Engine overheating

seanyfitz07

Long time viewer of the forum was hoping somebody could give me some advice..
My Fiat punto, engine temp gauge is screaming at the top after i drive for 20 mins or more.. however when i get onto a motorway or long stretch it cools back down. Is this the fan thats gone and secondly is this easy to fix??

Ps . Id love to go to a mechanic with this, but god knows i cant afford it. Any help appreciated!!:)

Masada

It could be a sticky thermostat, more likely though either a fan switch or the impeller on the water pump is shot. does it cool down if its standing still while you rev it?

bettyswallocks

rad fan switch or the cylinder head gasket are my guesses!?

DublinDilbert

Sounds like your electrical fan isn't coming on.. Its very east to test, just let the car idle it should kick in before the temp gauge goes up.... get it looked at ASAP before the car overheats...

BrianD3

Rad fan, fan switch or loose connection/wiring for the fan. If the fan doesn't come on and the temp is in the red zone then it's probably fan related. If the fan is on and the car still overheats then it needs more thought.

If you do need a new fan, there should be loads of suitable ones in scrapyards.

If you drive the car and it overheats you risk doing more damage. If you must drive it, turn on the car heater full blast and full heat and open all windows - this will give significant extra cooling and should stop the car overheating in traffic (if the overheating is due to non working rad fan)

Nonoperational

If you keep driving it and overheating it youll blow the head gasket and your looking at 1000 quid then.

the magician

gpf101 wrote: »

If you keep driving it and overheating it youll blow the head gasket and your looking at 1000 quid then.

+1 you really need to take it to a mechanic.

All the above suggestions are possible.
The fact that it cools down at motorway speeds does suggest a problem with the waterpump or fan/fan switch.

Very possible that the head gasket is already gone though which can cause an airlock in the cooling system where the fan switch is. Fan switch can't read the temp when that happens.

Get it to a mechanic and hopefully It will be one of the easier(cheaper) problems. But keep driving and it will get more expensive.

Masada

if you look under the bonnet at the fan itself, you'll see an electrical pug coming out of it, follow this wire to the lower part of the rad and theres another plug. if you unplug this one and bridge the contacts with a piece of wire/ paper clip/ hair clip etc the fan should come on. if it does then you know for sure the fan isnt the problem. its then going to be either the fan switch (the connector you just unplugged goes into the fan switch) or the water pump (this is the most likely). if its an 8v engine then you'll be looking at about 200 quid from an independant garage to replace the pump. the pump itself will be in the 25-50 quid bracket and you might aswell replace the timing belt while the job is being done.

beachlife

Masada wrote: »

if you look under the bonnet at the fan itself, you'll see an electrical pug coming out of it, follow this wire to the lower part of the rad and theres another plug. if you unplug this one and bridge the contacts with a piece of wire/ paper clip/ hair clip etc the fan should come on. if it does then you know for sure the fan isnt the problem. its then going to be either the fan switch (the connector you just unplugged goes into the fan switch) or the water pump (this is the most likely). if its an 8v engine then you'll be looking at about 200 quid from an independant garage to replace the pump. the pump itself will be in the 25-50 quid bracket and you might aswell replace the timing belt while the job is being done.

you might not find that... what year is the punto ? the rad fans are know to fail .do you have any car skills?? first i check the fuses then the fuses and relays under the bonnet,after that i'd unplug the fan and run it direct to see if the motor was good, check your temp sensor also

seanyfitz07

Thanks to everybody for the replies, it was in fact the rad fan. brought it down to the mechanic begrudgingly

Runnin lovely now...well as good as a 97 punto does