Why does my car fan keep coming on?

please dont laugh at me, im not the most mechanically minded person. when i park my car up and turn off the engine, the fan keeps coming on for a few minutes under the bonnet. is there a serious problem? do i need to put some water in or coolant or something. thanks.

Sounds like its getting to warm, check the water level in the rad, but if thats ok, then i wouldn't worry unless the temp gague comes on whilst you are travelling in it

thanks fritz. its just something i noticed last night and was wondering if it might be a serious thing.

Hot weather can be a significant factor in this.

The fan is controlled by a thermostat. While the car's moving the air passing over the radiator is usually enough to keep it cool. When you stop, so does the airflow, so the temperature rises enough to switch on the fan, which then cools it down. Like Steve said, warm weather can affect it. It's quite normal, nothing to worry about, it just shows the system is working!

It sounds to me like your car is reacting to the loss of air flow through the engine that's caused by you stopping- as long as it doesn't carry on for a long time and your coolant levels are normal then it's fine, normal and meant to happen to cool your engine down in hotter weather.