Weird feeling, indeed: after switching off the ignition and locking the vehicle, you expect it to stop making noise, to stay quiet before you return. However, the fan has a field day in the parking lot before you can go shopping for the week. Surprisingly, especially since we are in the winter season, it should not work… It should be triggered by strong heat. Let’s take a few moments to understand what’s going on before we imagine the worst and panic.
Here is the reason why the engine cooling fan continues to spin even after turning off the ignition.
A fan in my engine, what for?
Raise the hood of the car. Source: spm
Do not confuse the mechanical fan of the house and that of your engine. They look the same and serve the same purpose: to cool. Create a draft to reduce heat exchange.
Your vehicle’s fan is part of a larger system. The cooling system. It is essential because the work of the engine creates a lot of heat. By not being evacuated, the latter invades the entire production system and renders the engine inoperative. By lifting the engine cover, you will easily identify the fan. It is located near the radiator, which is connected to the engine by the hoses, which carry a coolant. Water which contains additives, whose mission is to capture the heat of the engine. The circulation in the radiator, by principle of heat exchange, goes reduce the temperature of this liquid and help maintain the engine temperature at a tolerable level.
Your fan is programmed to start as soon as the observed temperature is 90 degrees. It will only stop when the latter has dropped to 80 degrees.
A spinning motor fan is a good sign.
Car engine. Source: spm
You can be reassured: all the components of the cooling system are working. If the fan did not work, you should on the contrary worry. That it still spins after stopping is completely normal. The system detected overheating moments before shutting down. The process follows its course, until it reaches 80 degrees.
A fan still running is potentially a bad sign.
The observations that must then be considered in this case are the following: is it frequent? systematic? In which circumstances ? On snowy roads, in rainy weather, in traffic jams, the engine is much more stressed. It will heat up. It will need to be cooled. The vehicle is new or almost new, no need to worry too much, a visit to the mechanic cannot be ruled out.
If your vehicle is more than ten years old or more than 250,000 km on the clock, you have to worry about it. A check of the entire cooling system must be carried out every two oil changes. Especially if you’re on the go. The outward journey gave rise to such a situation, what about the return?
Before going to a mechanic, you can do some checks yourself. Find the coolant reservoir and check the level, apply support if necessary. Then comes the turn of the radiator. A visual inspection is necessary to detect a leak in the shelves. If it’s cooled, also run your hand, looking for bumps, breaks. It happens that a violent contact in a rut, with a border, comes to damage the bottom of the radiator.
Your mechanic also has other means of checking the tightness and functionality of the cooling systems. By draining, eliminating impurities, offering solutions for small leaks.
No one can blame your curiosity or your alertness. Observing that your vehicle’s fan is still running after stopping will, in some cases, help you avoid mechanical problems.
Read also Fan: How to turn it into an air conditioner without spending 1 euro?
Via SPM
