quick and simple. having problems with overheating. fan not cutting on. hooked fan up to battery and it comes on. changed out coolant sensor. still overheating. checked relay. relay and harness are burnt up. bought new relay. question: can i plug in the new relay to the harness that is still burnt up a lil or do i need to go ahead and buy new harness. i know eventually i will have to buy new harness, but for right now, will it work?

 

If it's not bad, it should work.
Keep in mind that if the relay is not the reason it burnt up it will more then likely get worse.
You can also get a wiring terminal, for the wires, won't have a plug and you will want to make sure you keep them in the right spot, but they will "plug" right into each terminal. Works for an inline fuse in a pinch too.

 

Sounds like someone by passed the fusible link which should be linked between the positive wire and the battery (if the link was still there it would have melted instead of the harness and relay). You are only asking for problems using a burnt wire. After a wire is burnt the protective plastic is easly broken off and will cause another short and possibly a fire if there is no fusible link or at least an inline fuse.

 

i bought the car from my sister who pretty much never took care of the car. there are a few more problems i am running into. i checked the fuse and it is fine. whats the best way to find out if she or someone else bypassed the fuse?

 

Trace all the wiring to power the fan and look for any hack jobs or spliced wires.

 

well, since its a wiring harness i need, i called the dealership and asked for prices on the harness, but its been discontinued for some reason. my best bet now is a junk yard which i have already called local ones and noone has my model camaro.

 

no luck

 

There should be 2 fuses in play:
1) fusible link between battery or starter and the Relay itself (fan will not work if this link is destroyed but will if bypassed)

2) fuse under dash is secondary fuse for trigger (fan will not run if this one is out)

Is the fan working now or not? If you have re-hooked everthing up and it still does not work You may have fried the fan. Try hooking it up directly to see if it spins. Or to check the Relay just need to ground the Green/White wire.

 

Your fan motor may be worn out, and drawing too much current. I just had the same problem (burned up a fan relay), and replaced both fan motors. Do the fan power wires get warm/hot when the fan is running? If so, that's a good clue the fan is drawing too much current. Also, make sure that all of the connections are clean and corrosion free. Autozone sells replacement fan motors for $25 each, and they're pretty easy to change.

 

i bought the car from my sister for only $800.00, so naturally there are some things wrong with it. One thing wrong was the coolant fan switch sensor, lower left side of the block as you are looking at the engine. the wire that goes in the sensor was pulled out and the bare wire was just dangling there. could that have been the reason the coolant fan relay burnt up like it did? i've already fixed the bare wire issue with another pig tail and last night i ordered another relay harness and bought another relay. just waiting on harness to get here in a couple days and wire it in.

 

Lower block was likely the knock sensor. It has the same type single wire connector as the fan switch, which is located higher, in the head between #6 and #8.

Grounding the wire lead to the temp switch will not result in a burnt relay. It'll just command the fan 'on' constantly.

Consider replacing that fan motor. It's cheap insurance and the most likely cause of your burnt relay. If when you turn your existing fan by hand it doesn't spin freely, wobbles or makes a noise it's definitely time.