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Engine running hot, I think...

BoSoxBruin said:
Ugg... Looks like my engine will be getting a nice coat of coolant over it then :crazy:

Unless, is there some "special tool" to take out the plug? The only thing I can get to it with is my drill with a flexible attachment thing...
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forget the drain plug on the radiator. grab the pliers and crawl under the car. on the passenger side there is a hose that goes under the oil pan near the subframe. it is actually bolted to the pan. this is part of the lower radiator hose and leads back to the heater core. undo the clamp and pull of the hose. let he coolant drain from there.

it is the easiest place to drain the coolant from and it also happens to be the lowest point in the cooling system.
 
Well, Autozone could not check the relays and they did not have any in stock... I changed the sensor (in like 5-min thanks to the draning trick), but that did not fix the problem... I was thinking maybe the wires connected to it, but if you disconnect it with the engine on, the fan automatically turns on at low then high speed, so that means that the computer recognizes that there is nothing to read...

So, I dunno...
 
Hahaha, listen to this... I had taken the fuse box cover off and placed it on the strut mount (or whatever you call it) like I always do... I was looking at the relays again, and then shut the hood... It did not close all the way, so I assumed that I did not let it drop enough, so I tried again... This time it locked but I noticed it was crooked, because I left the cover to the fuse box on the strut mount! So that was all smashed up :mad:

I went to the junk yard and got a new cover, although they only had V6s so I could not get a relay also :nonono:
 
Ok, could someone with a 1995 Contour Zetec do a little favor for me?

I ohmed the wiring which connects to the engine coolant sensor and got a this resistance: about 9 x1000 ohms... If you change which connector hole the (-) and (+) are put into, then the resistance goes up to about 20 x1000 ohms if I remember correctly... Also, this is with the engine off...

I also ohmed the green, low speed relay and got these resistances:
1(-) and 6(+) = about 3.5 x1000 ohms
1(-) and 7(+) = about 40 x1000 ohms
There was also resistance between 5(+) and 1(-), 6(-), and 7(-) along with resistance between 6(-/+) and 7(-/+)

So is any of this crap bad? I went to another junk yard with no luck... Also, neiter Autozone or Advance Auto Parts carries the relay, they both said that I need to go to the stealership to get one... Any idea how much this would run me?
 
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I just went into Autozone and explained everything to them... One of their employees had the same problem and apparently his car caught fire in the dealership parking lot, LOL... But I told them everything and they also thought it was the relay... The called the Ford dealership and it is $37.95 for a new low speed and only $14.95 for the high speed, go figure...

I would still like someone to check out the post above this though, please... As far as the connector which goes on the engine coolant sensor, anyone should be able to check that against mine, just to see how close my resistance is... That also looks fun to replace since you need to go into the PCM :shrug:

I think I may just hard wire a switch for the fan though... If I do this, should I attach it to the relay or to wiring between the relay and the fan motor? Any specific wire type? Do I need to add a fuse in there and if so what kind? Thanks for any help...
 
Last bit of evidence I forgot to add before from my trip to Autozone... They said that the engine coolant sensor only sends the info to manage the air and fuel ratio... They said that there was another sensor (this one) on the side of the radiator which actually turns on the fans... They said that in some mid-90's cars, if there was not enough freon in the system, the cooling system would fail along with the A/C... Is this a possibility? My A/C is not that cold... Is it worth getting it recharged, or should I just pull both the low and high speed relays and wire them to switches in the cab, just making sure that I put them on whenever I have the A/C or defroster on?
 
once again more proof that the people at AutoZone are dumbass's. if that switch were needed how would the fan turn on in cars that didnt have AC? i removed my AC and the fan still comes on just the same.

dont worry about your AC right now. solve one problem at a time.

take a small piece of wire and jump the pins on the relay plug, obviously you have to remove the relay first and turn the ignition to run first. if the fan comes on at the same speed it always does then there is no problem. if it comes on at a slower speed replace the relay. if it still doesnt come on then you need to check the low speed resistor.
 
striker2 said:
take a small piece of wire and jump the pins on the relay plug, obviously you have to remove the relay first and turn the ignition to run first. if the fan comes on at the same speed it always does then there is no problem. if it comes on at a slower speed replace the relay. if it still doesnt come on then you need to check the low speed resistor.
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I did this a long while back in the post and both speeds work... I am leaning to it being the relay, but can someone just explain how the relay allows the low speed fan to turn on with the A/C yet it does not come on until the car is on the brink of overheating? Like are there two parts to the relay and only one is broken? I just do not want to pay $40 and have that not be my problem...

