JasonKaw

Took car out of storage the other day, couple of trips back and forth to work. Noticed the cooling fan not running after shutting the car off. Temp in MN has been between 50 and 60 degrees. Is this normal on cooler days? If there is a problem, where do I start looking to figure out the problem? Relays/ fuses? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

JasonKaw

Also, have I done any damage do to this fan not running? Thanks

6ocyclehum

They will only run after the car has been turned off if the coolant temp has reached the temp specified on the coolant temp switch, located on the side of the radiator. There are different temp switches available, but most should be on if your temp gauge is in the upper area, say 3/4's. I have the lower temp switch and the damn fans come on slightly above a 1/4 on my gauge, but fans are cheaper to replace than the engine. Try turning on your AC and checking the fan- should be running with AC on.

WHAMspeed

Indeed. I had the same problem last year and ordered "the coolant temp switch" also called a thermoswitch. It is a PITA to get to. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN it. I was a DA and a $25 fix turned into a 6 week $900 radiator job because I over tightened the thermoswitch and cracked the plastic housing around the radiator.

It was a miserable experience because I took it to a shop that a guy I met at the track recommended to have the radiator replaced. I was ready to body slam the guy that owned the shop as he was worthless and it took 6 WEEKS to get it back. I have since started wrenching myself.

mzman

Some what similar question to throw in here. What is the normal behavior for the cooling fan after shutdown?

A constant high speed for a bit then turn off. Or switching from high speed to low speed every 5 seconds, then turn off after 30 seconds to a minute.

Techno Duck

Had some issues with my fan switch yesterday. I started the car and was doing a quick walk around while it warmed up. I was kneeling by the drivers side front tire when i heard the fan relay click and the high speed fans turn on. Knew something was amiss almost immediately as the car had been sitting for about 4 hours.

20 miles later i was home and the fans still running on high speed. Shut car off, fans stop. I knew it was the fan switch because of this as the fans only run at high speed with the ignition on, but i swapped the ~$100 fan relay with a spare i keep in the arm rest for the heck of it, still the same problem.

Thankfully my friend owns a garage and has a WorldPac account. $28 and 30 minutes later i had a new Wahler fan switch ready to go in. An hour later with my car on the lift and coolant soaked shoes, fans are working normally again.

The only thing is i had a low temp (85c/93c) fan switch in the car and replaced it with the normal temp (92c/102c) range. My dash gauge now goes to the 1/2 mark before the fans kick on (used to kick in just after the first white line). Also i am seeing about 15 degree higher temps on my digital gauge which is tapped into the upper radiator hose (car would warm idle to about 185 degrees before cooling down.. now goes up to about 200 before coming down). I am going to continue to run the stock range fan switch for a little longer and will probably order another low temp before it really gets warmer out.