Radiator Fan

My radiator temperature skyrocketted to redline a few days before Chinese New Year, when I was caught in a traffic jam with a friend. The air-cond turned into a heater under the scorching sun, puffing out hot air and thus making it as useful as a heater in the Saharan desert.

I acted like an experienced mechanic as soon as I reached home, opened the bonnet and scrutinised every hose/metal/cover/parts in the engine bay. I waited for the temperature to cool down and checked the radiator coolant level. It was full. Reservoir level was optimum too. I ignited the engine with the radiator cap off. No splashing of coolant off the radiator brim. I checked the radiator fan. It was turning. So what the heck that could have caused my radiator to have such a high fever?!

Knowing that CNY is nearing and the Seremban workshops would surely cut a fat slice of flesh off my neck before closing for the year, I decided to fix it in a friend's shop in Ampang. Afterall, the radiator temperature only rises when the car is caught in a traffic standstill (it rises too while stopping at traffic light but the temperature would go down as soon as the car moves).

Wu Chai, a childhood friend of my uncle, operated this car servicing workshop in Ampang. He checked the radiator fan again, whacked the fan motor with his hand, and gave me a definitive diagnosis of "Terminal Illness of Radiator Fan Motor due to Old Age". In other words, the motor had reached it's end-of-service lifespan and needed to be replaced. He reached to his final diagnosis based on the signs and symptoms of motor old-age, such as inconsistent turning speed, sometimes not turning at all, and rising temperatures at standstill relieved by car movement.

He replaced the disordered motor with a new original item in less than 30 minutes and charged me RM150.00 for it. He said imitation motors priced at about RM60 to RM70 wouldn't last long. Afterall, my original motor only died after more than 3 years. So there it went, the last car repair before the Year of Boar arrive. Wanted to repair my car's dented arse, but the workshop I wanted to go closed two days early for CNY.