Puff!!! loads of vapor and yellow engine light

[muley]

When i hotwired the spare battery to the fans, assuming i have done it correctly (one wire from battery + to one side of the connector to the fan and the other wire from battery- to the other connector) these would always spin (in oposite direction if i connected the wires the wrong way around) correct ?

Yes, the fan will spin - might not be in the 'right' direction, though.



Jim

[GeoffSmith]

[Tuga2112]

sorry guys coultn keep the promise, friend invited to go get mixed grill after work and when arrived home found out the battery of the elan was flat (i left the thermostat on since yesterday)

the battery is now charging, so i can only do those checks tomorow.

ill keep you posted.

[Tuga2112]

finally the battery was charged (for less than 3 hours)

most of this reply is to John.

I did the checks i could you mentioned. checked the fuses again both are fine, but could not get the multimeter to read the one further in, the one futher out was recording 11v
i couldnt get grip of the relay so i left it be after making sure it was well in the slot.
i couldnt see the BG wires you refer so i jumped to the connector behind the light pod.
this was working fine, 11v in both connectors when the thermostat was shorted and zero when was not shorted.
at this stage i plugged into the connectors the fan i bough on ebay, just to be 100% sure it was working. i have managed to switch the fan on and off using the short on the thermostat successfully.
then i moved under the car and checked for the voltage at the last connectors before the fans. these were recording 0.01, i then used the multimeter ground in whatever metals i found around that area acessible. getting a reading of 11v when connecting ground to the radiator.
I have made the ground connector that was lose have a good connection to the radiator using a wire.
by the time i finished that the battery was down to 8 volts.
i tried to connect the new fan at the last connector and it didnt spin.
I Assumed the fact it didnt spin its because there's not enough power to start the motor, so this was the moment i packed up everything and pushed the car back in the garage and plugged in the battery charger.

tomorow assuming the battery is charged again, im gonna check for voltage at the bottom connector, assuming this has enough volts. (more than 10) ill try again plugging the new fan there, and just in case the old fans work test them again.

let me know your toughts. i know i skipped a couple of steps but there wasn't much i could do, those fuses are near impossible to access and i couldnt find the wire john refered.

[GeoffSmith]

There's a grounding picture on the Wiki.....

Here you go

[Tuga2112]

thanks Geoff.

the cooling fans earth spot is exactly on the place i initially was going to put the ground in, but after trying several times to ground the multimeter in that area without success (the bolt looked like was intended to have the ground in there because of the positioning, but the multimeter didn't agree) i used the radiator.

i know its not ideal fix, but i am not comfortable with messing around with that bolt in its condition and place.

im going to have a look in the wiki about swapping radiator fans.

[Megwenda]

Hi Geoff

Either my car is wired all wrongly . or else that diagram is wrong..... it shows the rear harness earth braid (point 3) being connected to the POSITIVE POST .

The original (page 20 of the m100 electrical manual) correctly shows it as the -ve, although it must be admitted it is a bit blurred.

Regards
Dave

[Fredjohn]

Dave
You are correct. Post 3 is definitely negative. It sits on the floor next to battery. There was one for sale on eBay recently.
Joe good work, but do a continuity check on the earth lead to the earth points of the fans.

Added for clarification:
Joe one of the settings on the multimeter buzzes when you touch the ends of it's leads together. Use this to check continuity. One lead to known good earth, the other to the item to be tested. If it buzzes, , if not . Simples

[Tuga2112]

Dave
You are correct. Post 3 is definitely negative. It sits on the floor next to battery. There was one for sale on eBay recently.
Joe good work, but do a continuity check on the earth lead to the earth points of the fans.

Added for clarification:
Joe one of the settings on the multimeter buzzes when you touch the ends of it's leads together. Use this to check continuity. One lead to known good earth, the other to the item to be tested. If it buzzes, , if not . Simples

ill take a pic of the multimeter and add an arrow to the setting which i believe being continuity check,
i havent tried all the settings in the multimeter yet but so far none buzzed.

either way i think my multimeter days are near their end. today with the battery fully charged i have grounded the circuit.. and it turns out both fans work fine.

i have then used the little short trick martin showed and got the fans to work from there.

the next step i took was to switch on the car and see if the thermostat would trigger.

