radiator fan help

[97 EK MIKE]

i have a 97 sedan, and every time the car runs for a while it overheats because the radiator fan will not switch on.. and all the wiring seems to be good.. i cant figure out what might be causing it to not switch on. any suggestions?

[SickSi99]

fan switch is probably bad.

[phunhaus]

Fan switch is the one located on the thermostat housing.


Run a short wire from the positive of the battery to the positive of the fan and see if it turns on. If not, your fan is bad. If it does turn on, your fan switch may be bad.

[97 EK MIKE]

Originally Posted by SickSi99

fan switch is probably bad.

ok thanks. where exactly is the switch itself located? and once i find it, how do i know if its bad or not? thanks again

[SickSi99]

read the above post from phunhaus.

[phunhaus]

Damn. phunhaus is a motherfucking psychic!

[97 EK MIKE]

Originally Posted by phunhaus

Fan switch is the one located on the thermostat housing.


Run a short wire from the positive of the battery to the positive of the fan and see if it turns on. If not, your fan is bad. If it does turn on, your fan switch may be bad.

ok correct me if im wrong.. the fan switch is brown.. and the ECM sensor is black. and there is more to the story. my current radiator has a crack in it and a new one is on its way.. but the fan suddenly wouldnt switch on with the old radiator after 12 years of working perfectly. the radiator and fan are now out of the car completely.. and when the new radiator comes in i will let you know if the fan works or not.. i doubt it.

[phunhaus]

There are three sensors/switches in the coolant system.

The two on the head are sensors - the single wire runs directly and only to the gauge. The dual wire sensor goes to the ECU.

The two wire switch on the thermostat housing is your fan switch. That works independently of the other two sensors.

[97 EK MIKE]

Originally Posted by phunhaus

There are three sensors/switches in the coolant system.

The two on the head are sensors - the single wire runs directly and only to the gauge. The dual wire sensor goes to the ECU.

The two wire switch on the thermostat housing is your fan switch. That works independently of the other two sensors.

ok, thanks i found fan switch.. i'm just gonna wait to see if it works when the new radiator comes in. if it doesnt i guess i'll just replace it.

[4doorsleeper]

instead of running a wire from the battery and taking a chance of burning the wiring up in the car just jump the clip on the wiring harness take a wire splice both ends and put one on each side of the clip if the fan dosent work. change the fan. if it does work the sensor is bad very simple good luck

[97 EK MIKE]

thanks for the help, i installed the new radiotor a couple months ago (forgot about this thread) and it works fine, car runs great.

[Delsol95]

This helped me I'm haveing radiator issues at he moment and my fan quit working so I'm gonna check my switch