After a long winter stored away, took the car out of the garage today to let it run a bit (idle in the driveway). After about 20 minutes, temp light came on. stopped the engine and poped the hood. First thing that I noticed was some white smoke comming from the battery area. ****! Upon looking closer, a wire had burnt through it's plastic wrap. (see the photo) Also, a steel bolt was blocking the fan. How'd that get there?? any way...

Wondering what this wire was feeding, I opened the service manual (Trans Am 1987 GTA) and it seemed to point the the inline fusable link between the batery and the Fan relay. Fine but when I look at the diagram vs. the actual wire that's burned i'm not so sure. I mean, to replace the fusable link (in this case) It look's like I have the raplace the whole cable that connects to the positive lead o the battery! This is crazy!

So, basicly, my question is: the wire that melted, is it the "fusable link" or is it just a normal wire that is NOT suppose to melt it's wrap???

ps: I'm new at this so please dont be to harsh...

 

I just replaced the battery cable, but not from a parts store, they don't have the extra connectors (weather pack, and they connect to fuse holders, and fusible links,) or the alternator power lead, mine doesn't have any permanent fusible links on the positive battery cable at the battery.

 

Well I looked again in the service manual and validated with what I was seeing in the engine bay. The according to the manual and the description of a fusable link's internal, the wire that melted is a Fusabe Link.

Well, finding that realy stupid (maintenance wise) I decided to replace the fusable link with an inline fuse (did that today).

But now I'm wondering what size of fuse is needed? I tried 20Amps and it worked fine in diagnostic mode, but when I actually ran the engine to trigger the fan, a 30Amp fuse barely lasted 20 seconds before meltdown.

So what do you guies think: do I realy need a 35+ Amps fuse to replace a 20 AWG fusable link or would this be something worse like an intermitant short? How many amps do these fan motors draw any way?

An other option would be to add a weather pack connector between the batery and the fusable link. Which, on second thought, is probably what I'll end up doing. But before doing that, I want to make sure that every thing is fine. I melted 4 fuses today but who cares, while it would realy have P*** me off if they had been fusable links ($ and time).

Cheers.

 

The fusible links in these cars can be a pain. My fan link broke a few years ago (I think I cut it accidentally, actually...) but an inline fuse is functioning just fine in its place.

A fusible link is a piece of wire that has a slightly higher gauge (smaller diameter) than the rest of the wire in that circuit. When the current draw exceeds that of which the circuit is designed to operate, which is directly related to the size of the fusible link, the smaller-diameter wire melts and saves the components from frying themselves. In theory, you could probably just use regular wire, but I'm not completely sure. I would definitely check an auto parts store first to see if they sell fusible link wire -- they might even be able to tell you what size to use.

I think my fans are using a 20A fuse. If you're still blowing fuses, you might want to check the wiring to be sure the whole circuit is working properly. Since you found a bolt obstructing the movement of the fan, it's likely that the fan may have become damaged internally. This may cause the fan to draw more current, which could explain the reason why the fuses keep failing.

 

you could also try a different brand fuse, i had the same thing happen after i installed my flex-a-lite fans. put in a better fuse and its been fine ever sence

 

Both of my fans run off of a 20amp inline fuse.

 

I had not thought of the possibility that the fan motor might have suffered a partial meltdown. Makes sense! especialy after having checked the reste of the circuit and found it to fine.

I'll pick up a new fan motor later this week and try it out this week end.

I'll post the result. just in case some one else ever search for this.

Thanks for the help!

 

I had not thought of the possibility that the fan motor might have suffered a partial meltdown. Makes sense! especialy after having checked the reste of the circuit and found it to fine.

I'll pick up a new fan motor later this week and try it out this week end.

I'll post the result. just in case some one else ever search for this.

Thanks for the help!

 

Yup, that was the problem: fused motor.

When I took it off the fan blades, I noticed that something was rattleling in motor's casing. Shook it a little and a melted peace of wired fell out. Funny that it still "works" though.

Any way, replaced the motor and started up the car (with a 20Amp fuse). Works like a charm! Hurray!!!

Muchas Gracias seniors!!

ps: now if only the weather can clear so that I can drive it a bit. S'been to long of a winter....

 

Glad you found the solution I just hope that it isnt a real problem that would cause the fuses to break constantly.