Went on a greenlane trip today, was all going well , freelander was coping well & keeping up with a purpose built off road monster truck, after a couple of lanes & a steep climb the temp gauge reached the top & the red light came on & it started beeping , stopped the car & openeded the bonnet , it was hot but no fan coming on to cool it, put the heaters on hot to take the heat away & the temp gauge went back down almost instantly, carried on a bit more & it seemed fine, whilst driving a narrow road to get to the next lane the gauge began to fluctuate between the middle & top almost bouncing then went to top with light on again , we stopped & popped bonnet again , checked fuses,all ok , fan was not seized but still not coming on, temp gauge dropped immediately and was fine again, we carried on a but just to get back to main road after calling it a day, problem didn't occur again after that, its never done it before, has anybody else experienced similar problems?

Yes.
During time I've seen the possible causes to be:
1. The fan(s) electronic module is malfunctioning
2. The digital signaling wire (thin one) is broken.
3. The top connector has a bad connection on the same digital signal wire.

Start by removing the top connector, tension a little the digital pin and insert the connector back.
Start the car and then start the air conditioning. After a short while or immediately, the fans should start on the low speed.
If not check the continuity of the signal wire. If all is OK, then look for a new module.
Besides LR, Ford and Volvo have compatible ones.

Off topic slightly but back in the 70's it was quite common to remove the engine driven fan which saved you about 10% of power output and gave lower mpg. The only thing to remember was that on a hot day in traffic you opened the windows and turned the heater on to keep the engine cool. Sounds like the trick still works.  3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Is your radiator full of mud? Common offroad phenomenon... Td4 XS manual, Orkney Grey, MY2014

I have no idea what the thermostat looks like on the Freelander but it should be a basic device. Have had to have it replaced twice on my previous car. The second time was not that long ago.

My car was very hot in the engine bay but the car temperature gauge was showing the engine was cool. I used the internal heater to remove heat. Also in my case keeping the AC on kept the 2 fans spinning.

Engine bay was so hot the fuel was evaporating before it could be burnt.

Had the same problem twice on my first car as well. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I would think when going up muddy tracks the engine is in low gears working hard but youre not going along fast enough for sufficient airflow through the rad to keep the engine cool without the fans coming on.
Problem is during normal motoring the fans hardly come on at all to cool the engine so you only really notice they dont work when you actually need them most.

Wonder if its possible to do how they did in the old days and fit a manual/emergency switch to bypass all the sensors so you can start them yourself if its necessary?

Well this happened to me. Radiator fans not working, A/C gone warm, car running hot when not moving.

After reading a number of posts on some other forums, predominanty in the USA and Australia where the 3.2 is more common, it seems that the fan motors themselves actually wear out. Well the brushes at least.

So I bought the "hot climate" twin fan assembly as a replacement, according to JLR hot climate is the Middle East only, I guess for the LR boffins Australia and South Africa is "nice" rather than "hot" LOL. And as it turns out the twin fan is quite a bit cheaper than the single one. Work that out...

Single fan assembly p/n LR026078, GBP £357
Twin fan assembly p/n LR011905, GBP £289

(these are UK list prices btw, you will probably pay different, as I did, cheers to Dan at Duckworths for sorting me out)

You used to be able to buy the fan control relay module for the single fan assembly as a spare, but not anymore. I guess Land Rover got sick of people buying modules when the fan motor crapped out, and then complaining that it still wasn't fixed.

The twin fan assembly comes with a new module anyhow.

While doing the fan I was planning on replacing the thermostat and the accessory drive belt (it's due in 20k), but i'm a bit time poor this week and the wife wants her car back on the road, so i'll leave that all for the next service.

So instead of pulling the intake manifold as per the workshop manual, i decided to swap out the fans using the bumper off method instead (had been recommended down here in Oz)

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It's funny how the diesels come with the "hot climate" twin fans, well in Australia they do whilst the
Petrol doesn't?
Have no idea why JLR/JLRA think that's a good idea!
Did I mention last week we had 44.2, for example.......
It's was the first time I'd actually heard the fans engage, I suspect, at their max, level
4! MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

My Si4 has 2 fans, just checked!

My previous car with all of 44 kW had 2 fans which were both a good size & AC worked brilliantly in the hottest weather.

My 504 had one fan but it got a second fan when I installed after market AC. I rewired the AC fan so it became a second fan & it helped the car a fair bit in extreme weather. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I guess by the time they changed over to the Si4 they'd realised the twin fans were better... you guys have 2013 and 2015 models, mine's an early build 2008MY (actually it was built in late 2007).

Stu, it was 57c on the highway when my parents drove over from South Oz at Christmas, so I beat you!

The thing with the aircon going warm, is when the engine gets too hot the a/c compressor gets disabled. The twin fan quite likely doesn't do much for the a/c, a working fan however... 2008 Freelander 2 HSE Si6 Black/Black - Hers
2009 Jaguar XKR 4.2 S/C Portfolio
2005 Jaguar XJR 4.2 S/C Black/Cranberry
2005 Jaguar X-Type 3.0L AWD - Gone

Lightwater wrote:

My Si4 has 2 fans, just checked!

My previous car with all of 44 kW had 2 fans which were both a good size & AC worked brilliantly in the hottest weather.

My 504 had one fan but it got a second fan when I installed after market AC. I rewired the AC fan so it became a second fan & it helped the car a fair bit in extreme weather.

Well them obviously JLRA saw sense at some stage then

Cambo, happy to concede! 44.2 if far enough for this "munchkin" to bare!  MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

Here's a thought!
Maybe the single fan setup works harder for longer than the twin
Fan setup which causes module overload and current supply wiring to deteriorate over time. Whereas even thought total wattage of twin fans is higher, because it has four levels/speeds the current draw and loading on the module/supply wiring is far less as it's only ever ticking over at levels 1, 2 ??????? MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

Cambo wrote:

it was 57c on the highway when my parents drove over from South Oz at Christmas,

Cambo wrote:

The thing with the aircon going warm, is when the engine gets too hot the a/c compressor gets disabled. The twin fan quite likely doesn't do much for the a/c, a working fan however...

Lots of water and food in the back of the truck. My old man was on a mine site in WA once it was 65c on the ground. Has some experience with heat

Yes I know the a/c will work "better" with more airflow. But it shut down completely when the fan stopped (car was protecting itself). 2008 Freelander 2 HSE Si6 Black/Black - Hers
2009 Jaguar XKR 4.2 S/C Portfolio
2005 Jaguar XJR 4.2 S/C Black/Cranberry
2005 Jaguar X-Type 3.0L AWD - Gone

Shouldn't the radiator fan come on when the a/c is switched on? If not it could be the actual fan as you have effectively bypassed and ruled out the thermostat/switch etc. Just a thought. Might be a wrong one! Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.