Cooling fan not working.

[RotorMotor2]

Just finished rebuilding my engine with a new head, old one warped from overheat, I have new sensors, thermostat, water pump. The relay works, the fuses are good, & I can manually apply power to my fan & it works but it will not turn on normally, car has been down for 8 years, it would not start until I found a broken pin inside the MAF sensor & re-soldered it, & I also had stuck injectors that I had to manually activate a few times to free them up. Any help?

[crazyrog17]

By unplugging the temp switch, the fan should kick in.

[blkfordsedan]

A good volt meter and some time is all you need. Check for power at the input of the fan side of the relay. The fan switch temp sensor that actuates the control side of the relay is a "normally closed" switch. So, the control side of the relay should have current and hold the contacts open on the fan side when the engine is cold. When the engine gets up to 195F (or whatever temp), the temp sensor switch opens, breaking the circuit on the control side of the relay. That causes the contacts on the fan side of the relay to close, thereby supplying power to the fan motor. That's why the fan should turn on when you unplug the temp sensor wire......clear as mud?

[hodginsa]

Ill bet money on the temp switch.

[stonemaster]

wiggle the plug, yea i know ... it worked for me

[Bert]

Just as Crazyrog17 says when you unplug the single wire sensor that is on the block just left of the thermostat housing the fan should automatically come on full time. If it doesn't then it's time to start looking at fan connections/motors and elsewhere.

[RotorMotor2]

Thanks everybody! still not working, I can hear the relay clicking on and off as I connect and disconnect the thermoswitch wire, I will now clean some connections and see what I can track down, any solid advice on how to time it? I think I did it correctly but this generic work shop manual is not clear on the timing marks and where to align it...

[georgeb]

See if you have 12V at the fan connector with fan sw unplugged and key on.

[RotorMotor2]

Hey guys thanks for all your help, sorry I only get to work on this every so often, so I unplugged the single pin thermoswitch connector and heard the relay click and there was no voltage at the fan connector, i supplied 12+ to the yellow wire on the fan connector (not the yellow wire with red stripe) and the fan turned on in the correct direction and when I plugged the thermoswitch wire back in the fan kicked in when the water got the the correct temperatere, the only down side is when the key is turned off the fan comes on which is fine if I unplug the connection I made every stop I make temporarely but what is my next trace point?

[zoom zoom]

I'm not familiar with the exact Festiva wires, but it sounds like you pulled power from a wire that is +12v constant, try pulling power from something further inside the car that is only +12v run/start.....or you could try to Chase the short, but that's more of a hassle than I would care to deal with lol..and there's always the good 'ol toggle switch fan!

[TominMO]

RotorMotor, at the rate of four posts in 86 months, I calculate that you will achieve Senior Member status (1,000 posts) in the year 2058! :eeeeeek: Please feel free to post more often.....

But you'd better hurry, what with the world ending on Dec. 21.

[RotorMotor2]

I'm no dummy to cars so posting often is not needed much and I read before I post to see if its been coverd before, I do want to get some rims, 15"? and some aspire 13" rotors and calipers and tint the windows, any rim suggestions? i like wide 5 spoke like the RH C5 or racing heart C5 (2 different companys) but this counts as one more post :-D

[RotorMotor2]

Back to the drawing board, I just blew the engine, I think a rod... Anybody have a great engine for sale? Or any referrals or reccomendations? Fix this one?

[zoom zoom]

BP!

[RotorMotor2]

Budget!