So while out driving yesterday in what was quite a hot day here in Yorkshire, i got stuck in a traffic jam for about 20 minutes. The temperature warning light came on and i pulled over and waited for the traffic to clear. I drove home 10 minutes later and the light had turned off.
I left it 2 hours to cool and went and i had a look around the engine bay. The coolant was at its normal level, I checked the oil and that was the same. I then took the expansion tank off, the coolant still looked pink, with no signs of contamination. I looked under the oil cap, but nothing was there either. Any ideas on what i need to do next? Thanks

Probably the thermostat is stating to stick and not totally opening, stick a new thermostat in, could be the water pump is on the way out too

But. It's a 2009 so it probably needs a good flush and new coolant anyway

The blower was so hot, it's normally very good but this was burning hot. Is it safe for short runs while I get the garage sorted out?

Did the radiator fan come on?

I'm not sure tbh. I'll turn the car on and look. Thanks

4 minutes ago, Earthworm said:

I'm not sure tbh. I'll turn the car on and look. Thanks

The fan doesn't run all the time.  Only if the coolant temperature exceeds about 92c or if you switch the AC on.

You can fool it into coming on by unplugging the temp sensor.

ok, thanks. I will try it with the AC first

So I just sat in the car for 40 minutes while it was ticking over. After 35 minutes I tried the aircon to see if the fan was working, neither the fan nor the temperature warning light came on at any point.  No problem showing with coolant or oil still. Any further ideas please, but remember I'm a real beginner at that. Thanks

Sounds like the fan could be the problem.

(Does the AC usually feel ice cold?  If it's low on AC gas, the compressor and fan won't start up.)

Could need a new fan fitting, could be a module, resistor or relay, or could be a wiring fault.

I would recommend looking for the temp sensor on the side of the engine and unplugging it.  Then start the engine and the fan should run at full speed as failsafe.

If the fan doesn't run in that situation, hopefully there is nothing wrong with the engine, just the fan, which is obviously cheaper and easier to fix.

I've not found a decent video on this. Is there an easy to follow walk through? My AC does work, not amazingly well but it's definitely cooler with it on and you can hear the pump working. We had the AC regassed last year and it's always been the same.  Thanks

Because I know so little about cars and how they work, I tried to see if the fan would move/turn by hand with the power off. It's not moving at all. Is that normal?

2 minutes ago, Earthworm said:

Because I know so little about cars and how they work, I tried to see if the fan would move/turn by hand with the power off. It's not moving at all. Is that normal?

No, and be very careful doing that, Cooling Fans can work even with the Ignition off so you could damage your figures.

Thanks. I never knew that. So from that it sounds like a seized or failed fan. The car still runs fine but I won't be driving it except to the garage. 1 mile away. Will it be OK for that?

Yes it'll be absolutely fine to drive for short distances. 

Glad to hear you've still got all your fingers after that potentially close call!

 

Brilliant!! I did say I knew absolutely nothing about cars 🤣🤣

A bit of guesswork I know, but will there be any damage to the engine?

56 minutes ago, Earthworm said:

A bit of guesswork I know, but will there be any damage to the engine?

Shouldn't be.  You did the right thing stopping to let it cool down when the warning came up.