Does anyone know at what temperature the radiator fan in a 1.6l Felicia is supposed to switch on at? Mine switches on when the temperature gauge needle is about to reach the line at the upper end of the operating range and that seems a little hight to me.

98 ish degrees i would think.

Do you have water circulation? Is the heater and all the hoses geting warm?

Thermostat failure is very coomon on these engines, but its not normally down to the stat itself but the housing it sits in.

The water circulates fine and everything warms up as normal. The thermostat and housing was replaced recently as well.

That might be about right.

Sometimes it can kick in about halfway, other times later.

Has the Rad fan switch been changed?

I have 2 of these from my defunct Felicia.

A new Radiator fan switch may help.

I have just replaced the fan switch as the previous wasn't working at all. I will have to see what happens fanwise over the next few weeks methinks.

The fan switch should cut in at about 95 deg. C, out at about 92. That will indeed normally correspond to the upper end of the temperature gauge scale. Basically, if the cooling system is not showing obvious signs of boiling when the fan comes on, you're fine.

These fan switches do fail after a few years. The symptoms are obvious - temperature climbs when you're stuck in traffic and carries on climbing. If this happens, don't panic. You can usually still limp the car home. First, if it's obvious you're going to be stationary for a while (just got to the lights as they went red etc.), turn the engine off. Second, put the cabin heater on full blast - all vents open, fan on full (and windows open or you'll die:)). In a small car like a Felly or Fav, that will usually just keep the temperature within limits. Just keep a close eye on the temperature gauge!

Sound advice Richard; I once "rescued" a young couple who were having that problem in central Glasgow with that advice, and a route out into quieter traffic.

Incidentally, I once encountered a truly bizarre fault connected with a radiator fan switch, on a Peugeot 205GTi 1.9. (I know, I know, but other cars out there may have the same problem for all I know.) The fan switch is not screwed into the rad as is usually the way, it's clipped on to the top of the rad somehow. In this particular case, the switch must have corroded internally and gone slightly high resistance, so when the contacts closed as the rad got hot, the current passing through them kept the temperature inside the switch housing high enough for the switch to remain closed forever - or until the battery ran down, which was the first symptom the owner noticed. Never seen anything quite like that before or since.

the fan switch will turn on the fan in two stages, stage one @75° and seccond stage @92°, thats water temperature in the radiator, not the engine...

if the fan is turning on @92° (witch would be between halfway mark and ¾ mark) the fan switch is busted and the fan should be audible from where you sit...

before replacing, take the contact out, from the fan and from the switch, clean the up, re-fit and test to eliminate posibility of a faulty connection due to dirt, hard water or any other, if it still fails tap on it softly (on the switch and the fan) several times

that by the way its called Wiggle Tech®, and it has fixed and diagnosed many systems , jeje

if cleaning the conections dont work then is replacing time

I once had the this problem in a traffic jam in Central France. I opened the bonnet and connected the two plugs of the fan by a 25 A Fuse and put a bit of electrial tape around and so I survived.... But it is important to disconnect it. When I was back home i changed the switch.

There are 3 types!!!

One opens at 88° C (for hot countries)

One opens at 95° C (for regular countries)

One opens at 98° C (for cold countries)

I put a switch into the car so I can switch it on by myself.