Ok as above.
This car is in France so hopefully I can get a few ideas on how to fix it before I go back out at the end of the month.
Normal driving the car is fine, it's when you start going into slow moving traffic or stationary for a while, I notice the temp rising and then the engine cuts out, it will start again no problem but you have to keep the revs up, in idle it just cuts back out again
I was thinking maybe the fan is kicking on but would a rise in temp cause the engine to cut if the fan doesn't come on? Likes safety feature to stop the engine over heating.
Hopefully someone has a few suggestions as I really don't want to take it to a garage.
Some one with more ideas than me will no doubt be along soon, but could you let the car just tick over with the bonnet up so that you can see if the fan is kicking in, cars these days have all sorts of sensors to protect the engine so you may be right about that part of the problem. It could be that the coolant pump is failing and not producing enough circulation at low revs.
The car is 14 years old, cost me €200 :lol: but it's great for just having out there to run about in. Basically I was doing that when we arrived last month but once the engine starts to get a bit of heat into it, it cuts out, it might well be that the idle needs adjusted too, who knows but I do still think the fan is part of the problem.
When you say that you see the temp. rising do you mean that it rises above normal, ie. into the red zone.
I would check the coolant level as already stated. Could be going into limp mode ie cut out before serious damage is done. Check for leaks around the hoses also and radiator.
At 200 Euros, you're probably better scraping it and getting another :wink:
It would rise above normal but not into red.
And seriously scrap it? You don't know much about second hand car prices in France :lol:
What engine/ year?
I think some of the smaller petrol engines had a idle motor that would stop working and the cars would cut out when coming to a stop.
Get yourself a cheap ODBII reader before you head out and see if that throws up any errors. You can get them for 20 quid and it will pay for itself the first time it finds a fault. It's a useful thing to keep in the tool box regardless.
I think it's a 1.6 petrol and 1998. To be honest I don't have much interest in it, it's just there to get us about.Originally Posted by DS3R
The car runs perfect when on a decent run, even when you stop at lights etc, it's just that if you sit for any real length of time then I notice the temp gauge rising then it cuts out. The only way to solve the problem is to get the car moving again to get the air through the engine to keep it cool.
could be;
Idle control valve or a related breather (carb cleaner sprayed through would show if anything a problem, unlikely though if it is *always* heat related),
fuel relay or fuel pressure regulator, but may give problems on starting (ie it won't),
Think that engine has coils on to the plugs? When heated they can shut down as they break up over time anyway, thwt might show as occasionally misfiring when starting from cold at first, then when overheating the sensors will cut the fuel.
Crank position sensors on all french petrol cars don't last.
If a coil has gone you'll be pouring unburnt fuel on to the cat (think they had them from 98), which will kill it come test time (if they have them in France!?!) Ad a coil pack is about £15 (x4 if needed), a cat is £200. code reader should tell you if it's a sensor or the ECU has shut the engine down cos of one or more of the coils, because it is trying to save you cat for you.
Cheers for that, wouldn't know we're to start with getting a code reader though. I try a few things when I'm next out, hopefully something simple like a blown fuse, for the fan anyway.
Sounds like low speed fan isn't working but that could be down to a few things, coolant sensor, bitron unit if fitted to this model, relays and resistors corrding if not, possibly a wiring short or poor connection, the round plugs in main engine bay loom are common for poor connections and water ingress as is the loom under the rad.
It's difficult to pin it down without seeing it happen. Does it lose coolant when this happens? Steam? Does it start again straight away? Have you heard fans cut in on low or high speeds?
Good luck!
Don't bother with a code reader, unlikely to work on pre 2001 vehicles and would only give you emissions related data anyway
The car seems 100% other than the fact ot cuts out. I haven't checked anything at all when we were out last month, to busy renovating but when we are back out this month I'm gonna have a proper look, I'll check the fan connections etc, fuse, also all coolest levels, I'm hoping it's something real simple and cheap to fix.
Replace the sensor at the bottom of the rad.you can take it with you,also remove and shorten the earth connection from the chassis to the engine if shortning do so at the engine side,they aalways give trouble
You are talking to someone with next to no experience so is removing the sensor just as simple as unplugging/screwing something and replacing with new? And is it an expensive item? Don't even know what it looks like:lol:
Ahh yes, good point.
Your best place to ask is the Xsara owners forum :wink:
http://www.cxoc.net
Cheers Jim
You are talking to someone with next to no experience so is removing the sensor just as simple as unplugging/screwing something and replacing with new? And is it an expensive item? Don't even know what it looks like
Really easy to do and is a cheap part. If that's still too much effort then fuse the fan so it's always on. No big deal on a old car like that...maybe noisy tho! :lol:
I'm thinking it could just be a fuse that's blown, I'm gonna try that when I'm out, if that doesn't work then I might just wire it direct to the battery donuts always on like you say, not too bothered about the noise so long as it fixes the problem.
So just back from another week out there, unplugged the switch thingy which then made the fan come on everything time the ignition/engine is on, it would appear to solve the overheating problem :D
was going to say, just wire in a switch for the fan and switch on when in traffic.
Yeah good idea but that goes way beyond my capability :lol:
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