Hello
I have a couple of questions about my 1997 306 xtdt.First is the pair of cooling fans on the rad. i tried to test them the other day by letting the car idle after a run to see if they cut in as they should, but the temp got to about 95 ish and then only the nearside one came on at very high speed. Is this right? i thought both of them should come on at the same time? I disconected the blue plug on the rad thermoswitch and bridged the contacts (three contacts) but only got a clicking sound (relay?) on the outer two contacts and the left two. Also even after a long hot run, i can open the rad cap and there is no pressure at all in the system.no hissing,nothing.surely this is not normal? Sorry for the long post. any help very much appreciated.
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Sounds like a faulty thermoswitch. Mines used to cut in about 87C but has lately been creeping up to just over 90C. Bridging the contacts on my 306 93 XTDT whilst engine is running switches on both fans immediately.
Does your car have Air con?
I was planning to change my switch soon (original thermoswitch since new 10+ years!). I'll let you know how I get on.
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Regarding the no pressure. When was your thermostat last changed? Might be stuck, henc no pressure in the rad.
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Hi solara thanks for the reply.the thermoswitch and stat are original as far as i am aware, but the car was 5 years old when i bought it so difficult to tell. the car runs perfectly and temperature is very stable at around 85 during normal driving rising to about just under 90 on the motorway.i don't think the stat is at fault but i have been thinking about changing it anyway. Is there anything else that can cause this lack of pressure because the level is just below the max on the rad expansion tank and i would expect some pressure. Also, it sometimes forces some water out of the overflow pipe when the car gets very hot (as when i idled the engine to get the fans to cut in) is this normal?
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sorry i forgot to mention, i don't have aircon.
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The two fans are supposed to come on at different temps 89 and 95 I think. As far as rad pressure is concerned I would check the rad pay as it sounds as though the one way valve is leaking. It is nothin to do with the Stat. Regards Peter
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Is that both fans come on at 89 and then speed up at 95, or one comes on at 89 and then both at 95? i take it you mean rad cap as well. Thanks for the reply peter
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One fan at 89 and both at 95 and I suspect your radiator cap is faulty
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Let your car cool down fully, then with the bonnet up leave it idle, feel the pipes, all should warm up except for the rad top hose, this will warm up 'quickly' at about 80 ish degrees when the stat opens. If it ddoes then the coolant is circulating properly and the stat is working. Also at the top of the rad should be an overflow pipe coming off and down out below the headlight. Point this up towards the air and put a little water in it. see if any excess bubbles come through the water. Might also be worth checking the bleed points on the coolant system are sealed properly. If you are getting lots of air through then your head gasket may be starting to blow slightly. A new rad cap is very inexpensive and worth changing anyway just to rule it out. Just make sure the lip on which it sits is clean and level.
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Fan motor trouble on 306's is common. Sounds like you *might* have an inop motor. Direct connection to a battery will tell all.
If you look at the thermostat housing (fuel filter area) you will see two upright plugs. Disconnect the right hand one and the fans should run, part of a limp-home strategy.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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l would suggest replacing the rad cap first, if your head gasket was leaking this would cause pressure in your coolant system (which you haven't got)also you would notice the loss of coolant.
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I notice you are referring to figures here re: engine temperature - where are you getting these from?
Temperature "gauges" are only indicators mind....
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Has your 'STOP' warning light flashed? I have a 2000MY 306HDi, the STOP light was flashing when the car warmed up. Peugeot found one of the cooling fans to be 'sluggish', ie going slower than the other one - they replaced 2x fans (under warranty as I spotted the prob while testing driving the car!)
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Thanks for all the replies. I havn't had a chance to check it out any further as i have been busy but i am going to replace the rad cap asap, and also disconnect the plug by the thermostat housing as suggested. The temps btw are from the gauge only so not accurate but its the best i can do. it is tempting to leave it alone as one fan does work anyway, but it would be great to have all parts of the cooling system working 100%, especially with these engines reputation for blowing headgasket. thanks again for the advice i will post again to let you know how it went.
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The fans on my 306 came on at around 89 and 95 deg respectively, the temps being read from the gauge - which, whilst only being a vague indicator of temperature, most people seem to get the same readings. It sounds as if the first fan is not working.
And yes i have personal experience of these engines having head gasket troubles, and they are also very expensive when they go, i would not advise tempting fate anymore than you already have done!
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An update for anyone still interested. i have replaced the rad cap and now have the correct pressure in the header tank. The old cap did look original (7 years) and the spring on it was so stiff i could barely compress it with both hands! been like that since i got the car i think.
The fans have been a bit trickier however. the two upright plugs that DL mentioned is just one upright plug on my car, a blue one that had no effect on the fans. I have removed the front grill assembly and checked that the fan rotates freely and nothing seems to be stopping it from turning, but i wasn't sure how to run the offside fan from a power source to see if the motor is actually working. I think i will have one more go myself and then take it to the peugeot specialist near me.
Thanks again for all the replies.
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Another query... while poking around under the bonnet the last few nights, i have noticed that the various coolant hoses seem to look a bit tired and crusty. I expect these are the originals so i was wondering if its time to get these replaced. how difficult is it to do this yourself? because the one that leads from the heater down the back of the engine looks a bit fiddly to say the least. what would a fair price for this job be?
