Fan staying on

[Deleted1]

Looking for some advice for my daughter, she bought her RCZ last August, a 2014 model with low mileage, so she expected trouble free motoring. Boy was she wrong!
4 months later the car was going into limp home mode. Peugeot main dealer said it was the timing - cost her £1031.
4 months later warning light on and limp down mode, she went to a local garage for help. Car checked out and found to be mechanically sound but could do with a full service - cost her £250, warning light went off. Next day when the car was started the warning light was back on. same mechanic decided the rocker cover could be the issue - cost her £440. Couple of days later, back to limp down mode and now the cooling fan was working overtime, sounding light an aircraft for over 5 minutes after engine turned off! Mechanic then decided he hadn't a clue and suggested trying a main dealer again.
Tried a different main dealer this time - they said car had 18 warnings showing, they replaced the high pressure fuel pump - cost her £980. At the end of the drive home, the fans were on full pelt as usual!
They suggested the issue must be the timing and as this has been done fairly recently and they must have made an error so she should take it back to the original main dealer. Who then proceeded to deny any issues with the timing, suggesting initially instead it probably needed a de-coke (est £1000). But then discovered a potential issue of a split pipe to the rocker cover and a failing battery that needed replacing - cost her £315. Told all warnings wiped and fan issue gone, went to pick car up and told windows wouldn't close properly! (offered to fix that for free next week).
My daughter drove 12 miles home and the fans stayed on yet again (no warning lights on dash).

My husband is taking her car back to garage tomorrow, we are sick to death of her paying out for solutions that don't work after spending around £3,000.
The fan stays on when just turning on the engine on the drive, so it isn't an overheating issue. My husband tried the BSI re set suggested on here but no joy.
Any suggestions on what the cause could be would be most welcome. Could it be something like a faulty heat sensor?

 

[Verminator]

Hi there and sorry to hear that you have had such a hard time with your RCZ the fan issue has been pointed out on the forum and its been down to a sensor problem and a cheap replacement try searching for it on here. Some one will help you out...
Drive safe and stay lucky
Les n Co

 

[Deleted1]

Hi there and sorry to hear that you have had such a hard time with your RCZ the fan issue has been pointed out on the forum and its been down to a sensor problem and a cheap replacement try searching for it on here. Some one will help you out...
Drive safe and stay lucky
Les n Co

Thanks, i'll try searching for sensor issues

 

[Pedro]

What is the Mileage on the car ? What does the coolant temp reading on the dashboard say & is the coolant lever correct ?
The fan can be triggered by (a) Driving the car too fast from a cold start because the ECU starts the water pump electronically as it receives a false signal that the engine has warmed up enough for the pump to start & this puts the fan on (B) The Thermostat/coolant sensor are a known generic fault which can also trigger the fan when they are beginning to fail
The timing issue which doesn't the cooling system problem is usually the chain tensioner but could also be down to service issues as the Engines in these cars are temperamental regarding Oil viscosity & most owners (myself included) who know this fact change the oil & filter well before the service data suggests

 

[DKZ5745]

When my HPFP was failing and I had an EML on the dash, I also had the fan running like a jet engine for @20-30 minutes after switching off, so it seems various EML causes can trigger this.

 

[Deleted1]

What is the Mileage on the car ? What does the coolant temp reading on the dashboard say & is the coolant lever correct ?
The fan can be triggered by (a) Driving the car too fast from a cold start because the ECU starts the water pump electronically as it receives a false signal that the engine has warmed up enough for the pump to start & this puts the fan on (B) The Thermostat/coolant sensor are a known generic fault which can also trigger the fan when they are beginning to fail
The timing issue which doesn't the cooling system problem is usually the chain tensioner but could also be down to service issues as the Engines in these cars are temperamental regarding Oil viscosity & most owners (myself included) who know this fact change the oil & filter well before the service data suggests

Hi Pedro, the mileage is 32k. temp reading is normal. the fan kicks in noisily immediately upon turning engine on! we are hoping it is the sensor as it just seems to make sense - if the fan turns is turning on when there is no heat, then surely the sensor must be faulty? it's been serviced in may and after the hpfp was changed 3 weeks ago it's now had the 2nd complete oil change in 2 months. we are waiting with baited breath to see what peugeot come back with this time.

