I'm having a problem where my fans won't kick on. I found that the 60A fuse was blown, so I replaced it and they still don't work (yes the new fuse remains unblown). I've tried to get them to kick on by turning the AC to max, but they just sit there.
What would be the best place to start to find what's wrong? I don't have too much auto electrical experiance besides hooking up alarms and stereo equipment, but I can learn.
with the engine off and the ignition off reach in and try turning the fans by hand and make sure they turn freely.
Take a look at the wires going to the fans to make sure the insulation on the wires is in good condition and not shorting out on something.
Then try disconnecting the wire connectors at the fans and make a connection with some wires to the side of the connector that leads to the fan, connect the other end of the wire to a 12 volt source like the battery. That will determine if the fans are working.
If the fans work when connected with the jumper wires to a 12 volt source then the next place to look is the fan control relay which is probably inside the power distribution box under the hood.
Cool, sounds very doable.......
I'll post the results.......
Thanks!
-Daymon
Fans are freely moving, but didn't respond to the jumper wire test. All the wires look like they are in good shape and not shorting out on anything.
I'm wondering if I need to get any type of tester to make sure the wiring harness is at fault? Also it'd come into handy to see if my jumper wire was even hot and if my ground was good. (I loosened the terminal on the + and - of the battery and ran a wire from each, then tightened back down)
What should I do next?
TIA,
Daymon
if you ran wires from the battery to the fans and they do not work then the fans are bad(probably the wiring close to the fans, cant picuture two fans going out at the same time.. take the fan off and see if you can get closer to the fan(with the jumper wires to get them going)..... and when you have the fans disconneted then you put a voltmeter on the leads and put the a/c on and see if you get voltage as you are suppose to as the fans get juice all the time with the a/c on thats what lets them run.....
Box next to the battery has a relay in it that selects the fan(s) and controls the speed of them; maybe it is bad?? If you have the diagram, you can jump it out. I wouldn't jump it if you don't know what pin goes to the motor and which one the EEC picks.
sounds like a radiator fan motor, dont let it get hot!
OK, had better luck with the fan motors this time around with the jump wire. They both work and the wiring harness apears to be in good shape. I plugged everything back in and double checked that the high and low speed relays were pushed all the way in and the fuse is still good.
They still don't turn on with the AC on or if the car heats up! How likely is it that BOTH relays burned out? Should both fans kick on with the AC on, or just one?
I have a resistor block on the left lower corner of the radiator some cars have it some don't, it was blown and the high speed fan did not work on mine
Yeah, I have that as well............hmmmmmm......... I wonder if I should just replace the resistor and both relays?
Originally posted by Swazo:
....
They still don't turn on with the AC on or if the car heats up! How likely is it that BOTH relays burned out? Should both fans kick on with the AC on, or just one?
Ah, the real cool dude returns. Must have missed your initial post this time around.
Sounds to me that you might have had a short under battery/fuse box that burned itself clear and you now have an open circuit.
Forgot your vehicle info but fans are usually both off, both on low or both on high for v6. Resistor mentioned is in circuit from lo-speed relay to motors for lo-speed, direct feed from hi-speed relay to fan motors for hi-speed.
Suggest you remove battery (remove neg cable 1st) and do a thorough inspection from under fuse block to fan wiring harness.
Your prior problems:
hardwood
Easy search, I remembered your business. 
I'll review that thread later to see if any old posts re testing apply here. ((Done, none relevant)
p.s. Worked out ok for you this time but you should not use an unfused wire from battery for probing faults. If you do find one, things could go poof!
instead of replacing the parts, why not just test to see if you are getting electricity at the suspected part... if you getting electricity before the resistor then the resistor is bad..... if not then the resistor is probably good.. back up to the relay, see if you get electricity from the relay, and then before the relay...
If you post your year and engine, I can look up the circuit and give you a few quick diagnostic checks.
There are circuit variations depending on the year and engine. Information given for one year's model may or may not apply to what you have.
Steve
I have a '98 SVT.
I also just got done checking the wiring by the battery and the fuse box, all of which is in good shape. I dug into the wire loom all the way to the fan harness and it was all fine. Now that it's all put back the way I found it...
(Actually better, there were a bunch of wires that were sandwiched between the battery and the tray. So I took out the tray and ran the wires underneath so nothing will get pinched off)
... I guess I'll have to shell out some cash for an electrical tester and get to testing before and after the relays to see what's getting juice. I'll do some homework on the Ford Service CD to make sure I don't cook anything.
Investment in cheap digital voltmeter (multimeter) better value IMO than the 2 wire automotive tester light, since you get actual volts and can use it to measure resistance. I recently bought one for under $10 US to replace my 25 yr old Radio Shack analogue multimeter (neighbor borrowed and made fatal error (for meter) after checking fuses, of measuring house volts with meter still set for ohms, poof).
Suggest you examine hi-speed fan circuit first since that can be commanded on by turning on a/c.
Engine on, have someone turn on a/c while touching the hi-speed relay to see if it's coil energizes.
If ok then with ignition off pull relay.
Engine on, a/c on, measure volts to ground on relay socket terminal 3.
If volts ok then ignition off, insert relay and separate 2 wire connector at top of fan shroud.
Engine on, a/c on, measure volts on GN/BL wire-from-fuse-panel's pin.
That should get you started.
I'll swing by Pep Boys and pick one up. Thanks!
-Daymon
Well it turned out to be a piched off wire, and thanks to the $15 multi tester......I found and repaired it.
Thanks for the help guys!
Glad you found problem, meter has now paid for itself.
Posting more specific details (location, color) would be helpful for future reference of members.
TIA.