Ok my fan quit working so I cut the wires and hooked them up to the battery and the fan worked fine. So I bought a toggle switch but the juice was too much and my fan started to smoke. What do I need to do?

 

Hooking the fan correctly with a switch will not cause it to smoke unless it had an existing problem or possibly if the voltage was too low through your wiring as to cause excessive voltage drop hence the fan draws more current. You can't get any more voltage than the 12 volts the vehicle supplies. In a single fan it is generally controlled by the fan switch located at the rear of the block passenger side. Most likely your fan relay failed. It is a very common problem. If in doubt, you can switch the AC blower motor relay with the fan relay. They are the same part#. :rockon:

 

whoa, I STRONGLY recomend NOT hooking ur fan motors directly to a switch, what u are supposed to do it hook the switch to he GROUND wire of either the fan switch, or the fan relay that you are wishing to control. Give me until tomorrow and i will have a tech article written up about this.. But you'r pulling anywhere from 10-20 amps through that wire depending on ur fan setup, which the switch can probably handle it, but not the wireing....

 

ok, Im anxious to see what I need to do. I wouldnt mind having control of the fan with a toggle but my main concern is that it works. I cant do any stop and go driving since it gets so hot. I appreciate the help. I touched the wires to my blowers wires also but they still got really hot. Also after all this, my car sputtered and then died. It did it again and again that day. Im wondering if i accidently moved the distributor or something. Im really beginning to hate my car. If only I knew more about cars I would probably keep it. Thanx guys....

 

Ok every one seems to have real in depth answers. But how a bout a simple fuse?

 

ok going to bed now

 

Nice diagram "T". About the fuse question? The fan relay(s) depending on setup get thier 12 volts to run the fan(s) through a fusible link in the car, not an in-dash fuse. This is because they can draw in excess of 20 amps when they start depending on thier age and condition, dual fans twice that. If you look at the diagram the relay has a coil and a set of contacts. The contacts handle the high current the fan(s) require and the coil side gets it's 12 volts through the fuse panel.

 

Im even more confused now!! I just want my fan to work...

 

Ok, I only have the single fan. Im trying to figure out the diagram but I really have no experience with this at all. All I know is that my fan is functional so something else broke. Im assuming the relay. But I figured now would be a good time to just put in a toggle. Im sorry for my incompetence so please be patient. Thanx


Oh whats the CEDFA all stand for? and the M's coming off the A?

I still cant figure out why my fan couldnt handle being hooked straight up to the battery. I thought people did this all the time?

 

Don't apologize for being unfamiliar, that's what we are here for. The problem with a direct battery hook-up is this. You will need very heavy wire to handle the current, a fusible link to protect the fan and wiring and a relay anyway. Most toggle switches are also only only around 5 amps or so and you will need a larger switch if you eliminate the relay . Why be reduntant? It's already there. I would pickup a Chilton book to familiarize yourself with where things are located. They are not much coin and do help. You are replying and I am editing. Just woke up, no coffee yet Should have looked at top thread Anyway, there is a fuse in the fuse panel marked fan, it is a 20A. It feeds power to the relay coil. Check it first. You will need to find the fan relay. My 89 (dual fans) has the primary relay mounted down from the rad cap and slightly foreward held in with plastic rivets. Can't be sure on yours. I looked in my Chilton, no help. The fan control switch is in the block between cyl 6-8 with a single wire. Don't confuse it with the knock sensor, fan unit is smaller of the two. To test the relay you can disconnect the wire from the sensor and simply ground it. There is no danger of smoke etc., it only handles a couple of hundred milliamps to run relay coil. If the fan comes on it's bad. If it does not suspect relay or fuse link. Key must be in RUN position, engine can be off to do this test. Grounding the wire test's everything. Another way and simpler is do you have air? If so and it has been working simply turn on AC. The fan should come on. If it does not, it's either the relay or the fan or a loss of power to the relay. Relay's run about 15 bucks, fan switch 19. Keep us posted

 

Its an 89 305 tbi. I was told it has to be the switch or relay. So hopefully its not to pricey...

 

maybe this will help.. M is for the fan motor. and this picture SHOULD hopefuly explain the CEDFA, i should of posted it before.. ask if u have any more questions..

 

Ok, I get it but I dont. Heres what I did before. ... I hooked one of the wires to the - on the battery. Then the other one I hooked to the toggle switch and I ran another from the + to the toggle. So what do I need to do instead. I dont mean to be a hassle but those diagrams are way above my head. Should I just replace the relay switch? Thanx guys.

 

Let's try it this way....
You can wire it direct, but you have to have heavy enough wire, a switch that can handle the current, and some kind of fusing that will handle the current. But this isnt the best method.
The relay is located between the battery and the radiator. It has 4 wires, 2 heavy and 2 fairly thin ones. One of the thin ones is dark green. Ground that connection and the fan should come on. If it doesnt, it is either the relay is bad, the fusible link is bad, or there are other problems in the wiring. If the fan does come on, then you need to check the fan switch which is located between cyl 6 & 8 (see above post for info on testing switch).
Put a toggle on that green wire to ground to make a manual override switch, but of course, the relay needs to be working for this to work.