When I had bypassed the switch, I broke one of the connectors off the Lucas relay that controls the fan.   Therefore, I ordered an upgraded temperature sensor from Coolcat.   I also ordered a new Lucas relay from XKs Unlimited, trying to get the same one I already had.   This was for two reasons.  Firstly, it looked good compared to the normal black square relays, and secondly the mounting tab was already there and in the right place.

While I waited for these parts, I bypassed the temperature sensor and let the fan run all the time.   It was summer in Sydney so it would have run much of the time anyway.   On a drive in November, the fan failed again.   This time it had blown the fuse.    I resolved to fix this properly before I drove the car again.

The way the relay had been wired in baffled me.   It was using the same source for both the main 12v feed and the switching source.   Even though the E-Type radiator fan does not draw very much current, it seemed odd to wire it up this way.   My car has the Coolcat fan, which draws similar current to the stock fan.

I therefore ran a 12v power source with in-line fuse to the relay and used the car’s normal power source just to switch the relay on.   This should prevent the fuse from blowing.    I started with a 10A fuse as the fan is rated at 7, but it blew this so I went to a 15.  It would appear that the starting current is a little higher.

Unfortunately, while the picture on the XKs Unlimited website showed the same red cylindrical relay I had previously, the one that arrived was a regular black square one, except it was made by Lucas.    I was about to drain the coolant on the header tank to replace the switch, when it occured to me to test the one I had first.  I knew my original problem was either switch or relay.   Since I had broken the original relay disconnecting it, it made sense to test the switch with the new relay.   Lo and behold, it worked fine.    I now have a spare sensor, and a working car.

After that, I took the car on an extended drive up to Gosford via the old Pacific Highway and the fan performed as it should.   I made sure I included a spare fuse in he car, but luckily I didn’t need it.

Until I can source the correct relay, I have used a zip tie to attach it to the mounting point.   At that time, i will try and tuck in the new red wire a little better.    The sticker on the radiator header tank shows the temperature.   Great for checking the fan sensor is working!

It was good to get behind the wheel of the E-Type after a couple of months.  Even better that it didn’t overheat.    I continue to be very happy with the diff ratio change I did.   Third gear is now a useful gear for twisty roads, like it should be.    In addition, the halogen lights are excellent, better than even cars from the 80s.   The E-Type series one is known for poor lighting, bug once its upgraded to Halogen it’s great!

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Turns out that when my car was painted, the labels for the wires came off.   When it was re-assembled, the car was doing some really strange things. This pointed to the wires not being connected back the same way.    This was further complicated by the fact that my car was modified for headlight relays.   This is a good thing,  but the way it was done meant some wires were no longer used.    The general way the wiring  is supposed to work is that each front wing is independent and the wiring is only for that side.   My car has been fitted with relays, which have broken that philosophy in that wiring from the passengers side crosses over to the drivers side.  Some connections (particularly on the drivers side) are no longer needed.   This is primarily because the battery is on the passengers side.

When I got the car back I was getting some really strange behavior from the front end lights.   So I disconnected everything again.

My thought process was to first identify the source wires with a multi-meter by turning on each function in the car.   I could then use a test lead to identify the destination wires.   I got a few odd results, but I was able to try and identify wires and colour code them.

A friend came over to help with this process as its easier to have one person turning switches and the other armed with a multi-meter.   Our efforts were not all that fruitful. So far we have the horn blowing when the high beams are turned on.    I’m also seeing low beam on the opposite side but not the drivers side.

I then moved to a far simpler task for the re-assembly.  I had purchased new washers for the rear wing bolts so as not to scratch my new paint when removing them.

As can be seen, there is a big difference in the old cracked ones, and the new ones.

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In addition, the clutch master was found to be rather corroded and the slave needed cleaning and re-attaching properly as it had worked loose over the years.

All good, the Jag is now ready for another year on the road.

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