Also, when I said further back that my fan does not come on all the time when I have my A/C or defroster on, the car does not always "rev up" like it did before... Like when I first put it on, it "revs up" and the fan comes on... Then after sitting or driving a bit the engine stops "reving up" and the fan also shuts off (it used to never stop)... Then I can rarely get it to "rev up," sometimes I can though when I restart the car...

I printed out the wiring charts from Chiltons and am going to check everything (disconnecting the battery first of course)...
 
i would have to look at a wiring diagram but IIRC the relay is turned on via the PCM. the AC switch will tell the PCM the AC line pressure. if the pCM deems it necessary to turn the fan on it does.

i should be able to get you resistance readings on the low speed fan from a 97 zetec tonight.
 
striker2 said:
i would have to look at a wiring diagram but IIRC the relay is turned on via the PCM. the AC switch will tell the PCM the AC line pressure. if the pCM deems it necessary to turn the fan on it does.

i should be able to get you resistance readings on the low speed fan from a 97 zetec tonight.
Click to expand...

So how come all the post I read people say the fan ALWAYS runs with the A/C on?

And thanks for getting the resistance...
 
If I pull both of the fan relays and wire two switches into the dashboard, and as long as I always turn the fan on with the air conditioner / defroster, will it screw up the PCM in any way? It will just think it is running normally, right?

What gauge of wire should I use, somthing hefty I would presume...
 
Tony2005 said:
If you want the fan to come on all the time, just do the moderndino fix.
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Hahaha, funny you should metion that... I was just reading about that on the old forums :laugh:

EDIT: And I also read about the 9-volt battery test... Now, the relay I pulled from a junk-yard (wrong year, wrong prong locations for my car) will open regardless of which of the two prongs you put the +/- on... But my relay only opens if the positive and negative are a certian way, and if you switch them then they the relay does not open... Maybe the A/C signal flows one way, and then the "overheating" signal flows the other way? Anyways, it would still suck to have to replace the relay... Between this and a tranny fluid change is almost $100 :cry:
 
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the relay has a supression diode inside to reduce radio noise. whe you apply the voltage backwards the diode looks like a short across the coil preventing it from operating. The A/C and overheat "flow" in the same direction.
 
twocontours said:
the relay has a supression diode inside to reduce radio noise. whe you apply the voltage backwards the diode looks like a short across the coil preventing it from operating. The A/C and overheat "flow" in the same direction.
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Yea, I actually took it apart last night... I did notice this, there are two blue resistors on the top of the board, one had a resistance of 1,000 ohms and the other had a resistance of 20,000 ohms! I did not think that was good since they have the same pattern, I am going to see if I can buy one today...

Can anyone tell me the right one to get by the colors? It is light blue with a red line, then purple line, then black line, then red line, then a space, then a red line...

resistor-code1.jpg
 
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Unless you cut one lead of each resistor and measure it, the measurement is not accurate of that resistor.

Other circuit elements may be connected to the resistor thru the circuit board and make the measurement meaningless if you measure it installed in a circuit board.

Mike
 
mrutkaus said:
Unless you cut one lead of each resistor and measure it, the measurement is not accurate of that resistor.

Other circuit elements may be connected to the resistor thru the circuit board and make the measurement meaningless if you measure it installed in a circuit board.

Mike
Click to expand...

Yea, I took them out of the board and tested them... Apparently they were two different patterns :eek:

I soldered them back in and my fan now comes on at the L, when before it would not come on at all :shrug:

My car is cursed :blackeye:
 
Welcome.
The TEMP reading has always concerned me as well.
The needle always seems to go to the A, but like some other folks have
said, it never seems to overheat. On mine the sending unit must be
set to a high level because the needle reaches between A and L
before the fan turns on. Cleaning out debris in the radiator core can
go a long way to better cooling. More on that below.

The good news is that the fan (at least mine) is very efficient and
moves a lot of air. Even in hot weather when the needle reaches L and
the fan goes on you can see the needle drop within a matter of about
60 - 120 seconds.

I've been told that the fan is actually a 2-speed fan, however I have
never been able to determine if mine actually shifts speeds as the need
increases.

Once (I wasn't driving), the car spun on deep water in the middle of a
heavy rainstorm in the middle of the interstate in Alabama, on a
stretch of road that was notorious for slippery pavement.
Needless to say the car went on an "agricultural excursion" and ended
up in a ditch with water deep enough to fill the floorboards with 1 inch of
water. Anyway, the radiator picked up a lot of mud. It took a long time
to dry the car out an eventually I had to clear the radiator openings with
compressed air. That made a big difference in the cooling.

Regards- Gary -------Atlanta
 
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