 

[Deleted1]

When my HPFP was failing and I had an EML on the dash, I also had the fan running like a jet engine for @20-30 minutes after switching off, so it seems various EML causes can trigger this.

the hpfp was changed 3 weeks ago but still no improvement - so a waste of money. the fan is still kicking in even though no EML showing. Did your fan issue stop after hpfp was replaced?

 

[DKZ5745]

Yes it is back to normal now. I had similar issues in December last year, we replaced all 4 coil packs & plugs & that sorted it out for a few months, then we had the EML again with the HPFP failing. This was in conjunction with an intermittent misfire & occasional limp mode.
A new fuel rail & HPFP & its running like a dream again

 

[Deleted1]

Yes it is back to normal now. I had similar issues in December last year, we replaced all 4 coil packs & plugs & that sorted it out for a few months, then we had the EML again with the HPFP failing. This was in conjunction with an intermittent misfire & occasional limp mode.
A new fuel rail & HPFP & its running like a dream again

That's good to hear. Peugeot garage are still looking into a potential leak - EML P2779 is now coming up again - this is after they replaced the rocker cover pipe for this reason last week. They are now removing spoiler and trying a reverse smoke test to see where the leak is. I think it's going to be a long job for them to find the issue, still they haven't asked for any further money yet so I'll leave them to it for now.

 

[Pedro]

Maybe the actual fan sensor or possibly the coolant sensor has failed thus the fan is on full speed as the speed alternates during cooling cycles
The oil service is a joke why are they changing it again unless its contaminated or they never carried the job out in the 1st place & as for the HPFP (pump) they only cause performance issues plus the car will lose power ( severe judder is a known pointer) on acceleration & the fuel trim will go all adrift & the car will start drinking fuel like a fish
As I stated previously the RCZ has known Generic faults to be wary of which includes the coolant level sensor ( expansion tank) unless its been changed the thermostats can fail along with the Engine coolant sensor ( ECU triggers the Fan)
Timing chain rattles are another one to send owners up the garden path when they start making them think the chain is failing when in fact its a quick simple cheapish fix of the tensioner being replaced resulting in hardly any noise on a cold start
Regarding DKZ5745 he could be on the money with coils packs but plugs are another giveaway in the Prince Engines & you should always change all 4 together if after you still have issues it may be the coil packs but these have a long service life if they are the correct ones (Bosch) & very rarely need changing but have a look in the Air box at the Filter the HPT system loves lots of clean air so maybe its dirty? I changed mine for a high performance K&N panel filter & its good for 50.000 ml & its runs great
If I was in your position get hold of a code reader & plug it into the socket above the ashtray (remove the rubber cover it pulls out ) the socket is directly in front of you & post up any codes its logging in the ECU that way you can give some indication of the faults your experiencing
Lastly the cars ECU may have stored Historic codes from previous fault issues (Ghost codes) these can be triggered by any ongoing fault regardless of the code being deleted so just be wary of what your being told in the garage even at a MD !

 

[Deleted1]

Maybe the actual fan sensor or possibly the coolant sensor has failed thus the fan is on full speed as the speed alternates during cooling cycles
The oil service is a joke why are they changing it again unless its contaminated or they never carried the job out in the 1st place & as for the HPFP (pump) they only cause performance issues plus the car will lose power ( severe judder is a known pointer) on acceleration & the fuel trim will go all adrift & the car will start drinking fuel like a fish
As I stated previously the RCZ has known Generic faults to be wary of which includes the coolant level sensor ( expansion tank) unless its been changed the thermostats can fail along with the Engine coolant sensor ( ECU triggers the Fan)
Timing chain rattles are another one to send owners up the garden path when they start making them think the chain is failing when in fact its a quick simple cheapish fix of the tensioner being replaced resulting in hardly any noise on a cold start
Regarding DKZ5745 he could be on the money with coils packs but plugs are another giveaway in the Prince Engines & you should always change all 4 together if after you still have issues it may be the coil packs but these have a long service life if they are the correct ones (Bosch) & very rarely need changing but have a look in the Air box at the Filter the HPT system loves lots of clean air so maybe its dirty? I changed mine for a high performance K&N panel filter & its good for 50.000 ml & its runs great
If I was in your position get hold of a code reader & plug it into the socket above the ashtray (remove the rubber cover it pulls out ) the socket is directly in front of you & post up any codes its logging in the ECU that way you can give some indication of the faults your experiencing
Lastly the cars ECU may have stored Historic codes from previous fault issues (Ghost codes) these can be triggered by any ongoing fault regardless of the code being deleted so just be wary of what your being told in the garage even at a MD !

