MG TF no cooling fans

[SteveCCarter]

Hi - I have a 2002 MG TF Stepspeed recently purchased. I am concerned that I have not had either cooling fans operate - after running for a while the gauges show 80 degrees on the oil and just below halfway on the water temperatures (normal?). The water gauge goes to this position within 2 miles and then does not move at all! (the oil one will go up a bit if car used hard)
I know the fans work as I have disconnected the water temperature sensor at the engine and both fans fire up (engine bay one on ignition only and the radiator fan when engine running). However the engine bay fan will not operate when the bay temperature sensor is disconnected, only when the water temp gauge disconnected.
Should I be concerned and if so what may be the solution? Head gasket done around 10,000 miles ago and no signs of failure here. Grateful for any feedback.

[Ex X Power]

Don't Panic, You rad fans wont kick in until about the 3/4 mark and the engine bay fans rarely kick in apart from on the hottest of days when the engine has had some arduous use.

Sounds like your new to K series and are edgy about its HGF reputation.

I wont go as far as saying its undeserved but its certainly worse than what the reality is, 9/10 times they fail due to other component failures its just they are the weak link.

Check all pipe work, especially the 2 that run under the car and are prone to rot (replace with stainless ones if they are rotting) these are about £70 and readily availiable, check all your hoses too including plastic joints that can go brittle and keep a regular eye on your coolant. Many people fit a coolant Lo-alarm kit.

[SteveCCarter]

Thanks for your reply - yes new to the car/engine. Reason for my concern is that the engine smells hot, that the water temperature gauge is SO constant and I can't force the engine bay fan to work when I disconnect its sensor in the back of the engine bay.
Maybe the thermostat is working properly then and I am just being neurotic!

[Newro]

SteveCCarter said:

Should I be concerned and if so what may be the solution? Head gasket done around 10,000 miles ago and no signs of failure here. Grateful for any feedback.

No, sounds totally fine. Oil temperature goes way over 100 degree when driven hard. Water should stay constant just under half mark. In the UK, the radiator fan will hardly ever kick in, mainly on a hot day when stuck in traffic.

http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_proble...

If you are worried, you can change the 15 amps fuse to 20 amps one. Lots of the German's do that, as it can blow the 15 amps fuse if it hasn't spun in a while. (For example if the car was off the road throughout the winter.) See http://www.mgfcar.de/fuse/

[SteveCCarter]

Thanks very much - I will stop panicking and keep a close watch on the gauges then!

[lctoere]

Have a MG TF 160 i did the cooling fan test by disconecting the switch and turn on the ignition...They work perfectly...However when i switch off and plug switch back engine runs without the fans....Perfect.! Problem now if i left car iddling it heats up till the water in the bottle is booling and water pushed out of bottle....Heat on the gauge seems quit nosmal as well as the oilgauge temp, but no fans comes on at all.











Need some advice....Leon