Help !

[Mark & Sarah]

Had a great day out in 64XPH but heading home got stuck in long traffic jams. noticed I had lost power to the fuel and temp gague and by the time I could find somwhere to stop the engine had boiled over. lots of steam and most of the coolant made its exit via the rad filler cap. Eletric fan fitted with overide switch. None now working. not had the plugs out yet. but any advice on next steps welcome.

[DaveN]

Simple things first. Probably just a fuse failed.

[RogerH]

Hi Mark,

the Temp & Fuel gauges work from a voltage stabiliser (see this wiring diag http://www.advanceautowire.com/tr24a.pdf)

The fuse to the this has popped.

Where are you taking your feed to the leccy fan - direct from the battery via a fuse & relay + over ride switch.

 

 

Roger

Edited May 8, 2018 by RogerH

[Mark & Sarah]

hello Dave Roger thanks for you replies. Had the plugs out and all looking good straw brown no sign of water in the oil. will focus on electrics now dont think the fan feed is direct from batt.

[PYU940F]

Do not panic

No damage done so check the electrics. Will be simple.

 

Simon

[RogerH]

Hi Mark,

run the fan from the spare terminal on the starter solenoid via a fuse and relay.

 

 

Roger

[Mark & Sarah]

quick update. had chance to have an hour in the garage. changed plugs. topped up coolant. crossed fingers and fired up first time. seems to be running ok and strangley lecy fan and gagues working!! could this be an earthing problem? had same issue after the mot with loss of sparks and then loss of horn and wipers?

[RogerH]

Hi Mark,

could be an earth issue. However have a look at your fuse holder etc

 

Roger

[Lebro]

More likely an iffy fuse connection. Take the fuses out, give them a good clean, also clean the fuse holder contacts, & ensure there is lots of "spring" in the contacts to give the fuses a tight fit in the holder.

 

Bob.

 

P.S. Roger just beat me to it as I was typing !!

Edited May 9, 2018 by Lebro

[Jean-Marie Raedts]

I had the same phenomenon 2 times in Italy after standing in a traffic jam for a long time. My car has a dynamo and during the queuing time the electric fan (and the lights) had completely drained the battery. The voltage of the battery had dropped and the instruments on the dashboard went to their zero positions. Of course the fan stopped and a little while later the radiator boiled over. Luckily I was able to drive on the roadside lane to the parking lot where the engine was cooled during that drive. After cooling down and filling up the radiator, the battery was recuperated and everything went back to normal. However the year after, one element in the battery had been killed during a similar event and the battery had to replace. The solution for me is exchange the dynamo for an alternator, which delivers enough current at low rpm or keeping the rpm of the generator high enough in the traffic jam to keep it charging.

[Mark & Sarah]

thanks for the replies . I have an alternator fitted, so will be looking into a dodgy fuse or earth connection. I honestly thought I had blown a head gasket.

[Jean-Marie Raedts]

It looks anyhow that your battery was drained, which also can happen by an alternator if it fails. Dodgy contacts can indeed be the culprit but do you have a heatshield between the exhaust manifold and the alternator? As you can find in many treads on this forum, this heatshield is highly recommended to avoid 'cooking' your alternator. I understood that you were stuck in long traffic jams, so the temperature will have been high in the engine bay. Is it possible that the alternator failed temporarily?

 

Jean-Marie