My 330ci overheats when I'm driving in slow moving traffic , it's fine when I'm on the main roads . Iv had a new header tank and thermostat and a new part for the fan because it wasn't kicking in when it was overheating , iv done 130 miles today and it been fine , but when I get back to the city it starts to over heat , iv noticed there is too much oil , would that be a problem

I would double check your fan just to make sure it is coming on at an idle.

Does your oil look the normal color or is it milky looking?

Thank you buddy , how could I check its kicking in on idle by my self ?

Normal looking

With car running and in park. Open your hood and watch/listen for it to come on when you temp rises.

Ok buddy I will go out now and try , need to drain some oil out because its way over the mark by about 2inc more

Why is it over? Have you added any lately? You are checking it with engine off right? Check it a couple of times before you go letting any out.

Check the oil with the engine cool and not running with the car on a flat surface. Too much oil means you're putting too much pressure on the oil seals in the engine which can damage them and lead to serious oil leakages. Run the engine to operating temperature to check the fan operation, it should kick in when it's on operating temperature and there is not enough air flow through the radiator.

No . iv only had it for a couple of weeks and the first night the header tank split so I had a new header tank and thermostat and it still overheated and then I friend of mine that use to work for ocean had a look at it and told me the fan is not kicking in so he replaced the part , it's fine when I travail on longish distance but as soon as I get to the slow moving traffic it starts to get hot but not over so it in the red , then once moving and getting speed up it drops back down ,as soon as it get hot I put the heater on flat out at the highest temp , think you could be right about the fan not kicking in ! When he did the fan it sucked in air and now I can't feel the air being sucked in ?

It's an electric fan, so you can definitely hear it when it's running. If it is kicking in you may want to backflush the radiator and check the thermostat and water pump.

Lol I know how to check the oil , I'm a plant operater and drive a 21 tone digger so I check the oil every morning , but thanks for the help its a automatic so ill drain some oil out in the morning , but thanks agin

Not shore don't think it's electric fan I think he told me it was not an electric and had to replace some part that had a left handed bolt or part of the fan and that the part was stuck and that's why it was overheating

BTW the 330ci has two fans: the thermostatically controlled mechanical fan on the engine and the electric one. Electric is the one that should run when you're in slow traffic and the mechanical fan can't cope (or the A/C is on).

Good catch Lars.

Iv put the ac on and the front fan doesn't kick in , but iv seen it working and not checked if its running when it's overheating

The main fan is always running

Where is the fuse for the ac fan ?

when u turn a/c on both fans should be running no matter what if not u have a fan problem or thermal switch went out also check and see if both fans spin freely not with the car on though

Is there a lam censer on the thermostat

Thanks jay ill look in the morning if both fans spin

Is your car automatic or manual?

Automatic

The oil thing is just some muppet putting too much oil in , the water stays at the right level and blead so I can't see too much air being in there and it would overheat every time I drove it , which it don't always overheat

If you have a USB K/D-CAN interface you can download INPA/EDIABAS to do the diagnostics easier. With that you can turn on the electric fan without needing the engine to run (not to mention the fact that you can read live data and read and reset error codes). Use this on a laptop and you can make diagnosing your issues a lot easier.

Where would I find the fuse for the ac

There should be a legend to the fuse layout in the fusebox.

Can't see one , and the main fan is does not spin the easy so is that a good thing ?

There are two fans for automatic bmw's. One is belt driven off the water pump that has a clutch. I belive you said they replaced a fan clutch. The electric fan in front of the vehicle runs when the a/c is on at max and when the temp rises in the cooling system to much. I would check power and grounds to the electric while the vehicle's a/c is on at max. The plug is on the passenger side of the fan shroud. The big red and brown wires are the power and ground. If there is power on those wires around 12 to 15v. Then you know the electric fan is most likely the issue. If you have no voltage on those wires you will need to check the fuse. The fuse number I think for your car is f37 which is a 50 amp fuse but don't quote me on this. If the fuse is blown it still could be because of the fan taking to much current and blowing the fuse.

if the fan dont spin easy most likely its no good and not coming on

Thank you all for your help , think i might just scrap it

Your belt driven fan should not spin to easy. It Should make a round or two and stop.

Seems that Robert is leading you down the right path to figuring out your issues. Don't give up yet.

I hope it's something simple like the fuse ! But thank god for gfs parts saves going to ocean for parts just hope it's not going too be a big job and cost the earth . The main fan only turns a bit but not all the way around and the air con fan doesn't work at all iv looked today after driving 20 miles to my dads and the car is fine on the main roads but when I get in slow moving traffic it starts to heat up , iv got to go on a 400 mile round trip on Tuesday and worried about taking the car up but iv not got any other cars to drive or money to spend on a hire car

Thanks to all you guys for your help

Ok. Belt driven fan is fine. Check electric fan for voltage. Now it should run if you are sitting still and a/c is on. So turn a/c on full blast and observe if the fan comes on then. If it doesn't check for voltage going to the fan. If 12 volts is present at plug to fan and fan not running I would suggest replacing electric fan.

have your mechanic check your manifold for a leak. This is the number one cause for the issues you are having and mechanics will usually miss it. If your manifold is leaking and your losing fluid that little bit of pressure balanced eating out can cause your phone is back to give you a wrong reading

Maybe your coolant mixture is way off meaning not enough of the distilled water and too much of the actual coolant? Water is much more efficient at removing heat.

Ive got the same issue right now ive replace all the coolant parts except the electric fan. I know the fan works because i took it out and hooked it directly to a battery. While on open roads the car is fine but ine traffic it over heats amd the fan will not come on at idle. Ive checked fuse and everything its all fine but for some reason the fan just will not come on at idle. I dont know what to do from there

I have the exact same problem with my bmw e46 320 coupe when at idel it will over heat but if i rev it or start to drive the temp gauge will come back down does anybody know what the problem could be