15 minutes later the temperature gauge was exactly halfway and no sight of the fans.
the known leak was letting a reasonable amount of water coming out, so i decided it was enough testing.
i didnt dare putting my hand in the water to see how hot it was but the pipe that lead water to the top of the resevoir was hot to the point of not being confurtable at all, not burning at touch but it would definatly burn if i hold the pipe tight.

if im not mistaken john refered the fans kick in when the gauge is up to the 3/4 mark, correct ?
in that case i will only find out if the thermostat works this weekend after replacing the leaking pipe.
im gonna have a look at Carparts for coolant prices, they seem to be the cheapest for this kind of things for cars.

if everything goes as i hope i should be able to be back on the road during this weekend

[Fredjohn]

Well done Joe.

Just proves the point that electrical problems on plastic cars are very often down to dodgy earthing.

Yes it is about 3/4 up the gauge when the fans cut in. As you say, fix the leak then test it.

Bring your multi-meter with you next meet: there must be a continuity setting on it.

[Tuga2112]

not everything gone as planner.

i cant put the new hose in place because one of the ends where it fits is pretty much gone.



it seems to be some kind of pressure sensor. not sure what ti is. im gonna have a look on the workshop manual for it. i got a funny feeling is a common part on vauxhals. lol

[GeoffSmith]

Sounds like classic heater valve explosion (mine did it at the gates of Hethel) and the warning light is probably due to steam/water on the coilpacks, but just in case it wasn't make sure you read the CEL code.

[dapinky]

If it is the heater valve, then as a temporary fix you can just remove the valve and substitute a piece of suitable pipe (3/4" plumbing pipe will do if you have any lying around in the garage).

Don't buy a new one without posting your requirements, I may know of a spare one lying around in my conservatory

[Fredjohn]

As Geoff said its the heater valve: his link to WikiLEC tells all, and the plastic Volvo replacement now costs c£20 at Braydon not £10 as shown on there. Use this link to Braydon's ebay page for the item in question: heater valve

EDIT posted at same time as Dave's above

[Tuga2112]

thanks guys.

Dave, let me know what you got by pm.

im off to BQ see if i can get a pipe for the temporary replacement.

[dapinky]

I can't add pics to a PM, but I've got this....

heater valve.JPG

Not very heavy, and can have it in the post Monday (if you PM your address)

[Tuga2112]

Thanks Dave.

I'll send pm with address when I'm back home.

[Tuga2112]

Dave's heater valve arrived today, after strugling to put the 3 way hose (which turned not to be a 100% fit but close enough ) i fit the heater valve and tightened the "brackets" (which im sure have a different name) i filled up the car with normal water and turned on

no leaks in the area where i did the DIY and the fans switched on a little bit after the second marker (long before the 3/4 marker)

tomorow im gonna drain the water and refill with coolant, next step is to check the engine code now that the obvious problem is solved. (fingers crossed there wont be any hidden issues)

Thanks guys for all the help solving the problem and i shall see some (maybe most?) of you in the next west midlanders meetup. =)

i probably wont update this post again as any further development in the car will be posted on the minor project thread about the car (which im going to update soon after i find and fix the oil leak i currently have)

[GeoffSmith]

If your fans are coming on at half scale, it sounds like you have a low temperature fan switch.

[Tuga2112]

If your fans are coming on at half scale, it sounds like you have a low temperature fan switch.

Im happy with that, in fact i prefer it. however i am still seriously considering doing what martin did refering the fans and pump, switching those on manually from inside the car would probably put my mind at ease as for the moment i admit i dont feel 100% "safe" that the car wont breakdown on me at any second.

im assuming theres no relevant downsides with triggering the fans earlier since with the car running the temperature usually doesnt go over the 1/4