Engine: T5: Cooling Fan !!!

[DonkeyKong]

Hi,
Having owned my 2001 2.5 T5 (180,000 miles) since December I have encountered a small (hopefully) problem...
I noticed i was losing a little engine coolant (From max to min in overflow over a course of 3-4 weeks) and the engine was getting extremely hot but the temp gauge was constant at half way... But never noticed radiator fan coming on...
So today i let the engine warm up (car stood still as had surgery on my shoulder on Sat just gone and cannot drive yet) and the fan never kicked in so i unplugged the temp sensor and restarted the engine and the fan came straight on and even stayed on for about 5 mins after turning engine off.
When it had stopped i reconnected the temp sensor and restarted engine and now the fan comes straight and and runs on as it did when disconnected.
Any ideas would be very welcome as i brought this vehicle as a stop gap when i sold my l200 truck but love it that much have decided to keep it.
Many Thanks

[mikealder]

The ECU will probably have a touble code stored for the temp sensor being out of expected range (because you disconnected it), this will be causing the fan to run on, get the codes read and reset and the fan running on should stop - Mike

[DonkeyKong]

Many Thanks
Should i change the temp sensor before having the codes cleared ?
Also is there a way to clear the codes without having a code scanner ?

Once again thanks for the help

[mikealder]

You will need access to a generic OBD-II code reader, if you have a laptop then it's possible with a cheap lead of the bay, generic will only read/ clear engine related faults, if you wanted access to the gearbox, ABS, SRS then something like a Volvo DICE clone combined with a laptop.

I use my Garmin satnav to read and reset fault codes or my OBD-KEY unit inconjunction with a PDA based mobile phone or (only got it today) Lemur BlueDriver Bluetooth addaptor for use with an iPhone (only £25 and it does read engine codes and resets them - Probably cheapest way if you use an iPhone/ iPOD/ iPAD.

As for changing the sensor I wouldn't be doing that until I knew it was faulty, again a fault code reader that can see the data from the engine is handy to know if it's working correctly or not, the radiator fan should come on at 106 Deg C at slow speed and at 114 Deg C it will switch to full speed - Mike

[DonkeyKong]

Many Thanks

Have you tried the Bluedriver yet as very tempted to order one ... especially at the price

[mikealder]

The Bluedriver module inconjunction with an iPhone 4 works well with the Volvo for reading and resetting fault codes to display trend data such as coolant temperature as a gauge of strip chart needs the software unlocking which costs and additional £36 so it costs around £60 all in assuming you have the Apple hardware to start with.

The plus point is if you have the ECU light illuminate when out on the road and the Bluedriver is in the center consol you will know what the car isn't happy with within seconds as you generally allways have your phone with you - Mike

[DonkeyKong]

Many thanks
I now have one on order