Alright, heres the situation, I don't have ac or heat, both are removed. I have a switch wired to a fan for it to come on. I was driving around the block and my car started to get hot, hit 220 and kept going, just before it entered the red zone, I shut it down on the side of the road. I had turned on the fan. So, I'm assuming that my thermostat isn't opening up. Also, my other fan had not turned on. Any advice how to solve this issue? Thermostat is stock, so I know it's a higher temp, but it should have cooled down a little instead of continuing to go up. I'm going to put a cooler thermostat in soon. Should solve my issues?

 

Do you now or have you ever had tap water in the system? You may have blocked passages in the radiator, which can greatly compromise the cooling ability.

It's also possible you have a small leak somewhere that is preventing proper pressurization of the system. The temp water boils at rises as pressure increases, so if a leak (even a pinhole) exists the system will not pressurize and instead boils at atmospheric pressure. Since steam A. is already supersaturated with heat and B. cannot be circulated with a water pump, a non-pressurized system will quickly lead to overheating. This can also happen if an air pocket exists within a sealed system. Even though the system is sealed and pressurized, any air present will form a blockage to proper flow and allow heat to build in localized areas, usually within cylinder heads. This can quickly kill and engine, hence why properly "burping" all air from a cooling system is so vital.

Be sure to check for proper operation of both fans to eliminate them.

I wouldn't change out for a different temp thermostat just yet until you check all the above.

 

Never added water without coolant. And I know for an absolute fact that I don't have a leak. One fan never operates. However, did change the temp switch on the passenger side and had to drain some coolant and re-add it.

 

What I meant is do you know or have you ever had non-demineralized water in your system. The minerals over time will come out of solution and build up in the system, usually at critical points until they create a blockage or adverse flow. It usually manifests itself in the radiator first, at it has many small passages that easily clog. A symptom is an overheating car will have a radiator that is hot to the touch on its upper passages but cool on its lower ones (where no coolant flow is present due to blockage).

If you had to open the system recently for maintenance then that makes me suspect an air bubble. Thoroughly "burp" the system and ensure you have no trapped air anywhere. I do this with the car running, cap off, system topped off and my hand over the radiator fill while alternating squeezing both the upper and lower hoses, until it both A. will take no more coolant and B. coolant becomes hot and thermostat opens. Be very careful not to let the coolant get so hot as to scald yourself. A rag handy and in arms reach during the process is highly recommended.

This should also tell you if your fans are operating properly. If notcheck voltages at each, or stop the engine and run a jumper 12V wire to the suspect one and verify it works. Electrical gremlins are never fun, but then again rebuilding an overheated engine isn't very entertaining, either.

 

One fan runs off the ECM command signal.

One fan runs off of a fan temp switch located in the passenger side head.

Since you have yours running off a switch, I don't know which is which. Since you removed the AC, you also removed one of the troubleshooting methods for these cars.

Normally I would say turn on the AC and both fans should turn on. IF they do then the power circuit is good and it's a relay or switch or ECM issue.

Then I'd say take the wire off the temp switch in the passenger side head and ground the wire to chassis ground. This should turn on the secondary fan.

Is the fan spinning the correct direction when you turn it on?

Have you run power to the other fan to make sure the motor on it is good?

Also, as mentioned and this is a common mistake, make sure it's burped and you don't have any air bubbles in the system.

 

Where's my "like" button?

OH yeah..

haha

Good post.