Have I been made a mug of?

[gingerprince]

I noticed recently that one of my cooling fans was not working. Hadn't got round to sorting it because cooling hasn't really been a problem, but had a look tonight.

Checked fuses etc, no problems. Getting power to both connectors, swap connectors, still only one fan spinning. So problem is with fan.

Then took a closer look - the fan blades seemed the opposite way to the other, and a lot closer to the radiator. I don't remember them being like this before. I have had the radiator recored recently. So, removed the motor, and took the following photo: -



Now, looking at the hole arrangement and the spindle on the end of the motor, I'm guessing a pin should go in an hold the fan in place (haven't dismantled the other one yet). If that is the case, then the fan is definately the wrong way round!

Now, I KNOW it used to work (but can't remember whether it was the opposite way or not, but I suspect not). So, has the garage that did my radiator put it on the wrong way round and thought "s0d this I can't be bothered fixing it, he probably won't notice anyway"?!

If that's the case I'm very disappointed - I use a reputable indy, and I've had a number of things that have made me less than happy. I wonder if this is the last straw?

Trouble is it was about 3 months since they did it so I guess I've really no comeback now, except to use another garage in future. If it is the case that they did this, added to the other things that "happen" to have happened since I used them I think I will be.

So, can someone please confirm if this is definately the wrong way round or am I barking up the wrong tree?

>> Edited by gingerprince on Thursday 15th September 19:10

[Guillotine]

looks wrong to me!

fans both run clockwise (from the rear - bit we see) and should pull the air through the rad. by my reckoning that'll try to push it the other way!

[david beer]

I would say the motor is round the wrong way, you should not be able to see that pin ! You should be able to see the back of the motor. Unless you have very strange motors that are totaly different to mine, what does the other one look like ?

[Pies]

For a sucking fan the blades look upside down or is it me

[gingerprince]

david beer said:

I would say the motor is round the wrong way, you should not be able to see that pin ! You should be able to see the back of the motor. Unless you have very strange motors that are totaly different to mine, what does the other one look like ?

I see the pin on the motor when I removed it from the fan shroud, the motor was on correct. But as others have said it looks like the fan definately is the wrong way round, as it would push (hot) air through the radiator from the engine bay!

So much for reputable indy's

[TeGriffic]

gingerprince said:

Trouble is it was about 3 months since they did it so I guess I've really no comeback now

3 months ? That's easilt short enough time to go and raise it with them. Besides, the Supply of Goods and Services Act says they have to carry out their services with "reasonable care and skill".

[trackcar]

I would suspect it's been like that for a long time.
when you change a radiator you dont actually need to touch that part of the motor .. in fact the motor assembly never leaves the fibreglass shrouding .. to get it apart anmd back together again they'd have to dismantle it and build it back up the wrong way around .. why on earth would they bother?

It's confusing, but highly unlikely it was done as part of a radiator change, that job is very straightforward and as I say doesn't need the fan itself even taking off the shrouding.

[gingerprince]

trackcar said:

I would suspect it's been like that for a long time.

Appreciate what you're saying about it not needing dismantling to change the radiator, however I'm now 100% sure it used to be the correct way because I remember being covered in water once when the fans kicked in on a rainy day and I was looking for leaks in the engine bay. The car's only every been to one garage in my ownership, and I'm 99% sure that's when it happened.

But I do also know that when my car was in for this work the gaffer was away on holiday, so I guess it's perfectly possible that one of the staff did it (perhaps not knowing how to do it, or perhaps it fell off and he put it back incorrectly?) but didn't have the gaffer to kick a55 to make sure it's sorted properly.

In the same visit my speedo stopped working below 30, on close inspection one of the "flaps" that the speedo sensor picks up on was bent outwards slightly so it appears the sensor was moved back slightly to give room. I managed to tweak it so it's better, but this happened when the car was in for the Diff looking at...

Just seems like clumsyness to me.

[barreti]

Can't you tell whether it's pushing or pulling by running the engine and waiting for the fans to kick in?

Can you transpose the wires to spin it the other way?

This is likely to depend on the shape of the blades but the Kenlowe fan on my Landrover can be set up to run either as a push or pull by just transposing the wires