Heater fan won't turn off, help!

[chetwynd]

I have a 91 Riviera. When I turn my key off and walk away, the fan stays on! It sounds like the heater fan, or defrost fan, or whatever...if there's any difference. Won't turn off for the life of it! Runs the battery all the way down to dead. Might have killed the battery permanently! So what's the problem?

[ilgoldstein]

Sounds like a blower motor relay. Im not sure where it is in the Rivi, but if you have an owners manual, it should show you. If you dont, try Buick.com, register and you can view it in PDF.

Same think happened on my caddy. The relay was under the hood.

[chetwynd]

hey thank you very much! Is this something I can fix myself? I just registered on buick.com but it appears it doesnt go back as far as 1991 (turns out it's not a 1994), and the service manual isn't available. Anyway, thank you for the help, I really appreciate your time!

[ilgoldstein]

On the cad it is mounted under the hood. Get a repair manual like Haynes or go to the library, it should show you where it is. It should be a simple unplug and replug repair. A good auto parts store should have the relay.

[chetwynd]

Thanks everyone...fixed it. The fan contol module or whatever. Got it for $112 and it works perfectly...

but then i was rewarded with a flat tire!

[chetwynd]

I have a new question regarding my 1994 Pontiac Grand Am. A few days ago I noticed that when I turned the key to start it, the starter didn't engage, almost like it wasn't getting any juice...which would lead me to believe it was either something wrong with the neutral safety switch or something in the key cylinder or whatever. I jiggled it a little and turned the key back and forth and after a few seconds of that, it turned over and started fine. Now it doesn't start at all...starter doesn't engage, etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

As a side question, a few years ago I had major overheating problems with this car. No one seemed to be able to fix it (apparently a ton of gunk in the cooling system clogging everything up) so I had them remove the thermostat. Now it runs at about 110 degrees, never warms up, runs like hell, fouls plugs, etc. It's fine, I drive it daily, but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to tell the computer that it needs to change it's ways?

THANK YOU!

[HotZ28]

The answer to your starting problem can be found in this link;
VATS & PASSKEY 11 systems
If your cooling system was clogged enough to prevent good circulation; you need to replace the radiator and put the thermostat back in. The coolant temp sensor needs to read a warm engine, before the PCM can go into “closed loop”. Running like you are, you are in "open loop" and calling for fuel enrichment. I would imagine, it is a fuel hog also! If you can afford the extra gas you are using, you can afford a radiator. Another thing you need to do, is have someone do a radiator pressure test to see if you have any head gasket problems before replacing the radiator.