temp of this one sensor. I dont believe there is any other logic involved.

If I was driving along and the engine was stinking hot but the fans for some reason didnt operate, then when the temp got up to 110 the turbo fan warning lamp would be lit on the dash. The intensity of this depends on how close to 110 the engine bay is running.

This has happened, as when I first aquired the car the engine bay blower fan had siezed up. So when I drove home in the traffic during the summer the warning lamp would come on but then fade away when I got up to a decent speed and had fresh air around the engine.

Paul

Ditto.

The cooling fans usually only come on either:

a) After parking up on a very hot day.
b) Extremely hot days with stop start traffic.

Very rarely do they come on when on the move as the air moves around enough to avoid this. In both occasions they stay on as long as required - often 10 mins+ after parking up.

The only flaw in the design I've ever worried about is parking on dry grass on a hot day. Feel under the nearside bumper and you have a jet of red hot air - if you're somewhere parked on parched grass it does worry me a bit that it could set the grass alight. Much like a broken bottle acting as a magnifying glass.

Where's Lassie when you need her? Woof woof. "What's that boy Timmy is stuck down a well AND the GTA is on fire!?"

Shouldnt jest about GTA fires.

I still cant get over that selection of slides someone circulated of a Renault going up in flames......it was simply entitled, Va Va Boom !!