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cooling fans set to key on good or bad?

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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 11:02 AM
  #1  
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cooling fans set to key on good or bad?

I have a small overheating problem whenever i sit at a light my car will heat up to about 240 or 250 before it starts to cool down, and if i do a long burnout with my car it starts to overheat. well i was thinking about wiring up my fans to where they come on as soon as the key is or i could wire them up to a switch and turn them on whenever i want or need to? has anyone done this or is there a better way to do this?
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 08:14 PM
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From: Cambridge, OHIO
Car: 85 T/A
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You can put them on a switch, I don't really like that, but that's just me. I made a post looking for a coolant temp sensor that will kick the fans on around 200*F instead of 238*F. I think that would be the best answer, I'll reply again on your post if I can find out something.

Do you still have your A/C hooked up and working? If not, you could always just switch over to A/C, that will kick your fans on. Just an idea
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 06:00 AM
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Check the cooling sticky at the top of the page.

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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by irocz1228
I have a small overheating problem whenever i sit at a light my car will heat up to about 240 or 250 before it starts to cool down, and if i do a long burnout with my car it starts to overheat. well i was thinking about wiring up my fans to where they come on as soon as the key is or i could wire them up to a switch and turn them on whenever i want or need to? has anyone done this or is there a better way to do this?
Are you sure both fans are running when this happens?
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 01:17 PM
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Car: 91 Camaro Vert
Engine: 02 LS1, HX40
Transmission: 2002 LS1 M6
Originally Posted by irocz1228
I have a small overheating problem whenever i sit at a light my car will heat up to about 240 or 250 before it starts to cool down, and if i do a long burnout with my car it starts to overheat. well i was thinking about wiring up my fans to where they come on as soon as the key is or i could wire them up to a switch and turn them on whenever i want or need to? has anyone done this or is there a better way to do this?
not to be a ****, but heres an idea....


instead of attempting to band-aid a problem..... why dont you fix the real problem with your cooling system?
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 02:46 PM
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From: Sanford, Florida
Car: 1990 IROCZ
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: Richmond 3.73 and Aurburn diff
Originally Posted by MrDude_1
not to be a ****, but heres an idea....


instead of attempting to band-aid a problem..... why dont you fix the real problem with your cooling system?

um because i have all the stuff i need to do it and its free? maybe thats why.


but i went ahead and wired both fans to a swith that i can turn on when it starts to heat up before it reaches the 238 mark
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 03:26 PM
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if im reading your first reply correctly......... assuming the fans come on at all..... the fans have nothing to do with your cooling problem.
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 05:54 PM
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Axle/Gears: Limited Slip 3.23's


JamesC
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 08:43 PM
  #9  
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From: Sanford, Florida
Car: 1990 IROCZ
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: Richmond 3.73 and Aurburn diff
Originally Posted by MrDude_1
if im reading your first reply correctly......... assuming the fans come on at all..... the fans have nothing to do with your cooling problem.

then by all means please tell me my problem...and the fans do come on.
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Old Jan 4, 2007 | 05:18 AM
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Car: Met. Silver 85 IROC/Sold
Engine: 350 HO Deluxe (350ci/330hp)
Transmission: T-5 (Non-WC)
Axle/Gears: Limited Slip 3.23's
Try the easy solutions first. Does the car have an air dam? Check for debris between the radiator and condenser.

JamesC
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Old Jan 4, 2007 | 11:39 AM
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From: Charleston, SC
Car: 91 Camaro Vert
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Transmission: 2002 LS1 M6
Originally Posted by JamesC
Try the easy solutions first. Does the car have an air dam? Check for debris between the radiator and condenser.

JamesC
yup..
really, it comes down to troubleshooting the actual problem.
i cant sit here on the internet and go step by step for basic troubleshooting, but i'll answer any specific questions the best i can.
----------
Originally Posted by irocz1228
and the fans do come on.


btw, the fans coming on should be a hint that the problem is NOT that the fans dont come on...... matter of fact, if you're overheating with the fans on, it should be very obvious that there is a problem that cannot be correctly solved by "turning the fans on more"..


check your coolant level(inside the radiator).
check if your thermostat opens and coolant flows freely..
check your radiator cap.
check your airdam.
check for crap blocking the radiator
go thru it step by step.

Last edited by MrDude_1; Jan 4, 2007 at 11:42 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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Old Jan 4, 2007 | 08:22 PM
  #12  
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From: Sanford, Florida
Car: 1990 IROCZ
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: Richmond 3.73 and Aurburn diff
Originally Posted by JamesC
Try the easy solutions first. Does the car have an air dam? Check for debris between the radiator and condenser.

JamesC
it does have an air dam....i cleaned all the debri out of the radiator and flushed it not to long ago. I also replaced the water pump thermostat and both fans work. the only thing i dont have is a heater core which doesnt necessarily have to do with cooling really. but the hose ports on the radiator are blocked off. basically its fine driving down the road but if i sit for a while heats up to about 230-240 before coming back down and if i beat on it, it heats up pretty quick and doesnt come down. so i figured its the fans since they are still set to the stock and dont have enough time to get air through the radiator and get the coolant cooled down.

Last edited by irocz1228; Jan 4, 2007 at 08:27 PM. Reason: more needed
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Old Jan 4, 2007 | 08:43 PM
  #13  
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Axle/Gears: 3.27 9-bolt
"btw, the fans coming on should be a hint that the problem is NOT that the fans dont come on...... matter of fact, if you're overheating with the fans on, it should be very obvious that there is a problem that cannot be correctly solved by "turning the fans on more"..

Thermo for me was in '84 and applied after that but I'm still intrigued by this "turning the fans on more" concept. It's got me feeling so, uhm , Newtonian, so to speak....
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Old Jan 4, 2007 | 09:13 PM
  #14  
irocz1228's Avatar
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From: Sanford, Florida
Car: 1990 IROCZ
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Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: Richmond 3.73 and Aurburn diff
i still dont see what the problem is.
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Old Jan 5, 2007 | 06:49 AM
  #15  
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From: Lawrence, KS
Car: Met. Silver 85 IROC/Sold
Engine: 350 HO Deluxe (350ci/330hp)
Transmission: T-5 (Non-WC)
Axle/Gears: Limited Slip 3.23's
This from the sticky at the top of the page:

http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/dox...overheat-1.htm

Good luck.

JamesC
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Old Jan 5, 2007 | 06:56 AM
  #16  
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Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 3.27 9-bolt
The cooling system is designed to transfer heat from one medium to another. A correctly operating cooling system will transfer more heat than the system produces and will cause a drop in engine operating temperature. Your engine operating temperature is not dropping so your cooling system is NOT operating correctly.

You said that even with the fans running the system still overheats. Think we can rule out fan operation as a likely cause of your overheating problem?
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Old Jan 5, 2007 | 08:10 AM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by naf
The cooling system is designed to transfer heat from one medium to another. A correctly operating cooling system will transfer more heat than the system produces and will cause a drop in engine operating temperature. Your engine operating temperature is not dropping so your cooling system is NOT operating correctly.

You said that even with the fans running the system still overheats. Think we can rule out fan operation as a likely cause of your overheating problem?
heres another check for ya thats not even cooling related....

you can setup your engine to overheat too.... check your timing... improper base timing can also dump HUGE amounts of heat into your cooling system, overtaxing it.
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Old Jan 5, 2007 | 08:31 AM
  #18  
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You got me, I presupposed an efficiently operating engine/system.
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