Fan stays on?

WaxiesDargle · 26 October 2016 at 2:27PM

Hi all

My daughter phoned earlier to say that when she switched off the ignition on her Renault Clio, there was a noise coming from the engine area, it sounded like the air fan was still on, this lasted for a few minutes and stopped. This hasn't happened before....can anyone say what this could be please? Thank you.

warehouse · 26 October 2016 at 2:36PM

Yes quite normal. Just check the water level to be safe, (once the engine has cooled), and tell her to keep an eye on the water temperature for a couple of journeys.

Ganga · 26 October 2016 at 2:37PM

Probably the cooling fan is electric rather than driven by the fan belt,the electric ones kick in when the engine water gets to a certain temp.useually when sitting at road junction,traffic lights etc.When you stop the engine the fan can run on to cool the radiator so the engime does not overheat.

WaxiesDargle · 26 October 2016 at 2:38PM

no. only about 15 minutes each way through town, just a short drive really

Ebe_Scrooge · 26 October 2016 at 2:39PM

Perfectly normal on a lot of cars. If the engine is hot, when you switch it off the water stops circulating. This can lead to hotspots as boiling hot water ( in fact, it can actually be hotter than 100 degrees due to the pressure ) sits in one place. The fan stays on just to cool down the engine to a safe enough temperature so it can sit there happily. Nothing to worry about.

Stevie_Palimo · 26 October 2016 at 2:40PM

Can also be the starting sign of a problem if the thermostat has gone or on the way out which happened to mates run about and then caused the whole engine to go, Only saying this as it is 100% worth while looking at. He was topping water up regular and never bothered to look into it so if you have this to then get the car looked asap.