well installed a new radiator fan today, wired it up and hooked it up.

started bled the cooling system, heres the problem

so i took the radiator cap off, put a funnel in there, filled it up with distilled water, then some antifreeze, and then more water until it got a little full. turned on the car...

the car heat slowly started to rise and when it hit normal operating temp. the thermostat never turned on so the fan never turned on. it started to steam a little bit but hopefully it was just the coolant i spilled burning off. i left the car on for another 5 mins and nothing just coolant filling the funnel up more and more, so i just turned off the car

any advice?


i just realized i forgot to disconnect the battery on this whole process, could that have messed up the fan? how do i ground the negative wire, so i can hook up the postive to a battery? it should still work with solder on it right?


Modified by wsop at 1:56 AM 7/21/2005

 

noob question- how would i ground the negative wire? and would i just get any 12V and touch it to the battery? it still should turn on with solder on it right

 

I would just connect the two wires on the fan to the battery to make sure it works first. If the fan works, you could have a problem in one of the relays that turns the fan on when it hits certain temps.

I made a similar post recently. Search for my posts and read the responses given to me.

 

So you were warming up the car without the radiator cap on? You need to have the cap installed, its a critical part of the cooling system. How long did you let it idle? Without the cap, it should have just started pushing water out of the system.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by wsop &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the thermostat never turned on so the fan never turned on. it </TD></TR></TABLE>

The thermostat regulates the amount of coolant that flows to the radiator, there is a switch that turns on the fan. But again, you say it got to normal opperating temp with no cap... somethings wrong.

 

**UPDATE**


tried revving it and leaving it on for a little longer today. no change. the bottom hose started to heat up but thremostat never turned on, but the car never passed normal operating temps.

so i need the cap on for it to turn on?

 

Leaving the cap off is the easiest way to bleed the system. Besides, you need to top it off when the thermostat opens. I'm sure he put it back on. It's normal for steam to rise once it's at operating temp since the unpressurized coolant can't handle as much heat.

Did you mix it 50/50 or did you put too much water?

Thermostats don't turn on, they open. It's a wax pellet that unplugs the coolant line at a certain temp. Since they're a maintenance item, it's common for them to become stuck open or stuck closed. You can feel the temp of the hoses with your hand to determine whether the coolant is flowing, and if necessary, replace the thermostat.

On an EG, you unplug the radiator fan and it runs constantly. That's an easy way to see if it works. I haven't tried that on an EF yet. I have a feeling you have the fan hooked up wrong but I can't visualize what you did by your explanation.

Also get a voltmeter and test your coolant sensor. Did you even wire up the coolant sensor? This is the switch that operates the fan, not the thermostat.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suspendedHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Leaving the cap off is the easiest way to bleed the system. Besides, you need to top it off when the thermostat opens. I'm sure he put it back on. It's normal for steam to rise once it's at operating temp since the unpressurized coolant can't handle as much heat.

Did you mix it 50/50 or did you put too much water?

Thermostats don't turn on, they open. It's a wax pellet that unplugs the coolant line at a certain temp. Since they're a maintenance item, it's common for them to become stuck open or stuck closed. You can feel the temp of the hoses with your hand to determine whether the coolant is flowing, and if necessary, replace the thermostat.

On an EG, you unplug the radiator fan and it runs constantly. That's an easy way to see if it works. I haven't tried that on an EF yet. I have a feeling you have the fan hooked up wrong but I can't visualize what you did by your explanation.

Also get a voltmeter and test your coolant sensor. Did you even wire up the coolant sensor? This is the switch that operates the fan, not the thermostat.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the fan only came with 2 wires, i cut the stock harness off and wired the 2 wires to the 2 wires off the switch.

thats the thing it never opened, both the hoses started to heat up. and the car never overheated at all either

 

What kind of fan is it? Some aftermarket fans are designed to be always on.

If the upper and lower radiator hoses both got hot and you could feel the coolant circulating inside, then your thermostat is open. If it's stuck open and you added too much water, it's possible you're running too cold to easily switch on the fan (it should still come on once in a while). Does it take a long time for your engine to warm up?

Most likely it's your wiring or an electric issue that you caused. I don't know if it would help if you clicked off some pics, or drew us a diagram, but I don't know if I could help you without taking a look at it. What kind of connections did you make? Butt connectors, solder, did you twist two wires together and wrap it in duct tape? Best thing you can do is spend $15 on a digital voltmeter, read the little instruction book that comes with it, and test your two wires to see if it's getting power and ground.

 

5 minutes is way too short for 'burping/bleeding' your coolant.

After you are sure you hooked up your fan:

-rad cap off, funnel in with coolant
-start car
-let the car run for 10mins
-turn your climate control to HEAT, and turn the fan level to max (4)
-wait and watch as the coolant flows into the motor as the thermostat opens.
-you will see your coolant in your funnel drop
-add more coolant
-keep doing this until you see a constant level of coolant for a while
-now feel one of the vents inside, if you feel really hot air that's good.
-check the temp gauge every now and then to make sure you're not overheating
-your fan should go on and off. usually just stays on for like 20seconds.

Now you're good to go
Hope that helps