I have a 1989 Camaro RS with a 2.8L V6 automatic. I know the fan works cuz i hooked it straight to the battery and it turned on. so i know its not the fan itself or the fan motor. i know that the wires connected to the fan had been cut and taped together by the previous owner. i know some people say the fan turns on when they have the A/C on but my A/C doesn't even work so the fan never comes on even if I do turn the A/C on. I have also put in a new thermostat. And have gotten new wires for the fan. It still won't turn on. Any ideas on what it might be?

 

fan relay, or fan switch. The V8 cars have a fan switch on pass side head between #6 & #8 spark plugs, with a single wire connector that looks like a mushroom shape - not sure on the V6 cars.

Also - your car might not have a switch - some setuups are controlled by the ECM, via the Coolant Temp Sensor - usually on the intake, by the thermostat, 2 wires (yellow and black) - this tells ECM temps, and ECM runs fan.

Sorry - not a V6 expert - but gives you a few things to look for/at.

 

Thanks so much. I'll take a look at those things and see if it fixes it.

 

Word of Advice, I just changed the fan sensor switch (passenger side) from under the car, and You will need a 21mm socket, 1/2" I suggest and watch out for coolant once it's loose.

The part was like $9~ at autozone, and it was fine. It's rare for relays to go out, but that is a consideration to take into count. Best way to test if it's the switch not working, turn your key forward (without starting), and take the connector off that coolant fan sensor switch, and just hold it up against the body of the starter (so that it grounds), and see if your fan comes on.

If you fan does not come on, you have another issue, and your fan switch sensor on the block is probably fine.

Next place to check would then be the relay, mounted on driver side wall, behind a metal bracket and sensor (maybe the map?). There will be two of them, check them both.

 

A 2.8 would be ECM controlled for the fan (220°F on temp) and had a redundant fan switch (238°F on).

If you know the fan is good then the other possibilities are:
dead relay (bad contacts/coil)...
-no power to coil (fp/fan fuse)
-no power at contact side (fuse link supplying power to fan dead)
bad temperature sensor (ecm has skewed temp reading to turn fan on... rare)
failed ECM circuit not turning on fan (just as rare as above)
failed fan switch (never used backup to ECM that failed)


For that having been said, how hot is the engine getting ? (which was never stated)

The fan will not run (less a/c operating) until 220°F as sensed by the coolant temperature sensor for the ECM.

The gauge could spin around 3 times, it's irrelevant. Until the ECM reads 220° from the CTS, the fan will not run.

 

The engine is getting up to 220 like it normally does and then it starts to cool off, but if you keep driving for like 5 more minutes then it starts going up to 240 and then it does the same thing. Starts to cool off a little, but if you keep driving then it starts going to 260 which is the highest the gauge goes. It usually will almost get to 260 if i've been driving for about 15 minutes. Also after the engine gets hot, the car won't want to start.

 

I just fixed my fan issue a few weeks ago on my 92 V6. Fan wasn't working because the fusible link blew and I replaced it with the correct size fusible link (2 wire sizes smaller than the wire it feeds). Fan appeared to be working fine after that. Blew the fusible link again a day later. I inspected the fan and it seemed like it turned a little hard by hand. I went to advance auto and bought a new fan motor for around $25. That fixed the problem and did not blow anymore fusible links. My guess is the fan motor was about shot and required more current to spin causing the link to blow. The lesson I learned is just because the fan motor can function doesn't mean it is in good shape.

 

What's the best way to install an override switch to turn the fan on when desired on an 88 2.8 w/T-5?

Thanks,

RtR
www.chevyasylum.com

 

For reference: I found thru experimentation that the fan relay is the center of the 3 relays on the firewall, driver's side between the master cylinder and the fender. Adding a parallel circuit with a switch to ground allows the fan to be controlled by a toggle switch.

The way I did it was to use a piggy-back wire connector to add a wire to the Grn/Wht wire, thru the switch and then to ground. I used an illuminated switch so I could see when I had the fan switched on.

This only works while the ignition switch is in the "Run" position.

RtR
www.chevyasylum.com