sonix7

hey everyone I am trying to figure out why my fans are not working right. I have power to the fans and they work. its just they don't turn on normally. I havenew relays to go in but when I disconnected the old ones this is what the harness plugs looked like. do these look good or are they shot.

sonix7

some mo, what do you guys think?

ijneb

Mine looked similar and I had no issues.

zullo

Get some electrical component cleaner to try and soak out some of the muck, then you'll have a better idea if all the contacts are good.

If one of the four contacts is bad it can lead to the fans not coming on at high or low but still work otherwise. The FSM documents how to diagnose.

If they're just not coming on at the right time, check your thermoswitch.

sonix7

where can I get electrical parts cleaner and what would I be looking for? (brand) thanx

KaiFD3S

iTrader: (37)

here you go

http://www.xtrememotorsportsgear.com/Qstore/p000038.htm

sonix7

very nice. thanx KaiFD3S. is your name Kai. or is that a reference to a kai turbo. my sons name is Kai. thanx again.

KaiFD3S

iTrader: (37)

Your welcome, and yes, Kai is my name, well more like a nick name...this is what all my friends call me..

Kento

Explain "they don't turn on normally."

Some of your connectors are looking pretty hammered, though, like they're getting ready to fail sometime soon.

sonix7

I had a cooling fan issue. my old fans the drivers side fan shroud melted or something and it got turned at a weird angle got caught on the radiator and then it stopped working, I think it burnt the fan motor out. the other side was working. I mean coming on when the ac was turned on. I replaced the whole fan assembly and now the fans won't come on at all with the ac. I know they work cause I tapped into the wire that goes directly into the fans and hooked up a toggle switch to turn them off and on. with this they come on high speed. anyway when I turn the ac on even after the car is fully warmed up and the thermostat is open. no fans. so I figured through my research that the fan relays must be burnt. I do not have a meter to check so I just got some new relays (not put in yet) when I was disconnecting the old relays this is what the harness/plugs looked like and I thought they looked pretty messed up. I have always known that there is a fuse for the cooling fans but could not locate it, to check if this is it. I just figured I would replace the relays and see if they came on. I have a stock thermoswitch in there and I want to change it but I don't want to have to pull everything a part to do it. I may just have to anyway. so this is what I have been doing to try and fix this. I did include some pics of the old fans. check out how tilted the fan shroud is. it is not loose at all. maybe you can help?

DamonB

Why not just plug everything up and with an Ohm meter check the resistance of the entire run from the relay to the motor? They're very cheap. If the fans failed and then were stuck they would have been pulling a lot of current and this could easily have damaged the wiring or connectors. If the resistance of the path from the relays to the fan is high then that's your culprit.

According to page Z-42 in the FSM the fans themselves pull current through the 60A cooling fan fuse in the engine compartment and the coils of the relays receive power from the meter fuse in the driver's footwell. If the 60A fuse were blown the fans could not ever run. If the meter fuse were blown you'd notice the dash not working.

Most likely the reason your fans melted was because the motor began to fail and overheated. This melted the fan shroud and pulled a lot of current through the wiring as the motor becgan to bind, especially if this happened over time. I think you have damaged wiring and/or connectors.

sonix7

DamonB, thanx that is the most straight foward answer I have got on this issue. dude I am the worst electrician in the world. I do have a partial college degree in computers but the networking side of it. let me get this straight I need a regular ohm meter and check it via the FSM page z-42. I know the FSM is a little confusing. maybe I can get someone that knows more about electrical stuff to help. anyway I do have new relays and harness on the way so maybe that will fix this problem. thanx for your help.

Kento

Do you have the new relays already on hand? (one post says you have them, the other says they're "on the way") If so, just plug those in to replace the old ones and see where that gets you. The 60A fan fuse is located in the big fuse box behind the battery (considering the condition of your relay connectors, I'd take a look at your fuse boxes to make sure they're not full of muck). If you still have problems, then you've obviously got some open wire/grounding issues.

sonix7

yeah, they are being sent to me right now. I do not have them yet. I will check the fuse box. I never knew that was where the fuse was. I have been trying to figure that out. thanx. I am going to see if someone I know can help me check the wires with an ohm meter too. all of you have been a big help. I thank you. Iwill report back when I figure it out.

turbodrx7

iTrader: (43)

just turn ur AC on fans will come on

sonix7

I am a ******* ediot sometimes. I finally found the fuse for the fans. I guess I have to learn how to read. thanx to Kento I looked right at it and sure enough the fuse is blown. it ain't corroded or anything just blown. this was probably the problem all along. damn. I need to pay attention to detail more. anyway if this is the culprit then goodnight fan problem. thanks to everyone and especially Kento.

sonix7

can I get these fuses at the local hardware store. I hope so. I will report back in the morning to let you all know.

DamonB

You said in your first post that "I have power to the fans and they work. its just they don't turn on normally". You cannot have running fans if that 60A fuse is blown!

Kento

When he described "tapping into the wire that powers the fan with a switch", I figured he was bypassing the fuse box-- which incidentally is dangerous if you have any problems with your fans or fan motors without any fuses to keep from melting anything or starting an electrical fire.