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Fan issues

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FRslimmyjim

FRslimmyjim

10+ Year Contributor
144
2
Dec 28, 2010
warwick, New York
today i was driving it and it started to over heat and i went to help cool it down by turning the a/c on so the fan will turn on(i deleted the a/c) but it worked. But then it started to over heat again after awhile and i came to find out the a/c fan isnt turning on anymore:banghead:. What can i change or check for this?? i am so fed up with this damn car:banghead::cry:. My power steering pump is also making a crazy loud ugly noise. So i took that off. I need to fix this fan by tomorrow afternoon so i can go to work. any help would be appreciated. thanks
 
you should check the fuses. Also if you deleted the AC, the AC fan might no longer run. I would think that it is connected within the AC circuitry, so that it will only come on when coolant reaches a predetermined temperature AND the AC compressor clutch is engaged. Also, if the car start to run too hot, turn on the heat not AC. That will pull heat from the coolant.
 
When it over heats the left fan should come on if it doesn't you have a fuse out probably. You can also wire the ac fan so they both come on but im not sure what all you have to do but you can search for it in the threads. I would replace your thermostat first since its cheap and see if that cools your car down.
 
Check the cheaper fixes first and turn on the heat and put windows down if overheating
 
Check the fuses/relays. Then once those are known to be good, disconnect the pigtail to the fan and run a positive and negative lead from the battery. Then jump the fan with these leads to verify that the motor is still good. If the fan doesn't turn on, replace fan. If they do turn on, check to make sure the coolant temp sensor is reading properly to the ecu. Also check the factory wiring, especially the ground sides. If you can verify that the fan is getting power all the way to the fan, and the fan still isn't working on its own. It is on the ground side, which is what the ecu controls. The ecu doesn't apply (+) power, just switches (-) ground. There is a possibility it could be a bad ecu, but many more tests you can do before that. A test light and multimeter will be your best friend here man!
 
Well i checked all the fuses and they are all fine. My cooling fan does turn on but its not enough. The a/c fan does turn on. So i ran a wire from the a/c fan wire to a switch then to a gauge in the car so i can turn it on with a switch now. But the car still wants to run hot. Would water wetter help?? Also where do i install a after market water temp gauge?? Can i just take out the factory one and put in the aftermarket one? Im running only 6psi right now for the break in but it is a completely built motor with 8.6-1 wiseco pistons. The only thing i haven't touched is the cams and cam gears YET muahaha
 
Have you checked the thermostat (It could be sticking), checked your coolant levels and checked the clarity of the coolant? If your coolant is old, you could be getting build up in your radiator blocking flow? Also is it only overheating when stopped and idling or is it overheating while driving as well?

Reason why I asked is that if your overheating while driving down the road, it's more likely to be a flow problem rather then a fan problem.
 
Water wetter may help him some, but doubt it will cure his problem. The distilled water is a good idea, since it has less mineral components and will help reduce the amount of mineral deposits left inside the radiator. But keep in mind, youll want to run a mixture of coolant, water and water wetter additive if you live in a cold climate that has freezing conditions. Coolant keeps your system from freezing and it lubricates the systems as well. Water wetter lubricates but does not help the system from freezing.

Now, if your having temp problems even when driving and you stated that the thermo is new and coolant is new, my only thing would be to check and make sure the thermo is facing the correct way, (sounds like a stupid thing to say, but it can and has happened to me in the past) the next thing you might wanna look into is vapor lock. Not sure how common this is in dsm's but it may be possible. (You just need to get the cap higher then the radiator, by parking the vehicle on a decline then running the system with the cap off and allowing the system to flow. You can do this with the cap on as well, but I like to leave the cap off the monitor more closely.) Just don't do it if the system is already hot. The last thing I would do would be more labor involved and would be to take the radiator out and have it flow tested. Should be around 15-20 bucks for a shop just to flow test your radiator.

Without being there in person, these are the steps that I would take to attempt to pinpoint the problem.
 
I used a new water pump. I put water wetter in and it has been better. But when im driving the temp rises quite a bit and then it drops out and just stays at operating temperature. Should i get a colder themostat?? I can see it flowing but i will try that vapor lock thing once i stop typing this LOL. I kind of have a feeling if i go with a colder temp thermostat then that would solve my problems. Second opinion??
 
go with a 160 degree thermostat for sure. Since your running turbo do you have exhaust wrap or anything? I know that stuff makes a big difference with engine bay temps and could cause your car to overheat some what while driving.
 
I don't have heat wrap on it. I have a log manifold and don't know how to heat wrap that. Im definitly going to go with the lower thermostat. Can i get that at autozone?? Or do i have to get it online?
 
I dont think autozone would have it I got mine from howellautomotive.com they are the only place online I know of that carries it for the 420a. They have exhaust wrap on there also but I would look into that more. You can search on here for the right way to do the wrap and what is the better stuff to use.
 
No, the a/c fan only comes on when you turn the a/c on. But I have wired mine to turn on by a switch on my dashboard. I did this to just get to work LOL. But once i get a chance i will wire it up to my cooling fan so when the cooling fan turns on the a/c fan will also turn on.
 
understandable, my normal fan broke so i just plugged into the ac fan and that fan comes on but i have a code a p1490 and it says low fan so i figured maybe it was cause of the ac fan not plugged in
 
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