| Car: | Ford | Fiesta | CX (Mk3) | RS Turbo | Hatchback |
| Engine: | CVH | 0 | Inline 4 | (EFI) | Turbocharged | Petrol |
Fiesta RS Turbo cooling system overhaul
The FRST is infamous for cooling issues, on the whole this is unfounded and often down to poorly maintained examples, however there is an inherent design flaw with the cooling fan wiring and relay.
The FRST tends to run much hotter than the rest of the range and hence the fan is on for a greater percentage of time, the wiring is not upgraded for the car and isn't up to the job. As the cars get older and the wiring oxidises then problems can occur such as burnt out wires and relay mounts, leaving no cooling fan and an overheated engine.
The stock Ford wiring is bypassed on my car, and the fan is fed directly from the battery via a separate relay installed with thicker gauge wiring than Ford used.
The cooling fan is critical to system performance on the RS, so on account of this I replaced the fan switch in the thermostat housing with a new Ford item. The the temperature gauge sender (above left) was also replaced and a brand new sender wire woldered in place of the old one.
I wanted to ensure the entire cooling system was in 100% condition, so went through the entire system looking for potential trouble areas. As a matter of course I replace the thermostat and gasket when rebuilding an engine. The radiator is a re-cored unit, eliminating the possibility of sludge decreasing its efficiency. All coolant hoses were examined, and any that were in not in excellent condition were replaced with new genuine Ford hoses.© Mark Stewart, Wednesday 15th June 2005
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