i bought a switch, some 16 guage wire, and i went to install it. i tapped into the green wire with the white stripe on the firewall and grounded it. nothing. then i did it through the switch. nothing. i cant figure out why my fans wouldnt be working. i tested the fans, and they work. i wired them to a 12v source and they spin like none other. but i cant seem to figure out how to get this swith to turn them on. any help would be greatly appreciated. i searched and searched but it all says the same thing, ground the green wire with the white stripe. did that but nothing. im out working on it right now, and ill be checking back periodically. thanks guys.

 

I had the exact same problem myself. It turned out that in my case (87 Sport Coupe, V6), that there were two relays on the driver side firewall right next to each other. They both have a green wire with a white stripe. I was grounding the wrong relay, so it wasnt turning on my fan. The lower, farther back and I believe smaller relay was my fan relay.

 

so there is another relay right next to the obvious one? my question is, how many different relays does the green wire with a white stripe run through? so i need to find the small relay, but it still has the green wire with white stripe? ok, if someone could tell me what wires run to the relay that im supposed to find that would be helpful. so that i can identify that this is the right relay, and im grounding the right wire. thanks guys.

 

Well, I'm not sure if the green wire with the white stripe is the same wire in both relays. In fact, I suspect it is not. So, there are only two relays mounted on the driver's side firewall, and the one that is naturally the first choice when looking for the fan relay is the wrong one. (in my experience). The smaller, lower relay is the correct relay for fan control (again, on my application, an 88 SC with a V6). So, there are only two wires to try to ground. If one doesn't work, try the other. Here is a pic of the correct relay circled in red. Don't worry, I had the same problems as you when I made my fan switch. Took me probly half an hour to check the second relay for a green/white wire.

 

there should be a relay with four wires going to it, green/white, brown, red, and black/red. Thats the fan relay u need to tap into.(Well for me anyways)

 

I don't know what gauge the OEM harness is, but it seems to me that 16 is a bit light for the use. I did 12 (and some may recommed 10).

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cool...electrics.html

JamesC

 

even 16 gauge is plenty... all your doing is sending a light amount of current through the coil on the relay to energize it......(the green with white stripe for primary fan or gray wire for secondary fan) i think i used 18 gauge for both of my switches and i havent had a problem in a year...

 

ya, relay coil current is usually less then one amp. My aftermarket relay's which I use to control some stuff i've added only pull a quarter of an amp.

 

I think I see. What's the gauge actually sending current to the fan itself?

JamesC

 

off the top of my head it looks to be around 14 or 12.... but you dont need to touch those wires for a manual fan switch...

 

What I was refering to. My bad.

JamesC