Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting duratec cooling fans on constantly

Two days ago my cooling fans came on and will not go off. If the key is on, they are running. Is it the Temp sensor? If so, can someone tell me where this sensor is located? Temp guage doesn't read high. Is there one for the guage and one for the fans?

The fans should not run when your engine is not running even if the key is turned to on, however they will always run when you have the A/C switched on and the engine is running. You have some sort of electrical fault or bad temp sensor if the fans run under these conditions:

1) Your key is turned to off
2) Your key is turned to on, but the engine is not running
3) Your engine is running and cold, and the A/C is switched off (switch off before you start, there is a time/pressure delay if you switch off the A/C once the car has been started)

So if any of these conditions apply, I would check any fuses/relays that relate to the fans, and if those are ok, have your sensors/wiring checked. Anybody else with input as to further causes of that problem please post. Hope this helps.

I had the same problem in the Spring of this year with my 95SE ATX. The cooling fans for the engine were always stuck on. The problem turned out to be the AC switch (a small fuse of some sort). It cost me $50 (CAN) to have the problem fixed by installing a new switch. Hope this cures your problem.

Chris

R2 & R5 are the cooling fan relays in the under-hood fuse box. From the diagram I have, it looks like R5 will provide constant power to cooling fans if it's stuck closed. The fans would run with the ignition off *if* the relay contacts were stuck closed. Since your fans only run when the ignition is on, the contacts are opening at least. From here.... it could still be a bad R5 or the coolant temp sensor is acting up. (This is assuming your AC is off.) The sensor is buried down on the water crossover pipe and sticks out toward the firewall. You'll probably need to pull the intake at least to reach it. (Try replacing R5 first...) This is separate from the temp SENDER unit (for the guage) which points toward the fender. Hope this helps...

Just last weekend this has happened to me. With my car turned on or off the engine cooling fans would not turn off. I pulled out R2 and they stopped. After sometime I brang my car to my friends to investigate. I was there for a while hanging out. After about 5 hours, I put R2 back in, and I haven't had this happen since then. I would assume it was some glitch? I have had this car since 1997 and never encountered this before. But, since it stopped and hasn't happened again, I will just leave it for now.
Just my 2 cents.