Radiator fuse keeps popping

[90_eclipse]

hey guys,

For the past week I noticed when the car would idle at a light for an extended time it would overheat. The annoying part is that I would have to use the AC fan to cool it down. Eventually, I realized that I didn't hear the radiator fan spinning, so I took a look around.

Eventually, I noticed a tool lodged in the radiator fan. Don't bash, I already feel stupid. I ended up noticing that the radiator fuse located on the positive terminal wire for the radiator popped. replaced it with a 30a, then a day later noticed it popped again. replaced it about 3-4 times and I figured it was a short somewhere since they don't just pop like that.

I'm assuming the fan shorted, but the weird part is that it will spin when it needs to for a while until the fuse pops. So essentially the fan "works", but something is making the fuses tick. My guess? Definitely fan. Any other ideas?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Sounds like a bad ground somewhere, or a wire touching something it shouldnt. You could just hook up a switch, to control it manually.

 

[boostNmetal]

You may have caused some Rad Fan Motor Winding damage when you had the tool lodged in there. It sounds like your fan motor isn't 'dead shorted' as it would not turn at all and it would immediately blow the fuse.

I had a look in the service manual, but they don't specify nominal rad fan motor winding resistance.

A great troubleshooting tool for faults like this is a DC Clip-On Ammeter. This would allow you to measure current draw by clipping the meter onto the positive wire to the fan motor. Also, you could check for a ground fault (a possibility) by disconnecting the fan motor connector and measuring for current as close to the fuse as possible. A current flow with the fan disconnected would indicate a ground fault.

Either way, it sounds to me like you have a Rad fan motor with some shorted windings.

Hope this helps.

 

[BLINKY619]

i have it with my ignition switch... works great...

 

[boostNmetal]

Sounds like a bad ground somewhere, or a wire touching something it shouldnt. You could just hook up a switch, to control it manually.

This likely will not fix the original problem. Hooking it up with a switch in this manner will still continue to blow the fuse unless the initial problem was a ground fault/wiring issue.