Thanks again
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The single blue connector is the top of the Temp sensor. This is not a switch it is a Negative coefficient resistor and works in the rang 25 to 115 degrees C. This feeds to a box of tricks behind the N/S head light unit which controls the fans and feeds a signal to the temp gauge. I can not remember the name of the unit it is a Bostac or something like that Unit. Regards Peter
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Hi
Bitron is the name your looking for, this also controls the aircon if fitted.
There should be 3 temp sensors fitted.
1 x blue plug.
1 x green plug.
1 x brown plug.
If the brown plug is disconnected BOTH fans should run.
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Hi
i have heard of this bitron unit before, i don't think i have one however as there is nothing behind the nearside headlight except the relay/fusebox which is next to the battery. is it possible that my car was not fitted with one (it is the mk I version)? or am i looking in the wrong place there is just a large gap behind the headlight then the relay box
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Hi
Click the link below for help wih 306 fan problems
www.peugeotlogic.com/workshop/base/workshop.htm
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You need to go to the electrical section for help on this site
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I discovered yesterday that my offside fan doesn't seem to work. I've followed the information in the web link provided. It has been very useful. Before I go off to find a new cooling fan. Could anyone advise on the results of my findings?
I've checked all relays and fuses, they all seem to working ok.
I've used the wiring diagram for low speed operation. When the engine gets to 97 deg C. I am able to read 12V across pins 1 & 2 and 3 & 5 on the left fan relay connector (the relay was removed for access to connector)with a multimeter, at the same time the nearside fan starts to operate.
I beleive this indicates that the cooling fan ontrol unit is operating correctly therefore I need to change the cooling fan.
The next question is how do I remove the offside fan? Unfortunately I don't have a haynes manual. Do I need to remove the bumper?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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Before removing the fan why not try a 12v feed across it, just to double check it is faulty.
Supply should include a suitable fuse
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How do I access the terminals for the fan without taking it off?
What terminals can I short?
Can I short pin 3 & 5 where the left relay is connected?
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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I've managed to connect the suspect fan to 12V. It's definately faulty. Only problem now is how does it come out.
I've tried to take the fan blade off and then access the motor. But there is insufficient room for fan blade to come off.
Is this a bumper off job? How is the bumper held on (please no sellotape jokes).
Does any one have an idea of what sort of cost it'll be to get done at a garage? (Not a franchised garage!)
Any advice is most appreciated.
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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MikeC - the STOP light on my 99T HDi flashed when my aircon rad got distorted in a minor bump and jammed its fan. Cause easily diagnosed as it only flashed when the aircon was switched on.
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Hello
I have recently got to the bottom of a problem on my 1997 pug 306 xtdt where there was no pressure in the rad at all, even when hot ( straight after a run).this was caused by a faulty rad cap and i was just wondering what the effects of running a cooling system without any pressure would be? i presume that the boiling point of the coolant would be lower and that localised hot spots in the engine could have caused the coolant to boil, is this interpretation correct? if so, then could i have damaged the engine in any way (the faulty cap had been like that for a while - probably 2 years!)?
The car is now developing correct pressure in the system and no water is being lost, so iam probably just worrying, but i was interested to hear any other opinions.
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You are correct about the reduction in boiling point. Whether this would have any effect on the cooling ability of the fluid would depend on how much heat was needed to be shifted from those hot spots. this in turn is dependant upon many factors which are unknown, therefore this reply represents a cautious approach.
The two main hot spots to worry about would be around the exhaust valves and the turbo bearings. i don't know if the turbo on your machine is water cooled or not.
I had the same problem with my Rover (petrol) turbo just after taking ownership. I could hear the coolant boiling in the turbo about a minute after shut down. I simply left the car idling for longer to stop this happening. once I'd sussed it was the rad cap i had got into the habit of keeping the motor idling and so still do it.
If you have got a water cooled turbo it is possible that excess heat build up may have caused some carbonising of the oil in the bearings. It might be wise then to conduct extra oil changes or even a flush, which over time may clear it. It is impossible to be certain of course, so just be a little more cautious over taking the usual precautions with your turbo.
You don't say whether the car was loosing coolant during this fault period and whether you were topping it up with the correct mixture or water. Now you've fixed the rad cap it might be an idea to flush and renew the coolant anyway. You might have been putting it through extra thermal stress which might have shortened its life. You could have the coolant tested, but if you can DIY, then for what it costs you might as well renew.
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Thanks for that reply Cyd. It is just an old diesel engine and the turbo is cooled by oil flow rather than the coolant so i am not overly concerned about that.I never lost any coolant or overheated during the time i had the faulty cap so i think i may just be worrying about nothing.Coolant will be changed next service i think. Thanks alot for the very informative reply .
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Pressure cap problems (part number 1306 C7, about £4.30+VAT) are quite common on Peugeots across the range.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Hi All,
Just have a few quick questions about my 98 306 1.4 Petrol. Just got the radiator thermostat and some cable underneath driver seat replaced today at local peugeot ripoff garage. It all came too 220euros(thermostat-13,cable-45,and labour-150). They certainly seen me coming.
Anyway what I just want to know is what should the average temperature for the car be when travelling at normal speeds? Temp gauge was showing 85-90 when doing about 60mph today and showing just over 80 when idling in traffic. Hoping this is the recommended temp and I didnt outlay over 200 yoyos for nothing today.
Any Help or Advice very much appreciated,
obj99
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Those temperatures sound about right.
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