I have an F Reg Volvo 240 GL estate car, bought from new with about 157000 miles on clock. It started to overheat today at start of journey when it went into the red. As soon as I got a decent speed it returned to the normal middle position on the temperature gauge. The water level was a little low but nothing too bad. I topped up anyway. The temperature rose one more time for a few seconds then came down again. It was not particularly related to standing in a traffic queue but just randomly while driving on a 25 mile journey. It happened again on the return journey, again not necessarily while waiting in traffic. I also have a Kenlow electric fan that cuts in when its thermostat turns on - this was installed when I used to tow a caravan to help reduce engine temperature in slow traffic. The electric fan works OK as it overruns when turning the engine off after a journey.
Has anyone got any ideas what makes it overheat intermittently like this as I am worried about reliability on long journeys.
Thanks
Graham Brooker