My 2005 xc90's Cooling Fan didn't work till the car is turned off.

[Emiljano.xc90]

Hi
I have a xc90 awd 2.4 diesel and I have a problem with the cooling sistem..everytime the car starts to overheat the cooling fan didn't work until I turn of my car..
When I'm climbing mountains or hard roads in summer the car starts to overheat and i'm obligated to turn off my car..Or in the traffic in town, the car everytime I turn it off it starts the cooling fan for about 3 or 4 minutes with a high noise...
The authorized volvo servise in my country(Albania) told me that is not a problem but its from the small engine(2.4),and they can't do nothing..
Anynone faced this problem?? What can I do?

[cuhfs]

Are you sure thermostat and temp sensor are working properly?

[Emiljano.xc90]

I'm not very sure but everytime they've checked my car they say it's everything ok

[ggleavitt]

One might think with all the thousands of diesel Volvo cars in the World market for so many years, if this was a common problem, there would be far more posts. I suspect if you get someone to put VIDA/DICE (Volvo OBD) on the car, it will tell you all about the problem. With VIDA, you can see the history of all alarms the car has experienced plus, in this case, you can directly test the cooling fan via software command (OBD port) and remove it completely from the equation.

For reference, see VIDA-

Engine cooling fan (FC) / engine cooling fan (FC) control module-

The engine cooling fan (FC) has two functions. One is to cool the engine compartment, the other is to cool the condenser when the air conditioning (A/C) compressor is working.

The engine control module (ECM) transmits a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal to the engine cooling fan (FC) control module. The control module then activates the fan at different speeds. The speed of the engine cooling fan (FC) is determined by the engine control module (ECM), depending on the coolant temperature (based on the signal from the engine coolant temperature (ECT) sensor) and the vehicle speed.

Note! The engine cooling fan may have a post-run of up to approx. 6 minutes after the engine has been turned off. The time for the fan's post-run depends on engine temperature, temperature in the engine compartment and pressure level in the AC-system. and Warning! Be careful since the engine cooling fan may have a post-run after the engine has been turned off.

The engine cooling fan (FC) and its control module are behind the radiator.
The engine control module (ECM) can diagnose the engine cooling fan. The fan can be activated using VIDA.

I might suggest, without knowing the cause, that you have a single issue and not two issues. The cooling fan works (as above), possible it's not being properly speed controlled by the ECM, but you know it works. Which at the moment leaves you with an overheating engine (or a temperature sensor that's says your engine is overheating). That, as others have suggested, is the full cooling path with radiator, pump, thermostat, and temperature sensor. The thermostat "kit" (housing, thermostat, temperature sensor) is around 100 EUR in the event you think this might be replaced. And if someone is working on the car and changing the coolant (which you might want to do after all these years), please try and use distilled water and a proper HOAT coolant (Volvo OE or another brand).

First best bet though would be getting the codes read by a Volvo reader (VIDA/DICE), then you can sort out exactly what the car thinks is wrong. If you cannot access VIDA/DICE, then get any generic OBD reader connected and see if reports anything at all.

Good luck!