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Lennart Sorth
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Posts: 832
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« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2006, 12:34:41 am » |
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I've never heard a radiator fan kicking in - is there one?
The voltmeter in fact has a geniously designed feature ... (well caused by poor contact from the battery/fuseboard to the dashboard, but nevertheless :-) ) When the car runs, you will probably have a reading just outside the left filled rectangle. But if you turn on the wipers, it will drop. NOT because the battery-voltage drops, but because of the small resistance on the way TO the dashboard. Similarly, the meter will drop a little, when the radiator fan kicks in. That is VERY convenient. Almost as good a "safeguard" as the override switch some install. /Lennart
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« Last Edit: March 21, 2006, 12:35:23 am by Lennart »
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roy4matra
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Posts: 1200
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« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2007, 02:08:48 am » |
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Well I'll start with the thermostat - looks pretty straightforward to change it (for a standard spec).
I've never heard a radiator fan kicking in - is there one?
Cheers, Roly
Yes there is a rad switch and it's surprisingly easy to change - although many people have fitted over-ride switches because they mistakenly don't trust the rad switch In my experience 1.6's run very cool and your temp gauge sounds about right. I'm sorry Will but that is wrong. No engine should be running with a temperature around 60 degrees. If the engine is running correctly at around 88 degrees, then when you are stood in traffic you will need the radiator fan to cut in and keep the engine from overheating. Radiator switches are not very reliable and never have been, and I'm talking from many years of experience and on all sorts of cars not just Matra. Why do you think Ford used to fit a by-pass in the wiring loom on many models? (it was so that when the switch failed all you had to do was connect the plug and socket and the fan ran all the time). It was also one reason why the manufacturers got rid of them? Radiator fans are now controlled by the injection computers and block coolant sensors. Consequently an over-ride switch is a very sensible addition. Without one you have no option but to stop the engine to let it cool, which is not really practical. Or worse the engine overheats and you damage the engine. Not very clever. So in answer to Roly's question, I suspect his thermostat was stuck open if indeed there was one fitted. Please replace it but after you do, please make sure the radiator fan switch works, because after many years without it working you might find it has failed. On many cars I have worked on, one service item is to let the engine warm to the point where the radiator fan cuts in, to check the system is working correctly. If the engine coolant is running at the correct temperature the interior heating will be fine, assuming everything else is O.K. The Murena, both 1.6 and 2.2 in my experience, were fitted from the factory with 81 degree thermostats which was probably O.K. in the south of France, but here you really need and 88 degree one. Unless we ever get any of this global warming that they keep promising... :-) Roy
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« Last Edit: July 15, 2007, 02:11:05 am by roy4matra »
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davidewanprice
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« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2007, 10:01:11 pm » |
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To fit an override switch costs a few pounds and takes seconds to fit, to sort a cooked engine, well too much money and too big a risk for me!
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