Hi All. I recently purchased a 1996 Del Sol Si. AC wasn't working and I found the 20 amp fuse blown. I replaced it but after the fan ran for about 90 seconds it blew again. The fan seems to work well when I run a wire to the battery and when I swapped the relay with the heater blower it worked as it should. I'm not sure where to go from here. I don't want to start swapping fans etc. without knowing the root cause for the problem. Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like you have a short in the wiring somewhere along the line from the power source going to the fan. That or is there something else tapped into its power line drawing from it.
Some quick things you could check is to see if the fan spins freely or is there resistance causing it to draw more power than it needs? Also unplug just the fan wiring plug and run the system, does it still blow the fuse? If not when you plug in the fan and it blows the fuse then most likely the fan motor is the culprit or a short from its relay wiring going to the fan itself. When you hard wire the fan to the battery, add a 20 amp fuse to the wire from battery to the fan and does it blow the fuse? That would isolate the fan being the problem.

 

Thanks for the input. I will try hard wiring a fuse directly to the fan from the battery. While the fan does spin it stops abruptly. Would the system still cool the car if I were driving at speed or does the fan have to spin in order for it to cool?

 

I soldered a 20 amp fuse in line and took power directly from the battery. It ran for several minutes without blowing the fuse. I will start to look for a ground short. Thanks. At least I won't be replacing the fan for no reason.