Yesterday I bought a 2003 1400 Zetec 3 Dr in pale metallic green, I plan to use the car for my 500 mile weekly commute. The car-71000 miles, had a recent clutch, is clean and tidy and was v cheap but has a couple of probs which I knew I'd have to throw some time and money at.

The cooling fan doesn't work, the battery was knackered and the engine light was on, despite this the car ran really smooth and pulled well through the gears so I'm thinking some kind of sensor fault. After replacing the battery I took it for a long run down the motorway. After around 10 miles I slowed for the exit and saw the EAC Fail warning. Despite this the car still drove fine home. I've just read tales of throttle bodies and pedal sensors but these all seem to be related to reduced performance which is not the case here.

Any suggestions.

Try replacing the relays on the cooling fan as a 1st try, if this doesn't work the try hard-wiring the fan to check it works.

I'd also check the colour of the oil as it may have over-heated leading to the mayo mix, if this is the case then chances are it will need a new head-gasket.

I had a 206 than ran well despite having a failed head-gasket, it just used lots of fuel and water.

Try replacing the relays on the cooling fan as a 1st try, if this doesn't work the try hard-wiring the fan to check it works.

I'd also check the colour of the oil as it may have over-heated leading to the mayo mix, if this is the case then chances are it will need a new head-gasket.

I had a 206 than ran well despite having a failed head-gasket, it just used lots of fuel and water.

Thanks for the tip, I'll get my mate to check the relays tomorrow when he looks at the car. Pleased to say that there was no water in the oil and I even slid my finger further round under the valve cover to see if the owner had just wiped the filler cap. More good news when I checked the coolant as there was no signs of oil in there either. My mate is going to put a code reader on tomorrow so stand by for an update tomorrow night.