Fan not turning on.

[Drewet88]

I have a 97 Pontiac Grand Am. It is a 6cly 3.1L. It has been sitting in the driveway for about 4 months and I've been starting it about every other day and letting it idle just to make sure everything is okay and for about the last week or two I noticed that the fan isn't coming on.

Someone said the motor may have given out because I have a coolant leak and that may be causing the fan motor to work harder than it is supposed too.

Can that be the problem?

Everyone keeps telling me to hook up so jumper cables to the fan and just look and see if it turns on but they don't tell me how to do it.

Do I just hook the cables up to it anywhere?

Do I take it out of the car first and unhook everything and then hook up the cables?

Is there something else I can do to check and see what is wrong?

I don't have a diagnostic scanner and I can't take the car to be looked at so I need some help. Please.

[grfnkl]

It is possible that your fan gave out due to "working harder" First when you have the car running does it overheat at all or run hot? Make sure your getting the car up to the proper temperatures in order for the fan to turn on. As far as checking the fan, all you have to do is connect a direct power source to the fan, and it should come on. if it doesn't then this is your problem, if it does then it probably is your control module for the fan. Good Luck

[Drewet88]

Originally Posted by grfnkl

It is possible that your fan gave out due to "working harder" First when you have the car running does it overheat at all or run hot? Make sure your getting the car up to the proper temperatures in order for the fan to turn on. As far as checking the fan, all you have to do is connect a direct power source to the fan, and it should come on. if it doesn't then this is your problem, if it does then it probably is your control module for the fan. Good Luck

The temp starts rising and then it red lines so i cut off the car and all of that is in about 20 min at most.

So to check the fan I can jut hook up a battery with some jumper cables? I don't have to take the fan out of the car and the jumper cables just have to be attached to the fan, anywhere? Can it be the battery thats already in the car or should I take it out of the car first, I ain't tryin to elertrocute myself.

[corning_d3]

You can't hook up jumpercables anywhere on the fan and make it work. You must removing the electrical connector on the fan, and with two wires, one grounded to the battery and the other on the hot post of the battery, touch the connections inside the connector ON the fan. Don't touch the two wires together! If the fan comes on, it's good and the problem is elsewhere. If your not comfortable doing it, have a "mechanically inclined" friend look at it..