Thread: P38 Overheating in Hot Weather/Condenser Fan Failure

p38 condensor fans do not work as most mechanics think they will. the manual must be read carefully to understand what is going on. it also depends on what engine management system you have.

Mine never came on so I shorted the wires on one of the switches so they come on with the air con. I thought this would be benificial however it may be when the car is not moving but at speed the temp seemed to be higher than normal so i undid my mod.
If you are running hot check your Rad for blockages.

The condensor fans are more connected with the air-con system than the cooling (radiator) system - and won't come on if you're engine is overheating until waaaaay too late. You can either short them on permanently (low or high speed) or put a switch in to activate them at your pleasure. A few threads on this exist - have a search

I'm aware that they only come on in conjunction with the Air Con System... and that if you turn off Air Con as per the switch it normally turns these fans off completely.

This is the first Summer I've owned a Range Rover, so it appears I may need to investigate my cooling system further. During normal/non-extreme temperature days everything seems to operate as "Normal" (Temp guage just to the Right Hand Side of the Middle Point)

I turned the Air Con off whilst I was having the overheating type issues and that dropped the temperature back to normal for a significant time, hence why I felt the lack of functioning Condenser fan may have been a cause.

When I first had my car the temp guage would be at 12 oclock most of the time and a little to the right on hot days in traffic. On a trip out in heavy mud up to the sills the car overheated. I was with a group of knowledgeable AULRO members who insisted the rad was past its best. What did they know, It cooled down once out of the mud and all was well. A couple of days after, coming off the freeway into a long traffic queue the car boiled over. That was it, the world had come to an end, the block would be cracked a liner slipped and the car scrapped. I left the car by the side of the road returning many hours later. Filled with coolant and drove home with no overheating dramas?
Took the rad out and to a Rad Shop. Rad was almost completely blocked. 9yrs old and 185ks. Rad shop butchered the Rad so it was not repairable
Got new Rad from UK and thank god all was well. Now car runs around 11 oclock and only up to 12 if in heavy traffic.
When I had the condenser fans running all the time with the air con the temp stayed around 12 oclock not moving down to 11.

I think it might be time to check my radiator also. Even thought the car has only done 147,000kms on hot days with air con on, when stopped at traffic lights, she heats up. But when on the move, all is well. I'm guessing somethings wrong here.

Redandy you should go straight to a radiator specialist joint for a check and get them to list recommendations. Mine did similar stuff a couple of years ago not long before it blew its top and cost me about $6K for a new short motor.

I've ordered a New Radiator as a "Consumable" Item. Hopefully this resolves the issue. If not will look at Water Pump ete next...