Thank you Pedro that is very interesting and I will bear all this in mind. Main dealer have insisted they checked sensor today and it's working and temp is normal. Did you see my recent reply to DKZ5745? they now have code P2279 up again, so are fixated on finding another potential leak. when they start to ask for more money i will ask if the suggested solutions above have been looked at or take it elsewhere.

 

[Pedro]

Thank you Pedro that is very interesting and I will bear all this in mind. Main dealer have insisted they checked sensor today and it's working and temp is normal. Did you see my recent reply to DKZ5745? they now have code P2279 up again, so are fixated on finding another potential leak. when they start to ask for more money i will ask if the suggested solutions above have been looked at or take it elsewhere.

P2279 code reads Air system intake leak poss Vacuum related may cause misfires & poor performance

 

[Marmite]

Iv had issues with mine I had the fan come on when a coil pack went down due to a poor service, they left a spark plug loose an another issue I had was a vacuum pipe that was leaking just under the turbo .... it’s been fine ever since the fix hope u get it sorted

 

[Pedro]

Iv had issues with mine I had the fan come on when a coil pack went down due to a poor service, they left a spark plug loose an another issue I had was a vacuum pipe that was leaking just under the turbo .... it’s been fine ever since the fix hope u get it sorted

That's interesting about the coil pack triggering the fan as the coil pack issue would I suspect activate the Emissions fail on Bank1 from the upstream Lambda sensor so I suspect the fan coming on was possibly a known fault already in the ECU memory log

 

[Marmite]

Well I replaced my Sensor as I assumed it was the fault but it turned out to be a leaking vacuum pipe an that would throw the emissions out for sure

 

[Pedro]

Well I replaced my Sensor as I assumed it was the fault but it turned out to be a leaking vacuum pipe an that would throw the emissions out for sure

Yes strange things cars these days just when you think its sorted another blip shows up on the dash

 

[Deleted1]

UPDATE: after almost 2 weeks at the Main dealer's they have once again drawn a blank! further breather pipe replaced and tests done on sensors etc. they have confirmed that it is mechanically sound - but the fan is still coming on!! With code P2279. They have now started mentioning the man hours and cost of parts, so we are expecting them to try and sting us with yet another bill for repairing absolutely nothing again. They are now contacting Peugeot themselves for advice. I am totally amazed that no solution has been found to this problem and banging my head as what to do next.

 

[Pedro]

That code is integral to the Powertrain system & is only triggered if there is a Intake Air system leak in the the Fuel Air monitoring system which is telling the ECU more Air is entering the Engine than is normal & this can affect combustion & the Engine Temperature monitoring system hence Fan comes on full blast
So when the Mass Airflow,the Air intake temperature & oxygen sensor show a disparity a leak is recognised & the code P2279 becomes live in the ECU its possible the leak can be present between mass Airflow sensor the Throttle body & the intake manifold so one would assume they being a MD have checked all these components for issues ?
I presume they did a smoke test to check for leakages in the pipework etc ?

 

[Deleted1]

My husband mentioned to them about doing a smoke test from the get go and they said they didn't have the equipment (mentioned something about borrowing one!). So they have just done a visual test on the pipes. It seems logical that there is still a leak present and they just can't find it, if they try to charge us for loads of man-hours searching for the leak, when it would have been a quick job with a smoke test then we won't be happy. If they didn't have the necessary equipment then they shouldn't have taken the job on.

 

[Verminator]

Sounds like they are giving you the run around and wanting to take as much work on as possible to make up for the loss of money over lock down hope you don't fall victim to this for a simple job to other garages with the correct equipment to do the job in hand...