QuestionQUESTION: Hi Kevin,
Both radiator fans (driver and passenger sides) don't work.
both had been replaced. worked for 3 days and then stopped.
would appreciate your kind response.
best regards
ANSWER: Hi Roni,
Fuse 27 (40 amp) in the very rear of the box in the engine compartment (next to an 'open' relay socket) is what powers both fan motors via a fan relay which is mounted in front of the radiator, on the metal structural crosspiece at the lower edge of the radiator. If that fuse keeps blowing (try one more) then either one of the fans is shorting it out, or the relay itself has gone bad and is blowing the fuse. I would suspect the relay which is 'solid state' and those can blow out and do. It has to be attached tightly to the crosspiece so as to dissipate heat so it won't blow out quickly, so attach a new one with that in mind. To get to it you remove the panel that connects the radiator upper crossmember to the facia and then you can reach down to disconnect the plug and remove the rivets that hold it in place.
Roland
PS Sorry for the delay but I just found your question in the 'pool' to which Kevin had sent it. Please 'rate' my answer, and where you see the question about a 'nomination' for me to be 'volunteer of the month' consider giving a 'yes' reply. Thank you.
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QUESTION: Hi Roland,
Thanks for the reply!
The fuse is ok and it doesn't keep blowing up. I even had it swapped with the other fuse with the same spec in the panel.
The relay socket has been replaced already.
Both fans don't work when engine starts and even when the temperature gauge starts climbing up.
But when I turn on the a/c, both fans start working after about a minute or two. Because it is cold season, i had to turn off the a/c. The fan stops again after a minute or two of turning off the a/c.
Your reply would be very much appreciated. (i would definitely nominate you for the volunteer of the month!)
ANSWER: Hi Roni,
That clarification puts a different light on the issue. So the fans are working when the a/c is requested. Therefor the problem, if there is one, is control of the fan circuit. When you don't have the a/c activated the fans come into play based upon the engine coolant temp sensor located near the thermostat housing. You didn't mention whether the engine temp is going past the half-way mark without the fans coming 'on' or worse that you are getting to the H and loosing coolant. If you have no such issues then it would be normal to not have fan action. If you are overheating as shown by the gauge or the loss of coolant then it would be either the temp sensor is inaccurate (it should read about 1,000 ohms across its terminals or so when the engine is at operational temp), or there is air trapped in the thermostat housing area such that the sensor is not actually bathed in the coolant. Those would be the possibilities if you do have an issue.
Roland
PS Thanks for giving me a rating and nomination.
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QUESTION: how can i correct these:
-- temp sensor is inaccurate
-- there is air trapped in the thermostat housing
thanks!
AnswerHi Roni,
You didn't tell me how the temp gauge is responding but assuming that it indeed shows you are running up toward and beyond the 3/4 point without the fans coming on then I would believe there is a possibility that there is something wrong with the gauge or the sensor unless you also sense that the engine is indeed running hot. But the fans will not come on unless the temp of the coolant reaches to 104 C as explained below.
My suggestion is to measure the resistance across the terminals of the sensor with a volt-ohm meter to see whether it reads several thousand ohm when cold, and then as the engine reaches normal operating temp is should drop to around 1,000 ohms. If so, then the sensor is OK. The fans would come on when the resistance drops further to maybe 500-700 ohms, and the temp is actually 104 C. As the temp rises the duty cycle of the fans increases.
To get to the sensor for measuring the resistance you may need to (and certainly if you want to remove it) remove the power steering reservoir and the spark coil bracket. It would be helpful to you if you had two or three of pages from the shop manaul that show the location of the sensor and the removal details. I can copy those off of a CD and attach them to an email that I will send to you. Although you tell Allexperts your address, I routinely do not see that so you must tell me it in the body of a NEW question.
To give me your email address you must ask a NEW question (not a follow-up) and click on the box to make it PRIVATE. Then list that address in the message area. If you don't follow that instruction I will not see your address as it will be erased automatically.
As to air in the thermostat housing, that is unlikely to be the problem if your overflow bottle show there to be coolant present between the low and high marks when the engine is cold.
This system otherwise has no special procedures for filling it so as to avoid trapped air. Did the problem begin shortly after servicing of the coolant system?
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer, and where you see the question about a nomination of me to be volunteer of the month" consider a "yes" answer. Thanks for doing that again!
