Radiator fan not kicking in

[MikeUK]

Hi folks

I smelled burnt coolant when I stopped my car so I checked under the hood and found that my coolant reservoir was empty. It didn't take too much to fill the car with coolant again.

I checked a couple of days later and the coolant reservoir was empty again. I popped the filler cap and could see there was still coolant in there, so I filled the reservoir again.

I noticed at this point that my radiator fan isn't kicking in. I've stopped a couple times and popped the hood to check but the fan is doing nothing.

I checked the fuse (I switched it for the electric windows fuse) and that made no difference and the windows worked with the radiator fan fuse in.

What is the likely suspect? I've read that the Mirage doesn't have a radiator switch and is controlled elsewhere, but I don't know exactly how that works if that's the case.

I don't think it's the water pump because I'm getting hot air through my air vents (on one side anyway - I still have the gunked up heater matrix) so that tells me that the coolant is being circulated.

I haven't had an overheating light come on yet.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Alpha_One]

Check out this post

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...l=1#post112888

[foama]

Mike, until you get it fixed, make very sure you don't get low on coolant! That could get very expensive.
For the time being until you find the cause you could simply add water in summer, and subsequently flush and replace the coolant before winter. Probably the fault is a relais or wiring damage, seldom the fan motor.

About the gunked up heater matrix - I contacted BASF (Glysantin) asking what causes that gunk and what to do. They said to replace the coolant asap because the residue "materials in manufacture" inside the matrix reacts with coolant, and the coolant would be exhausted. Supposedly nothing disolves the gunk already formed.
Whatever brand or sort of coolant you use, make sure you have only one variety inside the engine. Different brands which each may be OK for the car deteriorate when mixed. I use G30, which is inexpensive and readily availabe in the UK.