88 Tbird radiator fans will not come on at all. overheats

[scottman25]

My buddy has an 88 tbird. the thing has a blocked heater core. he bypassed it but the car overheats, the fans do not come on at all. his cousin thought it was the temperature sensor right under the intake plenum but when you pull that plug off the check engine light comes on and the fans stay on constantly. when you plug it back in the light goes out, rpms stabilize and the fans stay off even when the engine gets hot. He is thinking of just wiring a switch to it but to me thats a pain to have to remember to turn it on and off all the time. any ideas as to what might be causing this so I can have an idea where to start?

thank you,
Scott

[97Bird]

Scott, At least you know the fans do work. Did he replace the sensor and the fans don't come on or just unplugged it without replacing it and had the fans working?

[danielsatur]

Or a bad fan relay!

[scottman25]

He just pulled the plug off the sensor and the check engine light came on, rpms unstable for a couple seconds, then the fans came on. plug it back in, rpms stablize, fans turn off, do not come back on. problem is the fans stay on constantly when unplugged, and the check engine light stays on. he gets frustrated easily and He wants to do this switch thing and i want to fix it right. that is just a pain to have to toggle that switch on and off.

Scott

[97Bird]

Replace the sensor.

[scottman25]

I will do that for him. I will see about replacing it in the next couple days for him. hopefully that will take care of it. what is that, just the temperature sensor. this is a 2.3l turbo engine.


Scott

[97Bird]

Yes, engine coolant temperature sensor.