PLEASE PLEASE NEED HELP WITH 1995 ESPACE FAMILY

[spike72]

JUST BOUGHT A ESPACE FAMILY 2.OI 1995   LOVE THE CAR SO DO WIFE AND KIDS   
THE PROBLEM IS   RRAD TEMP GUAGE NOT WORKING AND OIL TEMP ONLY WORKS WHEN DASH LIGHTS ON AND ENGINE NOT RUNNING ALSO THE RADIATOR FAN WIRING HAS BEEN MESSED ABOUT WITH AND ARE RUNNING OF A SWITCH ON DASH

MY QUESTION IS   IS IT SAFE TO RUN FANS LIKE THIS ALSO    IS IT A COMMON PROBLEM WITH GUAGES NOT WORKING AS LOVE THE CAR AND DONT WANT IT TO BLOW UP

AND CAN FASE 3  BUMPERS BE MODIFIED TO FIT A FASE 2 

THANK IN ADVANCE ANY HELP REALLY APPRICIATED

SPIKE

[Elmo the Espace]

Hi
Try and disconecting the oil level sensor it is on the front passenger side of the engine.
I had the same fault a few years ago which after a few miles caused the engine oil warning light to come on.
If there is a earth fault on this sensor it will affect the oil and engine temp gauges and warning lights.
This is what should happen when you start your Espace
When you turn the ignition on you should have the oil pressure light on then the gauge will rise to give a true indication of  OIL LEVEL not temp then go off when the engine is cranked.
As far as a switch on the dash it is not ideal you need to check the wiring from the sensor which is on the bottom drivers side of the radiator then check the relays and fuses which are on the passenger side behind the air filter.
Why fitt a newer model bumpers and lose the character of the old reliable Espace ? ;-P
Hope this helps

[spike72]

thanks for that    on closer inspection there seems to be some wiring missin to connect to main wiring harness from the fans  would it be a major job to get a second hand harness and replace mine ??

as for bumpers  think i am gona stick to the originals  

[roy4matra]

JUST BOUGHT A ESPACE FAMILY 2.OI 1995   LOVE THE CAR SO DO WIFE AND KIDS   
THE PROBLEM IS RAD TEMP GUAGE NOT WORKING AND OIL TEMP ONLY WORKS WHEN DASH LIGHTS ON AND ENGINE NOT RUNNING...

The small gauge on the right is not oil temp. it is oil level and ONLY works when the ignition is switched on but the engine is not running.  As soon as oil pressure comes up it cuts the feed to the oil level gauge, which would not be correct anyway with the engine running.

ALSO THE RADIATOR FAN WIRING HAS BEEN MESSED ABOUT WITH AND ARE RUNNING OF A SWITCH ON DASH

I would suspect this is because the radiator fan temp. switch has failed and therefore the fans were not coming on, which could lead to overheating in traffic.  There was no need to alter the vehicle wiring but simply change the switch.  However, as these switches can be unreliable, it is wise to have an over-ride switch anyway, and all you have to do is wire a switch to the two radiator switch terminals (lower right side of radiator).  The other possibility is that the fan terminals/wiring was corroded and the fans were not working.  Usually they simply need cleaning, or at worst, replacing.

AND CAN FASE 3  BUMPERS BE MODIFIED TO FIT A FASE 2 

Careful of terminology Spike.  There is no 'Phase 3'.  You have a Series II of which there was only one phase.  The Series III (also only one phase) came out in 1996 and ran until the end of Matra production in 2002.  The Series IV, both Phase 1 and Phase 2, are Renault built; the Series IV Phase 2 being the current model.

No, you cannot really fit Series III bumpers to a Series II, as it is not just mounting differences, but the cooling air flow would be different as the Series III has a transverse powertrain whilst yours is longitudinal.  Why would you want to anyway?  The design is so different.

Roy