Cooling Fan

I have a 1992 Saturn SL2 and after all the problems I've had with it there are a few more that need to be fixed and if I can avoid going to the dealership to have it done it would be great. Anyway....(this might be hard to explain) but my cooling fan doesnt come on by itself, it works but I have to plug it in...its not the relay because its been changed twice...its the connection between the relay and the fan I guess...and my Dad is a mechanic but he doesn't know if he himself can fix it or how to go about doing it....so if anyone has ran into this problem or if anyone knows how to fix this problem without going to the dealership please let me know. Thank You.

I would bet you a jelly donut and a cup of coffee that it's the ECTS. My SW2 had intermittent fan-not-working problems, and it would heat up at idle. Turning on the AC turned on the fan. So I was in the strange position of counseling my daughter to leave the AC on at idle to cool the engine. :cwm27:

Replacing the ECTS, less than $20 and a 13 mm deep socket, solved that problem. Unexpectedly, it also solved several other problems, including rough idle, poor mileage (I think--still checking), and intermittent engine heat spikes. Get the ECTS at the dealer. They are way better than the knock-offs.

I have a 1992 Saturn SL2 and after all the problems I've had with it there are a few more that need to be fixed and if I can avoid going to the dealership to have it done it would be great. Anyway....(this might be hard to explain) but my cooling fan doesnt come on by itself, it works but I have to plug it in...its not the relay because its been changed twice...its the connection between the relay and the fan I guess...and my Dad is a mechanic but he doesn't know if he himself can fix it or how to go about doing it....so if anyone has ran into this problem or if anyone knows how to fix this problem without going to the dealership please let me know. Thank You.
why dont you just run a ground wire to the frame and run a positive wire to your ignition so when you put the key in the second position on the colum it will automaticly come on and you wont have to worry about your engine overheating.peace!

why dont you just run a ground wire to the frame and run a positive wire to your ignition so when you put the key in the second position on the colum it will automaticly come on and you wont have to worry about your engine overheating.peace!you need to cut the wires on the fan plug-in.hit me up if you got any ?

if anyone wants, Wolfman posted a how to for a fan override switch on saturnfans.com.

you don't want the fan on all the time. obiviously you don't want the fan on during a cold start up, also, having the fan on at higher speeds(40-70mph?) in fact HINDERS airflow across the radiator. in fact the PCM shuts the fan off at high speed. even if the A/C is on the the engine is overheating i think.

Your fan is working as designed. The fan normaly comes on at 3/4 on the temp gauge, almost into the red. You should check out e-bay for Saturn adjustable electronic fan switch.

I have a 1992 Saturn SL2 and after all the problems I've had with it there are a few more that need to be fixed and if I can avoid going to the dealership to have it done it would be great. Anyway....(this might be hard to explain) but my cooling fan doesnt come on by itself, it works but I have to plug it in...its not the relay because its been changed twice...its the connection between the relay and the fan I guess...and my Dad is a mechanic but he doesn't know if he himself can fix it or how to go about doing it....so if anyone has ran into this problem or if anyone knows how to fix this problem without going to the dealership please let me know. Thank You.


You have a temp switch that is bad, cost about $10. If you have a/c turn it on and make sure the fan is working. If it works with the air on and will not pick up on it's own above 3/4 on your temp gauge the switch is bad.