Pontiac Repair: Pontiac Bonneville engine fans, pontiac bonneville, correct temp

Question
The car is overheating and the engine fans are not coming on, but when I turn the engine off, they spin briefly, any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Bill:

What year is this car and what engine? Are you sure it's overheating and not just the gauge is off? Does the a/c still work on this car and is it warm out? if it's warm enough out the a/c clutch should come on and after a short while the fans should run with the a/c on. If not then it can be a few things. Either the engine temp sesnor is bad and not seeing the correct temp or the engine computer is not turning the fan relay(s) on. with out the aid of a scan tool It's hard to tell you what's wrong with this. If you had access to a scanner you can see fan relay command and engine tempature readings in the engine data. Good luck :)