Pontiac Repair: 98 pontiac firebird cooling fan/sensor, pontiac firebird, sensor wires

Question
we have replaced the temp sensor and when we plug it up
the fans will not work. when we unplug the sensor the fans
come on all by theirselves! Also the wiring diagrams for the sensor do not have the same color wires as the harness
it has a v6 3.8liter vin k in it. we also had the heads re-worked, due to a blown gasket.

Answer
Hi Cynthia:

your going to need a scan tool for this car to take a look at the data stream for the engine computer to see what is going on with the temp sensor and wether or not the engine computer is seeing the correct tempature and wether or not it is thrying to command the fans on or not when the engine gets hot. by unplugging it it will set a trouble code and by default the engine computer is turning the fans on so the engine will not overheat. untill you know what that sensor is reading it's hard to say what is going on here. As for the wires colors if you have an aftermarket service manual that's what they do not match in color. usually the temp sensor wires are yellow and black but theyy can be ornage and black also. depends on the car/engine. some temp sensors have a 3'rd wire on them that is dark green that is strictly for the guage on some of the older cars I don't belive this onbe has the 3 wire design sensor. Good luck :)