Hey Guys,
I have an 88 GTA with the L98/auto combo. I bought it two months ago and ever since I have owned it I have noticed the fans were always on. It finally got to me this week, and I replaced the temp switch on the block (ds between the front two cyl) and the coolant temp switch (under the tstat housing). I started the car, only to find that the fans are still coming on too early, by early I mean less than 160. This is with the a/c & heat off, at idle just after start up. They are not wired to be constantly on, they are off when the car is first started.
A side note to this, it is hard to start when it has been sitting for a while. I mean, after the fuel pump primes and I turn the key, it cranks for a while, then starts, goes up to about 1300 rpm, and then shuts off. I have never owned a TPI car before, but I have had a few trans ams. I recall hearing something about a cold-start valve. But when looking into that, I read about making sure the coolant temp sensor is in working order.
The car is chipped, Hypertech Thermomaster and it has a K&N drop in. There is nothing else done to this car. I did some research on here this morning with the search, and came up with two ideas. One being the AC system is low on freon, therfore making the pressure switch activate the fans. The second is that I have a bad relay or two. Anyone want to confirm my suspicions?

Thanks TG.org!

 

what did you replace the "temp switch" for? that is not a switch, it is a sensor in that particular location, that indicates the temp on the gauge. the fan switch is in the other head between the #6 and #8. if the a/c is low on freon, therefore low on pressure, it won't be able to close the other switch... and if both fans are coming on early, you definitely have something wierd going on. the ps fan is "activated" by the switch in the ps head, or when the a/c pressure switch closes. the ds fan is activated by the ecm. both fan circuits are completed by grounding, but the ps one only tells the ecm it has been grounded, whereas the ds one is grounded by the ecm. not sure how or if the cold-start thing has anything to do with it, as i don't have that on mine. i have read, however, that it could possibly be a bad relay. i have a similar problem with my ps fan, but not coming on as early as yours.