Radiator Fan

1.9, 1994 sw, car will overheat, the fan won't turn on, I've tried turning on the A/C, fan still won't turn on, Replaced fan,same results,If I put direct power to it it'll run.I switched the relays under the hood and everthing works except the fan. any Ideas????? :banghead:

I had a VW like that. It ended up that the wiring had gone bad somewhere in the cooling fan circuit. I ended up running my own circuit, with in line fuse and lighted dash board switch and just kept and eye on the temp gage and manually turned the fan on when needed.

yea it sounds like a bad wire. 14 year old wiring . the easyest way to do it is. just run it seperate with a switch. when you are moving the rad won't let the collant get pass 1/2 half ( i went 2 weeks with my fan motor died). any other thing is it could be maybe is your ECTS

Thanks I thought no one had any idea. I don't think it's the ect because the look brand new and I was told it was replaced.

I was wondering..... If i hooked the fan up so if the car is running the will run and if the car is off the fan is off would that work. (the wife my drive it also)

You could have the fan run all the time, just make sure that the thermostat is up to snuff, and it will control how hot the coolant gets. Setting it up to run all the time would also eliminate the accidental, "I forgot to turn on the fan and I let the car idle for half an hour and now there's smoke pouring out from under the hood" scenario. That happened to my VW that I metioned earlier. That quote was from my wife.

Either way, it'll probably be OK.

Replace the ECTS AND connector. There are two sensors for coolant temp. Replace the one with TWO wires coming from it. The one with one wire is for the gauge. The connectors can get green or white corrosion gunk in them. These items are cheap to try and a new ECTS never hurt anything.

EDIT: Re-read your post. If the A/C won't turn the fan on, then it has to be wiring before or after the relay. But still, doesn't hurt to replace the ECTS and connector before they fail.

Fm Poppa Bear
I've tried turning on the A/C, fan still won't turn on, That would suggest, that the issue is not the actual fan.

Fm Samprix
I ended up running my own circuit, with in line fuse and lighted dash board switch,
and just kept and eye on the temp gage and manually turned the fan on when needed. That's what I did on my car, but only for the purpose of 'manually' activating the fan while I'm in heavy freeway traffic. However, that set up is, in addition to the computer controlled option. My additing the manual fan switch did not override, or eliminate the other PCM controlled efforts. Such as, turning the A/C on, or, should the coolant temperature reach the pre-programmed hot level.

Simply adding a 'manual control' switch, does not address the real issue, as to why the fan is not coming on, when the PCM activates it.

you think it's the pmc and not the ect? what and where is the pmc located?
thanks!

I don't think that anyone was suggesting that the installation of a new circuit and switch was addressing the "real issue" as to why the fan does not come on. It was mearly an inexpensive, quick solution for a vehicle that is 14+ years old.

Just a suggestion.

Obviously, it would be better to track down the real reason that the condition exists in the first place in case their are other underlying problems.

you think it's the pmc and not the ect? what and where is the pmc located?
thanks!


No. Probably not the ECTS either. If the ECTS was bad and the PCM not turning the fan on, the fan would still come on with the A/C. Since the fan is not coming on automatically or with the A/C AND you can make it come on with a jumper wire and you swapped relays, then you have a problem with the wiring either before or after the fan relay. It's highly doubtful there is a PCM problem. Check all connections from the fan on back to the relay and the relay connections in the fuse/relay box. Don't do the fan switch bypass thing. It's a cheesy work-around and all it takes is one time of forgetting to switch it on and your engine is done.

Yeah, you're right and I know better. Looks like the little baby will be down for a while

Same thing happened with my 95 SL. I had to get the fan replaced because my car would be hitting top temp. Now I have a blown headgasket and car eats coolant but hopefully i'll be getting something new soon. Any suggestions?

I forgot to mention that the A/C clutch doesn't kick on either when you turn on the A/C. would that stop the fan from coming on? I was also told that if the unit was out of freon it wouldn't turn on, is this true?and if so which line would be the line to fill with freon on a 94 1.9 :popcorn:

That is correct. If there is not a charge in the A/C system, the fan will not turn on.

It appears you have at least two problems with the car. One should be solved with replacing the ECTS on the driver side cylinder head as suggested. It has the two wires. It is replaced with a 13 mm 6 pointdeep socket. Finesse is required to remove its connector. If the connector has green oxidation on it. Replace that too. The sensor is about $20 at the Saturn dealer. This should turn your fan on when the coolant system reaches about 221 F generally indicated about just before the red on the in car gauge.

The second problem seems to be the A/C. There is no sense just adding refrigerant. Look for any refrigerant oil residue about the system connections and check for clogging.. bugs and debris in the condenser located in front of the radiator. A/C repair to seal the entire unit is the only route to make it work. It can be costly and generally not for the DIYer with the vacuum pump and gauges. Just adding cans of refrigerant is frutile.

Good Luck..

Thanks the lines look pretty clean after 14 years I guess it could be low the previous owner ( a lilttle old lady) said she just kept replacing the radiator and was tired of it.

Thanks I thought no one had any idea. I don't think it's the ect because the look brand new and I was told it was replaced


Never trust what other people tell you, change the ECTS, it doesn't cost much.