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97 Ford Contour radiator fan problem

C

CWC94RANGER

New CEG'er
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
6
Hello all. First off, new to the forum and really like it. I have looked through a lot of the posts here which have similar symptoms as my Contour. My radiator fan (it has only one fan) will only come on when the A/C is on. I have tried the relay test (jumping pins 3 & 5, key off) and on the green relay I get no movement from the fan. On the black relay I get a spark and to be honest, I'm hesitant to hold the jumper there in fear of smoking something.

I heard reference of low speed resistor that could be faulty. Does anyone know exactly where it is located and how difficult it would be to replace it?

Thanks in advance for any replies/help.
 
Welcome:) . I believe it is at the bottom of the fan housing and you can access from the bottom of the car. What engine, tranny and mileage?

The fan experts will probably post later to give more info.
 
See page 113 of owners manual (see www.fleet.ford.com) or under the cover. R5 is the green Low speed relay, R2 is the Black high speed relay.
3 and 5 are the 2 biggest pins in each relay. Maybe I can provide an image later, must go to work in the Mystique now...
 
Thanks for the responses. I've been out of town and haven't had a chance to reply untill now.

Contour GL
The engine is a 16V Zetec
Automatic Trans.
159,00 miles

I haven't had a chance to look for the resistor yet. Does anyone know if it is mounted somewhere or simply plugged in.

Thanks again for the responses!
 
its mounted in the fan shroud on the bottom drivers side. you have to pull the fan shroud completly out of the car to get to it.
 
Thanks for the response.
Is this something that could be done fairly easy or do you have to have five hands and feet to get the shroud out.
 
it should be fairly straight forward but i dont have an engine and trans in my car at the moment soo take that for what its worth.
 
You need to remove the radiator from the car then seperate the fan from the radiator. Not too hard but a PIA design. I wouldn't just do it on a whim, there is a lot of troubleshooting to do first. If you think it's the resistor unplug it from the bottom of the radiator and then check. With the connector pins on the harness shorted both high speed and low speed will be the same.
 
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Don't remove fan yet!!

Don't remove fan yet!!

The low speed (Green relay) fan speed works, so the resistor is OK!
 
I may getting a little confused here. I tried jumping pin 3 & 5 green relay(key off) and got no fan movement. I jumped pin 3 & 5 black relay and got a spark, fan seemed to want to turn but i removed jumper because I thought I smoke something. The fan does come on when the A/C is on, just doesn't come on when A/C is off (normal driving ). I was under the impression that the fan should come on when ther temp. gage reaches M or the A on the gage. Mine goes past the L and to the white line and still no fan.

Thanks guys
 
CWC94RANGER said:
I... Mine goes past the L and to the white line and still no fan.

Thanks guys
Click to expand...
This could be a problem. Check Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor wiring to PCM to see if it is frayed or chaffed. In addition, check if ECT Sensor is working.

Autozonelink for wiring diagram
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1e/b3/2d/0900823d801eb32d/repairInfoPages.htm

and location
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/ca/ba/0900823d801bcaba/repairInfoPages.htm
 
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The high speed fan relay circuit is good. This is clear because A/C usage forces the fan to always be on at high speed by design. The fan being on in this mode doesn't use temperature as the trigger.
Your trouble shooting chore is to determin if the sensors are telling the logic circuit you need fan. And/Or, if that temperature logic circuit is functioning.
There's two temperature sensors on the engine. One serves to move the dash gauge only. The second is used to tell the fan logic and engine management what to do. Start there. The engine/fan sensor is actually the easier to get at. It's a cheap replacement cost step. Be aware that the engine has to be pretty hot for either fan to come on in Contour. There are some precautions to consider. You've got to have water over the sensor. Simply adding to the resevoir doesn't cut it. Verify water in the radiator. Let it sit running in warm weather watching the gauge get just past the "hot" threshold. That's where a lot of Contours trigger the fan. It seams super hot, but that's how it was made.
I used a 185 thermostat in my fleet, and made a mod that tells the fan control that the AC is always on. My systems were all working, just warmer than I liked. I have not suffered any downside due to either of my changes. The AC fooler mod can be backed out for winter.

Gar
 
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Hey thanks Moderndino...this may defintely be an option. Is it just as easy as cutting one wire and splicing another wire into it and sending that one to ground? And it doesn't really hurt anything?

Thanks for the response and help.
 
sounds like you dont have a problem.

How high do you let the temperatute gauge get before you turn the A/C on?

If the gauge goes up to the L and the fan turns on, this is entirely normal. the Sending unit exaturates the temperature as being a lot higher then it really is. When the needle points up to the "L" on normal, the computer only indicates that the engine temperature is in the 190s, which is not critical.

But, as good measure... During the summer, with my old pre98 I used to flush my cooling system, refill it and add half a bottle of Water wetter, it can be had at autozone for like $5. Does wonders for the cooling system, and you can get a 175 degree thermostat at autozone for like $8. Do that and your cooling fan probably will never need to come on anyways. Although, during the winter, sway out a higher temp thermostat, or else you wont ever get to normal running temp.
 
CWC94RANGER said:
Hey thanks Moderndino...this may defintely be an option. Is it just as easy as cutting one wire and splicing another wire into it and sending that one to ground? And it doesn't really hurt anything?

....
Click to expand...
Yes and yes.
 
Well I'm still confused. I had a chance to look at the Contour this weekend. I looked for the resistor and I think I found it and man does it look like a pain in the &*# to get to, so I did the "moderdino fix" by the way only took about 10 minutes tops to do. Unfortunately the temp. gage still reads at the white line to the right of "N O R M A L" even with the fan running constantly. I did let the car cool overnight and hit the road the next day for a quick drive (city driving) and after about a mile and a half it was already to the white line. I thought that was kinda quick but in the past it has always gone to about the "M" or the "A" in that amount of time. Anyway I let the car idle for a while (10 mins.) and it just did creep above the white line but not into the red. Any ideas. New thermostat...new ECT...NEW CAR......Thanks guys for any help.
 
sounds like your coolant temp sending unit for the gauge is not working properly anymore. its the lower one on the bottom of the thermostate housing but with the right size socket (its really big) and ratchet its actually really easy to get. just make sure the engine is completly cold first.
 
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