cooling problem. PLEASE PLEASE HELP

[skyluslondon]

Hey everyone. I'm new and had a pretty important question. i just recently purchased a 91 camaro z28 350. it was overheating and i got an estimate from Midas advising me to replace my thermostat and d/s engine cooling fan. they've been replaced..and if you can believe this..after 2 days and a few hundred dollars..my car is actually running worse. before i could at least run it with the heat on full blast without the temperature going up over 220. now it just redlines after about 10 miles regardless of anything i do. i took it back today and they're looking at it now but i wanted some other advice since they seem to be a bit incompetent. as i said i replaced the fan and motor and thermostat. now, neither fan is working. its not getting any power for some reason. i'm thinkin something with the relay? wiring? i dont know. if anyone has experienced anything like this PLEASE let me know. thanks

[wrightz28]

There's a 'fan switch' on the right side of the motor between the 6 and 8 cylinder that the wriring could be burnt or cut or the switch is bad, very common on these cars and alot of poeple bypass them and put a manual switch on it. Could also be a relay.

[wrightz28]

oh and welcome to AF.

[skyluslondon]

thanks man, i appreciate it. i'll look into that

[Genopsyde]

no power points to the relay tho, it's under the hood on the driver side firewall, there's 2 of them there, i don't recall which one is for the fan tho.

[wrightz28]

whoa, geno, no power points to the relay?

A relay transforms low power circuit to high power circuit does it not? So one side of the switched power normally has what 5V to cross over and tap the 12V main or am I ALL wrong here?

[Genopsyde]

no power to the fan, i'm pretty sure it'd be the relay, mainly cuz of personaly experience and how common of an issue it is, same with the sensor in the head, i'd go ahead and just do both to eliminate any possible future issues with either or.

[wrightz28]

okay, maybe I misread ya, but tha way I took it is that you have no main power pointing to the relay, where the relay is a switching source for min. power to battery power.

on a side note, why are they busting on this chick on unique whips?

this is why i dpnt come here at night, to drunk to care what's going on, but seriously geno, unless I masively misread ya, that satement didnt' come out right

[Genopsyde]

yea, i need to learn to punctuate better, shoulda been like this...

"no power to the fan, points to the relay probably being bad"

[wrightz28]

Alrighty then Mr. President!

[skyluslondon]

alright, another dumb question or 2. so please don't ream me for this, lol
i've currently got a direct wire from the ignition to the fan. it's not redlining but its still running way to hot, so maybe that wasnt the greatest of ideas. i just ordered an engine thermostat switch and ive got the dual fan setup so...and forgive me again if this sound ridiculous. since ive got the dual fan setup do i need two switches?
also, i'm thinking i might need a new wiring harness all together but i really don't have the money so i'm just going to replace the relay. does anyone know a good site to get one or should i just order from a dealership? i don't have any experience with wiring so i'm going to get it done at some auto shop, any idea how much it might cost to get this done? thanks again for any feedback.

[Rally Sport]

Just a question, are you sure that water is getting TO the engine? maybe your radiator needs to be cleaned out or flushed.. also what kind of water/antifreeze mix you using?

[88camaroproject]

is there any white smoke coming out when its running? like out the exhaust. also is your radiator full and you might need a new radiator cap....seriously, the cap might be the problem

[J.Cutta]

Your more then likely not overheating like you think..I had the same problem heres are check list: make sure you have no leaks, then make sure the radiator is good and has a proper 50/50 mixture, fix your fans and make sure they come on...I know I went 2 yrs without a stat thinking I was overheating but really wasnt when my car is warming up it goes all the way over to 260 then after like 5 mins goes back under 220.

[wrightz28]

Third gen gauges are NOTORIOUSLY inaccurate. Especially the temp gauge. Ever notice how it jumps all the way when you roll the starter over? And no doubt you have seen atleast one that's jumped so badly it's stuck in the pod bezel. There is a sensor on the left side of the motor right inbetween cyls 1 and 3 with I believe a green wire. That sensor is for the gauge. Sometimes the wire shielding gets chaffed and grounds the wire which casues the gauge to read hot, or vice versa creates an open circuit and the gauge never moves.

That said, you need to give the whole cooling system a once over. And if it's been over 2 years since the last time it was checked, I'd do as mentioned replace the thermostat and cap, thoroughly check all the hoses, examine the water pump for weeping coolant or bearing problems and back flush the system. Also check and make sure the air dam is in place and that leaves and other junk are not hiding inbetween the radiator and a/c condensor.