2002 Thunderbird high coolant temperature warning light

[shunternz]

High coolant temperature warning light comes on, radiator fan does not come on.

I have a 2002 Thunderbird. When the engine is a little hot, e.g. on motorway for a while then in slow traffic or cruising the burbs for a while, the overheating dash lamp comes on. The radiator fan does not turn on at this point..nor does it turn on during cool-down.

I disconnected the fan and applied direct power to it. It works OK. Coolant is good – level and colour.

I want to sort this out as I don’t want to have problems come summer.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[tri boy]

Possibly the sender in the radiator side tank, (if it is similar to 90's Daytona's).
Mine failed, and is a sealed unit in the side tank, so I wired manual bridging switch across the two leads, mounted the plastic toggle switch up near the dash, and switch it on if the temp rises in slow traffic.
To check if this sender has failed, just bridge the wires, and the fan should come on.
Hope this helps.
PS. Is the temp stable/low at h/way speeds?
Oh, welcome to the mad house:-)

[pete376403]

Hi Shayne, can't help with the cooling prob but, welcome to KB anyway. Nice to see another ex-IBMer here.

[Big Dave]

Sensor. Next to the pipe at the top of the engine.

I'm on my third one.

[AllanB]

Sensor. Next to the pipe at the top of the engine.

I'm on my third one.

It's probably an Italian part .....

[pete376403]

Lucas, for sure...

[Red Kite]

Sat here in a small village in Oxfordshire,England, I couldn't believe that someone on the other side of the world was experiencing exactly the same problem as me on my 1997 Thunderbird.

I've already replaced the switch on the coolant fan thinking that the fan was coming on at the wrong temperature, but this has made no difference so I will now turn my attention to the sender unit as suggested by one of the other forum members.

Nice to know that I'm not alone in trying to keep an early Hinkley Triumph going - mine is used every day, come rain or shine, and the more I ride it the better I like it.

Best Regards,
Red Kite.