93 Escort Overheats; Fan Won't Come On

[jkl]

My 93 Escort fan does not come on and the engine overheats. I've been told that there is a 50-50 chance of the fan motor or a relay being bad. Where is/are the relays and how much do they cost? How much are fan motors? Should I try replacing the relay(s) and how hard is that. I just had the thermostat replaced and it is working fine. The engine heats up when idling after a while and it does cool back down when on the highway. The fan just never turns on.:o

[nrpbruin2006]

um my 93 escort wagon does the same thing it heats yup went itoling and the fan only works when i turn on th air conditioner so you mit want to see if the fan comes on when you turn on the a/c ok thats how im can drive mine in the summer is have the a/c on so it does not overheat

[kruzman3]

Must be a common prob, mine's the same thing. There's a fuse panel under the hood, in front of the driver's strut tower. Open that and you'll see the fan relay. Pop the black cover off the relay and you'll see what's like a small brass plate. Push it to make contact and see if the fan turns on.

If it doesn't, you could put in another relay (just pull it out & replace) or put on a new fan & motor. The whole fan assembly is attached to the rad by three 10mm bolts, one on the top and two on the drivers side. Don't forget to unplug the wiring.

Having said all that, neither fix worked for me , so I just hooked up a switch direct to the fan to a toggle I mounted inside by the radio. This lets me turn the fan on whenever I need, just don't forget to turn it off. Hope this helps...

Matt
92LXWagon

[edbattles]

I've replaced the temp switch and the fan checks out electrically, relocated the relays where they are easier to get too. High speed relay never comes on. Will keep everyone posted as i get further along.

The fuse would keep the fan from running at all.

[xtcnafive0]

94 Escort 1.9L, the radiator fan won't come on, and everything else related to the operation of the fan checks out ok. So I believe it to be the thermostatic fan sensor. I bought a new sensor, and my question is do I need to put any sealant or teflon tape on the threads before installing it.

[Differentialmusic]

Originally Posted by kruzman3

Must be a common prob, mine's the same thing. There's a fuse panel under the hood, in front of the driver's strut tower. Open that and you'll see the fan relay. Pop the black cover off the relay and you'll see what's like a small brass plate. Push it to make contact and see if the fan turns on.

If it doesn't, you could put in another relay (just pull it out & replace) or put on a new fan & motor. The whole fan assembly is attached to the rad by three 10mm bolts, one on the top and two on the drivers side. Don't forget to unplug the wiring.

Having said all that, neither fix worked for me , so I just hooked up a switch direct to the fan to a toggle I mounted inside by the radio. This lets me turn the fan on whenever I need, just don't forget to turn it off. Hope this helps...

Matt
92LXWagon

I hate to be the newb who bumps a thread from years ago. But I just spent the last 3 days (10 hours total) under the hood trying to figure out how to stop this little beast from overheating.

Relay switch worked like a charm. Thanks to the above poster.

A word of warning. Make sure you disassemble the relay with care. Broke mine to bits on the first try.

[vesmcd]

My G.F.'s '95 Escort 1.9 was recently having fan prob's. Burned up two relays in the underhood fuse box. I started tracing wires and found another fan related relay(blue connector and actualy one of two) bolted to the fender liner UNDER the air filter box. The relay/connector was fried as well as some of the wiring. I replaced the wiring and relay, all is good now.