Johnny 5C Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) Hi guys. My 4 pot M43TU is running nicely now, but I have noticed that the rad* fan kicks in about 20 seconds after starting the engine. Nothing else is wrong. The temp needle is bang on 12 o'clock when warmed up. Just seemed a little odd. Thats all! Cheers John *on edit. A fan comes on, is there more than one? Edited December 9, 2012 by Johnny 5C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungers Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Is your a/c on? Not sure on these cars, but on others the fan is also used for the a/c condenser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Nope. AC not on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Hi johnny I had the exact same problem on my 318 last winter. Swapped a load of parts over and in the end it was the coolant temp sensor at the bottom of the rad. On the off side front. New part was cheap as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) Cheers Mark. Off to real oem to check PN. Ta. Number 11? Edited December 9, 2012 by Johnny 5C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Yes mate number 11. I got mine from c3 BMW spares (they used to be local to me in SE London but have recently moved to brands hatch. They do deliver). The sensor was about £15 Before changing that I tried a new fan, resistor box ect. It was actually ian323sport on here that put me in the right direction of a faulty switch Blair 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Marc, did you use the special tool mentioned on real oem to remove it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 No didn't johnny. It takes hardly any time to change I think you either turn it 90 degrees then it comes out or you slide away a clip then it pulls out. I bled the air out of the system after don't think there was much in it tho tbh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Already answered but my suggestion was also the temperature sensor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 (edited) Cheers chaps. I need to replace the hose on the rear of the engine, so i will probably do these two at the same time as i will need to bleed the air out. Im actually not that up to speed on bleeding the cooling system.. or particularly confident about it.. Edited December 15, 2012 by Johnny 5C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 Marc, done some searching, but what exactly is the process for bleeding the air out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluminusbutterfly Posted December 28, 2012 Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) you know the fan is supposed to come on when you start the car for a few seconds right? Edited December 28, 2012 by iluminusbutterfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 you know the fan is supposed to come on when you start the car for a few seconds right? No, I didn't. Let me see how long it stays on for...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 28, 2012 Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 Marc, done some searching, but what exactly is the process for bleeding the air out? Mine doesn't come on at startup. If it does it must be on the lowest setting cos I've had my car for 3 years and never heard it! The bleeding process isn't much It's fill up the expansion tank with the bleed screw out (there is only 1, on top of the expansion tank). Start the engine and put your heaters on 32 degrees but the lowest fan setting. Wait till coolant comes out of bleed screw then put the screw back in. I then took my car on a 5 min drive to warm the the engine up and the thermostat to open. When I got back I loosened the bleed screw 2 turns until coolant started coming out then tightened. Jonny on your m43 what is your pipe like going from the thermostat housing to the top of the radiator? Mine is sucked in like there is a vacuum. It's been like it for ages I'm wondering if it's normal. I don't think it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thaks Marc. I'm going out to take my interior trim off in moment so I can CF wrap it. I will look at the hose then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2012 Marc, all my hoses are round. Could be just a kink in the hose rather than a vacuum. If you tool the rad cap off the vacuum would be released right? I have just finished wrapping my trim in CF look vinyl. Put it back in and it looks awesome. I still have one of the aluminium fixing posts on the table though. So back out tomorrow to find out which one is missing..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 Pictures when it's all finished jonny! The hose stays the same after taking the cap off and even loosening the bleed screw. It's quite a strange one! Have you sorted the fans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluminusbutterfly Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=930848 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 http://forum.e46fana...ad.php?t=930848 Interesting link. The car is supposed to run the fan for 20 seconds when you first turn the car on, then check to see if it is spinning, if the fan is not spinning the computer should set a code. Going out in an hour. I'll let the Mrs start the car while I stand outside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 5C Posted December 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) OK, so the fan does go off on its own after start-up... hmm As a distraction from my fail, here are some pics of my interior trim CF vinyl wrapped. I need to slide the passenger side strip towards the radio to close the gap, but the result is awesome. Just a tenner delivered for the wrap. I ordered 1000x750 black at 2 pm, and it arrived the next day from this guy: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2ec0b9b912 Photos don't do it justice. Edited December 30, 2012 by Johnny 5C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 Wow the finish looks great! Ive got the gloss black trim from factory. With my fans they came on full blast and stayed on when I had my problem. It was like a plane taking off lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
