COOLING FANS - CEG Archives

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

hi i posted once before but still have the same problem so here goes my cooling fans will not come on unless i turn the air or heat on i changed the t-stat 2 times the ect 3 times the sensor on the fan shrould once and still no fans so is it a short or am i missing something. also if anyone knows the color of the wire that goes from the fans to the pcm so i can track it for cracks or breaks in the wire .the heat is hot so i dont think its the waterpump and i can see it moving in the tank. please help been trying to fix this since october.thanks

how hot is your car running?

my fans rarley ever come on, only if i sit and idle for a LONG time, they've only come on a few times while driving.

A lot of older Contours(including mine) have a bad engine wiring harness. Its not cheap to replace either. That is why the reason my radiator fan doesn't work and also looking for a replacement car.

I was thinking, is it possible to replace the bad sections of wires with new wire or should I leave it alone.

Originally posted by Kerry2Kool4U:
...I was thinking, is it possible to replace the bad sections of wires with new wire or should I leave it alone.

Yes. One CEGer had a mechanic just splice one wire (I believe it was a VSS wire). As for the fan wiring harness, some have replaced that individual fan wiring harness (I think it was about $200 for that harness).

my car runs up to the M from a cold start in about 2 miles or mybe 3 then goes up to the A and L when it gets to the A turn the heat or air on then it cools down in a mile or two.i had it run to a switch but the 12 gauge wire got to hot and melted the wire so im back to the drawing board.

I can't recall exactly where to purchase one but you may look at simply bypassing the factory system for turning on and off the fans. Power your fans directly from the battery and use a secondary external thermostat that would turn on the power (relay). At the very least you could do this for one of the fans. If you want to go crazy see if Flexlite offers a pusher fan that you can place in front of the radiator and wire up. Other than that cut the power lines that currently run to the second fan. Then splice the second fan into the wiring of the fan that does come on.

There is always another way.

thats the problem nether one of the fans come on . but that sounds good about running it all to the battary but how and what would i use and how would i go about doing that i dont understand what you mean about running all the wires and the part about a relay. also if it was the waterpump that is bad the fans would still come on right .

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by Kerry2Kool4U:
...I was thinking, is it possible to replace the bad sections of wires with new wire or should I leave it alone.

Yes. One CEGer had a mechanic just splice one wire (I believe it was a VSS wire). As for the fan wiring harness, some have replaced that individual fan wiring harness (I think it was about $200 for that harness).

If money was tight, simply replacing bad wire sections one at a time each weekend would be my option. Who wants a car payment??

how do i go about running new wires and bypassing the old wires to get it to turn on from a new switch or is there another way also if it is the waterpump would the fans run or would thay stop and act like mine is just dont want to tear into the wires if its the pump. got a guy that is a mac that said he would replace the pump timing belt and all other stuff for only 100.00 with me buying all the parts

'95 Mystique Zetec
I had the fans stop working. I tested the fans using a scan tool. The car is starting to suffer 'Classic Wire Harness Disintigration'. Following the wires, from the fans, I discovered melted and shorted power wires. Tape them, fans work.
Here is the link to this problem
http://www.contour.org/FAQ/recall/99M03/

Scroll down the site and you will find diagrams on where to inspect the fan wires.

So all you have to do is tape the exposed wiring with electric tape and they should work?

The stupid Ford dealership told me the harness wasn't a recall. This was after I had ran my car on their diagnostics($85) twice before the 10 years was up. They never said a thing.

thanks i will do this and let you know if it fixes the problem thanks

Originally posted by 98-contour-zetec:
thanks i will do this and let you know if it fixes the problem thanks

there is actually a better product to use, its a liquid that you apply over the wires and it turns into a plastic insulator... i wish I could remember the product name, but it supposedly works very well.

Originally posted by AliasJerkâ�??¢:

Originally posted by 98-contour-zetec:
thanks i will do this and let you know if it fixes the problem thanks

there is actually a better product to use, its a liquid that you apply over the wires and it turns into a plastic insulator... i wish I could remember the product name, but it supposedly works very well.

I hope I can find that product. That would really cut the amount of time I would need to replace the wiring. Is the plastic heat safe?

ok traced all wires and found no cracks or cuts anywhere so back to squere one thanks if anyone has any other ideas ring in please

ok here is what i tried. my wife has a 95 2.5 contour i pulled her green low speed relay. and put it in my 98 2.0 contour. i started the car and the fans came on but thay run all the time. and the relay from her car had 2 more prongs on it so i turned the car off and went to the part store.auto zone could not find the relay and could not get it so i went to advanced auto parts and thay could not get it eather. so where can i get one at.and what is the diffrents between the two relays hers has 2 more prongs and is a lot taller than mine. if i can get this relay i think it might fix my fan problems .thanks

Take a pic of it, maybe thats the problem I'm having.

You may need to go to a Ford dealership and request the relay. It may be more expensive but it will be new. Or head to junkyard, you may get lucky and find one there.

cant take pic so ill just tell you . its the green one in the fuse box under the hood by the battary thanks for every ones help

if anyone has one of these relays for sell let me know

Does your high speed work?

If so, it's most likely your low speed resistor that has gone bad. I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned this.

The resistor is on the lower driver's side of the fan shroud.

Also, if you get some non-insulated 12 guage quick connects, you can make a small jumper to bypass the relay for testing.

I really doubt that the relay is bad. They are really heavy duty pieces.

HTH,
BP

i have already changed that . it was the green relay in the fuse block under the hood. i went to the junkyard and got one but it was bad. thay must have took it off of a car that had the hood off of it because the relay was rusted on the inside. so i still need one if anyone has one let me know.