I just had my radiator re-tanked. After replacing the rad, topping up the fluids and letting car idle for a while I noticed that the fan didn't turn on (there's only one, no A/C). I took the car to work this morning (good 45 min highway drive) and still no fan. The light on dash is not coming on (it does work) so I don't think it's overheated; yet. Where do I start tracking down this problem?

 

I think you messed up on your topic.. if you want it changed, PM me.

It's entirely possible your fan never needed to come on.. hard to know how hot it got without a gauge. Time is not a factor as to when it will come on, how much air and the temperature of the air flowing across the radiator is.. and it can take a bit for the coolant to reach 225 degrees.. meaning a highway drive will definitely not result in the fan running.

You can test the fan by checking your trouble codes (not within the codes themselves.. the fan comes on during the test)

 

so, as long as the fan comes on when i jump the a and B terminals then fan works?

 

This doesn't test the thermal fan relay, but it does test the rest of the fan circuitry and the fan itself.. the probability of the relay dying at the same time you had your radiator serviced is pretty slim.

 

The fan doesn't come on until 228*F. If it's still cold where you are, it might not be reaching that temp.

If it is heating up, you can disconnect the fan motor connector and hook it up to 12V and see if the motor actually works.

 

I just don't want it to ever overheat. I don't have any gauges. Only the idiot lights. I figure by the time the light comes on it's probably too late anyways.

 

First off, I really don't think it's cold enough here for the fan to need to come on. On a hot day here in Vancouver it takes a good while of idling for the engine to heat up to the on temp. Second, you can easily test the relay by powering it up with the battery if you know what you are doing.

 

That's a reasonable concern.. but you need to actually know what temperature your engine is at before we can really say it's not working.

 

I was just like fu(k it with my fan problems, so it always running now. So what if I have to replace it here and there. it dosn't bother me.

 

vancouver and overheating, riiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhtttttttt

seriously though my fan is the same way don't worry to much about it just test the van on a batt and if it works you should be good

 

Its like the exact opposite here. If its not hot, its one of those rare days outof the year, that your not dying, like today, its pretty nice.