Fiat Bravo Quiz

Engine cooling

In this manual: Engine cooling
Dear Reader — 1Engine — 35Engine lubrication — 3Engine cooling — 10Ignition/spark plugs — 14Fuel system — 10Petrol fuel injection — 13Diesel injection system — 13Exhaust system — 7Clutch — 7Transmission / Gearshift / Automatic Transmission — 5Front Axle — 11Rear axle — 4Steering — 9Wheel alignment — 1Brake system — 22Wheels and tyres — 10Body — 34Heating — 6Electrical system — 39Lighting system — 14Instruments — 7Windscreen wiper system — 8Vehicle care / tools — 6Jump Starting / Towing the Vehicle — 3Jacking up the vehicle — 1Fiat Bravo / Brava Maintenance Schedule — 1Maintenance — 38Wiring diagrams — 5
22steps
~132min
4/5difficulty
Done 0 of 22

The coolant circuit is thermostatically controlled. While the engine is cold, coolant circulates only in the cylinder head, the engine block and the heater heat exchanger.

As the engine warms up, the thermostat opens the coolant flow through the radiator. The coolant is moved by the coolant pump, which on the 1.6 l engine is driven by a V-belt and on all other engines by the camshaft timing belt. The coolant flows through the radiator from top to bottom and is cooled by air passing the cooling fins. As soon as the coolant temperature rises to approx. +92 °C, a thermoswitch switches on the electric fan. If the coolant temperature falls below +87 °C, the thermoswitch switches the fan off again. Models with diesel engine or air conditioning have a two-stage fan; the fan runs faster in stage 2. The temperature difference between switching on the first and second fan stages is about 5 °C. Note: on the 1.8 l engine the fan is switched on by the engine control unit.

The expansion tank serves as a coolant reservoir and absorbs coolant expansion when heated. The cooling system is under pressure at operating temperature. A valve in the expansion tank cap limits the pressure to 0.98 bar, and on the diesel engine to 0.78 bar.

Warning: when the engine is warm, the radiator fan may switch on suddenly even with the ignition key removed – risk of injury! Only reach into the fan area when the engine has cooled down.

Coolant circuit 1.6 l petrol engine (1.8/1.9/2.0 l engines are similar to the illustration)
Kühlmittelkreislauf 1,6-l-benzinmotor (1,8-/1,9-/2,0-l-motoren sind ähnlich der abbildung ausgeführt)

  1. Radiator

  2. Electric fan

  3. Coolant hose to radiator

  4. Thermostat

  5. Coolant pump

  6. Coolant hose to heat exchanger

  7. Heater heat exchanger

  8. Coolant hose from heat exchanger

  9. Coolant hose from radiator to pump

  10. Expansion tank

Coolant circuit 1.4 l engine
Kühlmittelkreislauf 1,4-l-motor

  1. Radiator

  2. Electric fan

  3. Expansion tank

  4. Coolant pump

  5. Coolant hose to throttle body

  6. Coolant hose from throttle body

  7. Heater heat exchanger

  8. Coolant hose from heat exchanger

  9. Coolant hose to heat exchanger

  10. Thermostat

  11. Coolant hose to radiator

  12. Coolant hose from radiator to pump

Test yourself

A quick Fiat Bravo quiz: every answer comes with an explanation and a link to the manual page.