Fans

Hey, I need some advice. Even since my car went in the ditch a few days ago, I've had a problem with my engine temp going up in city driving. As long as I'm moving, it's fine - when I sit there, it climbs. Pretty fast, too. The ram-air effect helps a lot, and turning the heater on seems to also, or at least it makes it stop climbing. After I drove home today, I let it heat up just a little bit, and checked the fans right there behind the grills. They aren't turning. Obviously, it wasn't all bumper damage.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can fix this myself? Or will it have to be done by a mechanic?

First, hook the fans up to a 12v source and see if they work. If they do (I'm betting they will), it's probably a wiring issues. You'll have to follow the wires and hopefully it's just a loose connection. Could be a coolant temp sensor or relay as well, but try the simple things first.

I've had my low coolant light constantly go on and off almost since I got the car. The Service Engine light even came on for a while. I had Autozone check it, and it said either the coolant was low, it had a bad sensor, or it had a bad thermostat. Well, it's got coolant, and I replaced the thermostat today. So, it's obviously got a bad sensor anyway.

Is that something someone with just basic mechanical knowledge could swap? And is it something I can just call me local GM dealer and buy?

The coolant level sensor and coolant temp sensor are different. Both are very easy to replace with just a decent ratchet/wrench set or driver set.

I can't find anything wrong with it, but I'll have a friend of mine look at it. He knows a little more than I do.

I'm having the same problem. What I need to know is where is the darn Coolant sensor on a 01 GT with a 3.8L. I have looked all over the top of the engine but can not fing it.

Should be on the lower intake manifold next to the thermostat housing. If it's like the L67, it will be on the lower side.

Yep, Rook is spot on.

Found it. Thanks, Lookes to be a pain in the a-- to change.

Nah, just use an open ended adjustable wrench and crank that sucker out. You'll probably lose coolant so try to swap them out quickly. Also, I would use some type of RTV or thread sealer on the new one when you put it back in if I were you.

dont mean to jack this thread, but how do you hook the fans up to a 12v source? today i was driving and noticed my temp was quite a bit higher than normal... checked the fans and sure enough, theyre not turning... when do they turn on anyways? my temp never gets above the first big hash, but today it was between the big first hash and the 210... thanks guys

They shouldn't kick on until your in the 200s somewhere. 220 seems about right, maybe someone has the specs. Most aftermarket PCMs kick the fans on at like 195 to complement 180 thermostats.

To hook to a 12v source, unplug the fans. Then just jumper two wires from your batter to the fan. Simple as that. Getting to the plug is the hard part, the fans only have a positive and negative. Worst you could do is reverse polarity and spin the fan the opposite direction.

thanks for the help rook... my temp has never gotten anywhere near that, so im not as worried as i was before... maybe tomorrow ill see if i cant get her a little warm, then check to see if the fans are working... thanks again

Really, 220? Ok, I need to check them again. When I checked it, I didn't let it get that high (although it was higher than normal when I checked it).

And btw, thanks for asking how to hook them up, I didn't know and forgot to ask. lol

rook you dont have to unhook the fans... what i did is i took off the cover for the fuse box and i pulled out the electric fan relay took a short piece of wire and then did it like that it was pretty simple

That works, if you can follow the wire diagram. I wouldn't suggest most people go prodding in the fuse box connecting slots.

Here's a question: For those of you who have a stock GTP (or remember when you did), what was the temp normally at? Because mine is normally a little below the bottom quarter mark. At least, it is when the engine's running correctly.

I'm 99.9% certain that the temp was acting up before I swapped out my thermostat, but I wish I hadn't thrown away my stock one so I could check for sure.

Mine runs right at that spot too - just on (or slightly below when it's very cold out) the first quarter mark.

OK, thanks.

Can anyone confirm Rook's number of 220 for the fans to turn on?

I don't mean to second guess you Rook, because I know you know a lot more about cars than I do, but that sounds awfully high to me. The gauge goes from 160 to 260, and I haven't even seen my gauge get to 220, even when it's way hotter than normal.

It just sounds a little odd to me, is all.

It was a guess on my part. Stock thermostat is 195 though. So, it won't kick on before that.

On my mom's car, the fans kick on right at 210 on the gauge. On my car, the fans don't kick in until the gauge says about 230. Somewhere in the 210-230 range is normal for the fans to kick in.

Hey, this is a kinda off topic question, but that's the difference between the 160 degree thermostat and the 180 degree one in the GP store? I mean, I know what the numbers mean, but what effect does that have on your car? I bought the 180 degree one, but should I have bought the 160 degree one?

And you're probably right about the fan temp. If you read the Coolant topic, I'm DEFINITELY leaking coolant now. It didn't used to be puddling on the ground, but now it is, so whatever it is, it's getting worse. I'm taking it to get it checked tomorrow. Since I poured more coolant straight into the radiator, I haven't had any problems with the temp trying to go sky high on me.

160 is for seriously modded cars. And if you live in cooler climes you will get an SES light for coolant temp too low. The bad part about that is the PCM thinks the engine isn't warming up so it adjusts the fuel tables and can really mess things up tune wise.

Nah, I live in Texas. I WISH I lived some place cooler. lol