Fans, Horns and Cooling !!

[Robin S]

Ok here's a new one...to me at least.
I know the trials of the cooling system have been done to death but today I've encountered a different problem. One of the two tone horns has stopped working, and at the same time one fan has stopped working. I've had one fan stop before when the horn fuse had blown but that wiped out the horn completely. This time its just one of the horns which has quit. Also after a brief drive at lunchtime today, I parked switched off and the remaining working fan stayed on after the ign was off! This is the puzzling part, the cooling fans in my car have never done this so why now? The only way I could get the fan to stop was disconnecting it's power supply under the bonnet.
Cooling system should be ok as it was overhauled and new rad fitted about 2 months ago so I'm guessing an electrical gremlin!

I hope I'm missing something simple but if anyone has any pointers I'd much appreciate it!

Thanks!
Robin

[david beer]

I think its one of those coincidence jobbies with the horn, but the fans do (on newer) have two relays and two fuses and the connectors on the fans are prone to bad connections. If one relay is sticking on, then that fan would continue to run. Not expensive to replace, what £5 or £6? I suppose you need to find out if you have two relays to be sure. I think iam helping.

[Steve _T]

Robin,

Whenever one of the cooling fans stops, my first port of call is to check for corrosion on the blades of the fan connectors. What I'd suggest is to unplug the connector to the otter switch and put some wire between the two sockets. Then turn the ignition on and both fans should start spinning. If only one starts, give the contacts on the connector to the offending fan a bit of a clean up and then try again. This assumes that you get to the bottom of why one fan is permanently on. Unfortunately, I've nothing to offer to solve that one.

Steve.

[JonRB]

I too had the "corroded contacts" problem on my Chimaera and in the end had to use a fine file to remove the corrosion on the contacts and get back down to fresh copper again, then a good spray with electrical contact cleaner for good measure and my fans were working again.

I'm afraid that like Steve_T I can't offer any help on your other gremlins though.

[ATG]

Weird ... odd to have a single fault causing one fan permanently on and the other permanently off. Could be two separate faults, and a big coincedence on the timing. No harm cleaning the contacts near the fans, but this wouldn't explain the fan that was permanently on. Similarly, a sticking relay wouldn't explain the fan that is permanently off. If it's a single fault, it would be worth checking the circuit that switches the fan relays on and off. Don't know if this is on a PCB or if it's a TVR bird's nest. Might be something like a connector has come loose and is causing a short, hence one off and t'other on.

[Robin S]

Thanks guys,
I'll have a dig around the fuses and check the connectors going direct to the fans. As I say, hopefully something simple.... will let you know how I get on.

Cheers
Robin