Hi Folks

Just bought a 2000 CLK320 cabriolet for the better half.

On her 3rd outing she noticed the temperature go from around 80 to just under 120 and rising. She pulled over before it boiled up, and lifted the bonnet. The fan was not running.

Being a girly she could do no more so after 5 hours of RAC faffing about to get home, I had a look. The fan runs when connected to another power source, so we guess it must be some sort of switch or relay. I went in to see the very helpful (I wish) spares department at MB, they advised that there was no switch but I would need to replace both the regulator and the fan (at a cost of about £270 plus VAT supply only)

Does anyone know any more about this problem, or offer any suggestions?

Thanks Barry

 

My two small fans (2 black ones in the grill) don't even come on anymore even if I turn on the A/C which blows cold, so pressure should be okay with the A/C. Where is the Engine Fan Control Module that yI've heard people talk about?

I've checked and changed the 60 amp fuse along with the small fuses as well.

 

Hopefully this may help someone who has this problem today:

TO CHECK TO SEE IF BOTH AUXILIARY FANS ARE WORKING DO THIS TEST:

Step 1 - With the car off, insert key and turn ignition to the second position where the lights are lit up on the dash.

Step 2 - Press and hold both "Auto" buttons on the Climate Control unit for approx. 10 seconds and then let go (Try it again at 15 seconds if this test does not work the first time with 10 seconds).
- Both Black Auxiliary Fans should turn on and spin.

If only one fan spins, you may have a problem with the fan itself, the fan relay or a circuit to the fan. The chances that both fans do not spin during this test is very slim as both fans should not break around the same time.

The issue that I had was that the Driver's side Auxiliary Fan was shot and did not spin during the test. The Passenger side auxiliary fan was spinning. So, I swaped out the driver's side fan and viola. Fixed - spins. Comes on at approx. 103 cel and shuts off at 98 cel.

Another tip if your car starts to overheat while driving is to manually turn on the fans by doing Step 2 above while driving - this can save your engine/head gasket. My stealership thought that it was the viscous fan clutch and recommended that I change that, the Fan Relay, Thermostat and flush the coolant and then change the Coolant Sensor if the problem was still there. That easily would have been $600-$800. Morons.

Hope that this helps someone.