S40: 2001 1.8 petrol S40 engine and fan trouble

[mariopen]

Hi all, first of all I am new to the forum, seems like a really nice place and I look forward to being part of it.

I have a problem with my 2001 1.8 petrol S40. I had it parked for over a month and a half at my house as I was away. Today I replaced the battery as the old one was long overdue and tried starting the engine. That's where my problems started.

It started fine, however I noticed some weird problems. First of all the Service light stayed on for about a minute then went off. Engine sputters when I don't rev it up. I thought this was due to no gas in the fuel lines so I revved it up for a bit. It stabilises if I keep it at around 1300-1500 RPM.

The more amazing issue was that as soon as I turned the engine off and prepared to take the key out I heard the radiator fan going on. The only way I could stop it was by disconnecting the battery and re-connecting it again.

I started the engine a second time but this time the check engine and service lighst both came on + the same problem with the fan. And the engine still splutters like mad. It gets a bit better as it warms up.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[dcw]

Hi

As far as I know the service light works on time/miles passed. It lights up at start once about 11 months and/or somewhere just short of 10,000 miles has passed since it was last reset. It's normal behaviour to go out after 2 minutes. It will keep doing that until you reset it (obviously it intends that done as part of a service!).

I think it is coincidence that this one is lighting up now - someone else may know differently but I do not understand that particular light to be connected up in any "diagnostic function".

As for the other problems, it sounds as if your coolant temperature sensor may have given up, or perhaps has a bad connection. You say the car has been standing - has it got very damp? I imagine you have probably checked all connections are tight, but you can see this one by the thermostat housing so I'd double check it first.

Also, you've changed the battery - are its connections tight, in particular the negative?

David

[mariopen]

Hi David,
It is an underground garage, so I'd imagine it may be the case that it could be damp, Should I unplug and clean the connectors? Also, would that explain the engine spluttering?

[gatos]

First of all, do you have the 1.8 Volvo engine or the 1.8i GDI Mitsubishi one?

With regards to the fan, I suspect the MAF, assuming you have the 1.8 Volvo engine. Or a badly split hose somewhere in the intake.

With regards to the Service light, as DCW has already said, it comes up after a year or a set mileage.

To reset it, try this:

- Turn key to position 1.
- Push and hold odometer reset thingy and turn the key to position 2.
- Keep holding down the odometer until the service light starts flashing.
- Release odometer and you are done