cooling fan never comes on?

[ssmmasterp]

I got my 95' Geo Metro about a week ago. This guy was selling it for 1$ and it was in ok shape lets just say it got me home. My drivers side window was stuck and never came down so i fixed that and now i have moved on to fixing other things. The cooling fan never seems to turn on. The relay for it is good. My temp on the dash never moves eather?
help me please it my first car

[Chromehero]

First, you might try applying 12 volts to the hot side of the fan to see if it is working. If it is, then you will need to see what is keeping it from turning on. Was the trip home long enough for the engine to get fully warmed up? If yes, you may want to check in your repair manual (Haynes, Chilton, Clymer...) and see where the sensor is and check it. Perhaps the sensor is burned out. You may be able to get one from a salvage yard, but if you plan to keep the car a while, you may want to get a new one. At CSKAUTO.com, coolant temp sensors start at 29.99 for the ones that go into a 1.0 liter. Hope this gives you a starting point.

[GM Line Rat]

As allready stated: Just unplug the electrical connector for the cooling fan, Then get about 2 ft of of 18 Gauge 2 strand wire (lamp cord or speaker wire will work)......Strip both ends of the wires, attach 2 wires in the end of elec plug on the fan motor connector.......Then touch 1 side of the Wire to the battery Positive post (Light Blue wire on fan connector is +) and the other on the NEG battery post (Black wire on fan connector is - or ground.......The fan motor should come on and spin if it is good? Here's a pic of the complete cooling fan elec system.

[DOCTORBILL]

Why do you assume it NEEDS to come on?

Perhaps the car Thermostat is working just fine and the engine never gets
above the Fan Turn on Temperature !

I would check the Fan itself as others have indicated.

If the temp gauge doesn't go almost to the high end, I'd assume the car's temperature is working OK.

If this is the 3 cylinder engine, they don't seem to get very hot except in the
dead of summer while idling at an interection waiting for the light to change.

My '93 Metro (3 cyl) doesn't overheat.

Maybe no worries.....!

If you have a volt-ohm-milliameter, you can unscrew the temp sensor and
dip it in BOILING hot water and it will go from open to closed circuit.

If bad, get one at a wrecking yard or a Pull-n-Save for a couple of bucks.

It is probably fine......stop worrying, Be Happy!

The only coolant worry is whether it leaks coolant or not......low coolant is "Death."

DoctorBill

[Crvett69]

if the temp gauge never moves at all it probably has a stuck open thermostat

[DOCTORBILL]

I believe we are working on something without the proper background knowledge here!

What does ssmmasterp mean by his temperature gauge "never moves at all..."

My Temp gauge always goes to the same place and stays there.
Does he mean THAT?

Does his temp gauge start out at the bottom and move up to the same place all the time.

Does his gauge actually not move AT ALL? Then the gauge wires or sender are kaput.

Is there a Fuse that governs the temp gauge?

I was taught how to test the gauge itself by someone on this Forum lo these many months ago.....
don't you short the sending wire and the gauge reads Full?
If not - the gauge is shot.

Then don't you put an Ohm Meter on the sender prong when the engine is
cold, start the engine and look for resistance change as the engine warms up
to test the sender?

Maybe ssmmasterp should be more specific about his temperature gauge....

Do you have a manual, ssmmasterp ? Schuck's has them for about $15.

Gotta have one to repair the vehicle....

The manual tells one how to test the temp gauge....

DoctorBill

[ssmmasterp]

When I say it never moves it NEVER MOVES. I never said,"my temp gauge always goes to the same place and stays there." Don't give me a heard time DOC.

[DOCTORBILL]

No words can describe what I feel about this guy....

DoctorBill

[ssmmasterp]

Hey DOC you are sure showing your true age which is telling me that your around the age of 12. Just give me your address and i will be happy to mapquest it and drive to your house were i will punch you in your fat face.

[DOCTORBILL]

Again.....

This Forum can do without you.

DoctorBill

[leonbentz]

Ah, c'mon guys, play nice. If his temp gauge is stuck, I would say, chuck it and replace it as for his other components, I would test the fan and fan control switch as stated above. You should also check and make sure there is power going to the temp control switch as well, because if there isn't then "working components" won't be of much help. I hope this helps.

[Metro Mighty Mouse]

ssmmasterp, I work in customer service/ tech support and what Doc was doing was asking for clarification. If we assume that the way the information is stated is absolutely correct then there will be a lot of time when the wrong answer will be provided. I troubleshoot fitness equipment and some of the questions I have to ask when a machine won't turn on are; Is it plugged in, did you turn on the main power switch, and is the circuit breaker for the plug tripped. All of these may seem like obvious questions but you would be surprised how many times obviously intelligent people manage to overlook one of these simple things. This was not a personal attack on you, it was making sure we all understood you correctly, you also stated upfront that this was your first car so we have to assume that you may not know as much about the general workings of the car as some of the mechanics that post on this board. I actually read it the wrong way the first time through (in re-reading the responses so did everyone else, so Doc asked a VERY valid question), and I am very good at interpreting problems as they are described by people. We all would appreciate it if you would not attack people on this forum for trying to provide assistance. If you don't like the way someone responds to you, just keep it to yourself or PM them directly instead of trying to start something in an open forum. This is a great group of people on this forum who truly love these cars and try to provide the best advice they can when someone presents a problem.

[twospirits]

I couldn't have said it any better than the way Mighty Mouse just did, but I will add a few words of my own.

Originally Posted by ssmmasterp

Hey DOC you are sure showing your true age which is telling me that your around the age of 12. Just give me your address and I will be happy to mapquest it and drive to your house were i will punch you in your fat face.

And by you posting that, makes me assume you are much younger than your stated 19. Regardless its uncalled for, even if you place that smiley at the end of your post. You may be joking, but let me state this just one time, threatening another member will not be tolerated.

Now this may be a misunderstanding on both parties, but lets try to be coolheaded about things and try to diagnosis this in a respectable way.

If anyone has a problem with their vehicle and wants answers, then it would be wise to post up as much information as possible. Not doing so will just lead to more questions or worse a misdiagnosis.

TS