2005 Mk3 2.0 TDCI 130.

Just done the school run, figured I'd give the aircon a run while I was parked up waiting, as it hasn't been done for a few weeks. Turned it on... I hear the pump start... then off again. Repeat ad infinitum.

Unfortunately I know only too well what's happened - the radiator fan is dead - AGAIN! This is the fourth time in two years, and the last time I replaced it was less than three months ago.

I am completely and utterly pig sick of this piece of junk car. There is ALWAYS something going wrong with it.

The replacement fans haven't been new, they're all from scrappies, and if it had just happened once you could say yeah, you got a dud replacement. But this often? I'm starting to think that there is some underlying problem elsewhere that is causing this.

Any clues, before I wheel the !Removed! lot down to the end of the drive and set fire to it?

I swear to God I will never own another Ford as long as I live. Completely pee'd off with it.

sounds like you probably do have a wiring issue, perhaps a power spike is blowing the control module for the fan?

sounds like you probably do have a wiring issue, perhaps a power spike is blowing the control module for the fan?

That's the thing - I haven't changed the control module, ever. Each time I've had the fan out on the bench and put 12V directly over the fan motor - dead as a dodo! I don't know if it will be the same this time (probably will). I have a spare fan control module but the mounting bracket is snapped off. I was trying to test with it earlier and managed to get the two multiplugs off the module in situ, but there wasn't room to plug the spare module in (it's right under the top port on the back of the radiator and access is "difficult"). Then the light in the garage started flickering on and off cos the tube is on its way out - something else I never seem to get around to fixing, and with it getting dark I thought "sod it"!

It does make me wonder though, if there is actually something wrong with the module itself, that's somehow causing the fan motor to die. Hmm....

its possible, if the module has a bad wire that shorts and spikes, that could blow the fan motor clean out? given its happened this many times, it might be worth cutting the wires and manually wiring the module in if necessary?

A further development. I got the old module out today, and put the spare one it- it worked! So I know the fan isn't dead this time, which is good, because I broke the radiator last time I replaced the fan.

I mentioned before that the mounting bracket was snapped off, so I unplugged the module and removed the top cover of the original one, with a view to swapping the lower plate over (thus giving it a mounting bracket as it's all one solid part). Ford don't want me doing that - everything inside is soldered up tight and can't be removed without damage. So I thought I'd just bung the spare module back in, and use a couple of zip ties. Got it all back in, tested it - nothing!!

I know the previous fans were definitely dead - I tested them on removal, and tested the replacements before they went in.

So I'm now at the conclusion that you're probably right, and there is a fault somewhere in the wiring. Unfortunately I don't know which side of the module the fault is at - the fan side or the loom side.

Probably going to have to get the multimeter in there somehow and check for voltage. But it's dark again and I still didn't fix the light in the garage. :(

Not sure anybody's even reading this, but I shall jabber on regardless...

Just had a wee diagnostic session. There is power coming out of the fan side of the fan module. I had the multimeter earth on the car body, so the voltage was not sustained, but it's definitely telling the fan to spin. Which led me to the fan itself, again. I know the fan works - I've seen it working only a couple of days ago so I'm confident it isn't the motor itself. So assuming that the fan motor works, and the fan module works (turns out they both do!), the only thing that remains is the four inches of wire between the fan motor, and the plug on the end of the wire that plugs into the fan module.

Looks like I need yet another fan.

I have a brand new, (unused) lightweight racing fan that will fit your Mondeo, it is easy to fit and slots easily between the radiator/ engine, it is a universal fit and goes straight on the radiator without a cowling

I can sell you it cheap, if you like

Was yours a single or twin fan?

It's a single one.

[edit] Almost forgot - how cheap is "cheap"? :)

It's a single one.

[edit] Almost forgot - how cheap is "cheap"? :)

For you - i could do it for £20 + postage at cost (cheapest way, signed for) - i can't remember what i paid for it (ive bought a LOT of stuff for the car, altogether) but i did not use it and its just sitting in the loft - if you could use it that would be great

Ive also got a modulator (so you can connect an i-pod or i-phone etc onto a radio without an aux input) - iv'e been thinking about putting it in the "for sale" section

I thing you might have better luck with new stuff like the fan - old components may have already done a high milage and be worn out/ on their way out

Awesome, I'll take it. Find out what the postage is and PM me. :)

definately shows there is a fault in the wiring, but hopefully the new fan and the working module combination should help to resolve that!

Finally got around to swapping out the fans. I got yet another scrappie fan that my mate picked up... really didn't like the look of it. It works, but how long for? I'm honestly getting sick of doing this job over and over. So...

Here is where I learned a neat trick for testing a fan. Get your multimeter, and stick the two probes into the terminals on the plug. Then spin the fan with your hand - the multimeter will register a change in voltage. This told me that the wiring I originally suspected as faulty, wasn't!

So I got the fan out, and hooked it up to the battery again, the fan worked but it made the most God-awful grinding noise. Fan motor wrecked, AGAIN! At this point, a NEW fan seemed to be a good call! I'm damned if I want to be doing this again any time soon (this is the 4th fan in two years).

I decided that since I'm having the unit out anyway, to get a universal fan rather than pay a fortune for a Fraud one. I got a 14" one - the original is 15", but there was some logic in that. First, if I just install a universal fan onto the radiator (which is next to impossible on the Mondeo, I found out, as you can't get the zip ties through the radiator because EVERYTHING is in the way), there's nowhere for the control module to go.

So my solution was this. First, the new fan was slightly too big to fit into the circular recess of the big rectangular plastic thing that holds the original fan. So I chopped off four of the mounting points with a hack saw, it fitted in perfectly. Then I cut the wires off the old fan, as near to the fan as I could get it. Crimped the wiring onto the wires for the new fan, soldered it all for durability, then some heatshrink over the top to insulate and keep the water out. Finally, I tie-wrapped the rear cage of the new fan onto the big rectangular plastic thing (does that even have a name???), shoved the whole lot back in, tested it, bish bash bosh, Bob's your dad's brother.

At least we all know who to ask if we need a new fan fitting, lol. Honestly you have persevered with this I hope all if fixed now and you can enjoy your motor again, don't think all Fords are like this because they certainly are not.

At least we all know who to ask if we need a new fan fitting, lol. Honestly you have persevered with this I hope all if fixed now and you can enjoy your motor again, don't think all Fords are like this because they certainly are not.

Given that during one fan replacement, I managed to smash the top port off the radiator and ended up changing that as well, I'm probably the last person you want to be asking!

Still plenty of experience there BigD, fingers crossed that it doesnt cack itself going forward! hopefully some reliability is the order of the day!