Hi guys,

 

Yesterday I discovered that I have a problem with my Skoda. I don't know how to explain it and more important I can't figure out  what can be the cause.

So, I have a Skoda Fabia from 2004, I know, maybe a little bit old but I like it and last month I changed the radiator and the distribution ( belts, water pump). Yesterday I find out that the fan that blows air for cooling the motor doesn't start. To check if the fan is broken, I connected it today directly to the battery and it works. Seems that somewhere, in the circuit is a problem that prevent the fan from starting. But I have to mention that I don't receive any warning/error code. 

Please excuse me if the description is vague but I'm not used with the correct terms and with the mechanical part. Basically, as I saw and understood from my mechanic, the two fans that are on the car are one for air conditioner and the second one for the motor. At my car, the second one doesn't start anymore. Is this frequent problem? Are some sensors that must be replaced?

 

Thanks guys, every comment, idea is appreciated. 

Edited 16 August, 20178 yr by 23ars

When you powered the fan directly with the battery, did you connect to pins 1 and 3 of the fan connector, or 2 and 3?  If you only tried 1 and 3, try pins 2 and 3.  A common problem is a resistor inside the fan failing. This means that only the high speed function works (pins 1 and 3).

The electrician that basically connected the wires didn't told me about which pins he connected. But, if there are those resistors, can those be replaced or I have to buy a new fan?  I'm asking because I talked with my mechanic today, he just started the engine saw that it doesn't work, verified the fuses that are above the battery and he said that I must replace the fan. I want to have an idea about what can be the causes and to put him to verify them, if I can save some money and not buy a new fan, why not.

 

Anyway, I forgot to mention in the post that the engine doesn't overheat.

 

How do you know that the fan is not working? My engine never seems to get hot enough for it to come on.

3 minutes ago, TMB said:

How do you know that the fan is not working? My engine never seems to get hot enough for it to come on.

 

I know that it doesn't work because before I changed the radiator and the distribution, there were times when it turned on.  I saw on some forums that the fan is starting in first stage at 91 degrees. 

^ OK

Have a look here, and at some of the links within. 

 

 

The resistor is internal to the fan, but can be replaced by an external one. If you can't do the job yourself, it is probably better to replace the fan. Unfortunately some of the threads are lacking pictures because of Photobucket. 

 

On cars with air conditioning, switching on the A/C will normally result in both fans starting up within a short time, as they are triggered by rising refrigerant pressure instead of coolant temperature (they can still be triggered by coolant temperature too).  Ambient temperature will affect how soon after switching on the A/C you see fans spinning; the colder the ambient temperature, the longer before the fans will start up.  I think in Romania at this time of year, it will not be many seconds.

3 minutes ago, Wino said:

Have a look here, and at some of the links within. 

 

 

The resistor is internal to the fan, but can be replaced by an external one. If you can't do the job yourself, it is probably better to replace the fan. Unfortunately some of the threads are lacking pictures because of Photobucket. 

 

On cars with air conditioning, switching on the A/C will normally result in both fans starting up within a short time, as they are triggered by rising refrigerant pressure instead of coolant temperature (they can still be triggered by coolant temperature too).  Ambient temperature will affect how soon after switching on the A/C you see fans spinning; the colder the ambient temperature, the longer before the fans will start up.  I think in Romania at this time of year, it will not be many seconds.

 

 

My car is with A/C ( another thing that I didn't mention) and now, at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius I expected that with AC on, both fans to work. But on my car, only the AC one is spinning. Thanks a lot for the indications!