I have 1997 - E430 and have 2 cooling fans in front of the engine just after the grille. My temperature needle sometimes is between 80 - 100 degs. I am in New York area which the temp. is still below 55 degs. @ the presnt time & the temp. needle within the city is up to 80 degs. Is this normal? How will I know if the 2 cooling fans on the car is working? Or do I need to wait till when the temp is above 85, open the hood and find out? Maybe the fuse is gone. Where can I locate the fuse. The handbook does not tell me. I seriously need HELP as I'm afraid going out of state with the car in case I get stuck in traffic. Thank you guys.

 

You'll hear them come on...Although it is unusual that a 97 has such problems, I'd expect older models to have these types of issues. If you want to make sure they're working, what i do, is just turn on the car and let it run and wait to see if the fans do turn on. They usually do come on after 85 degs. If not, then u might wanna check the fuse box which is a little black box located in the top right corner in the engine.

 

There's nothing wrong with your car. Those are normal temps. Actually, they're a little below normal.

 

Thank you guys for the quick response and advise. Lugnut, so the only time I should worry is when the needle goes to red.
B'714 - I open the fuse box at location mentioned but do not see anything that says "cooling fan". Maybe it is under another name.
Guys - Explain to me, are BMW / Explorer better than MB? My 1997 BMW never have such problem and never goes above normal [needle always half way], same goes with my 1999 Explorer. I read a lot in this forum of many people with coolant problem.
Again thank you guys.

 

i'd be under 'aux fans' man, not cooling fan.

 

You worry too much. Don't worry, be happy.

Most important, if it goes to red, worry if it won't come back down to normal (87C) when the car moves or you hear the fans turn on. If you're stopped or in slow rush hour traffic, you can hear the fans if they turn on. The fans will turn on around 100C or so. I don't know exactly, but someone here does I'm sure. It's normal for the temp to fluctuate. It will fluctuate the most during stop 'n' go city driving.

The temp should never reach 100C when you're on the highway. The fans usually don't turn on at highway speeds because they don't help over the air already rushing through the radiator.

It wouldn't hurt to power-flush and fill the coolant on a '97 if it's never been done before. Anti-freeze begins to lose its cooling efficiency after a year or so.

 

thanks guys