Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting V6's have two fans, question on overheating.

Okay let me lay out the problem & you guys can help me solve this riddle.

I did a search and see some similiarities to my problem but, they didn't mention overheating.

This has happened twice, in slow neighborhood driving, with my AC on (max) my temp guage is creeping up. Today it hit the red and I stopped the car and let it sit for a minute. Heat comes out of the vents, so it's not the waterpump (replaced 2 years ago) I noticed that the cool air got warm then looked at the guages & noticed the high temp.

For quite awhile I've noticed that at idle with the AC on, 1 cooling fan goes on and off every 20 to 30 seconds, sometimes it switches to a higher speed too. Now, with the air off, that same cooling fan will go on when the temp hits between M & A on the temp guage, so it's working to cool the engine. BUT...... I never notice the other fan (on the right when looking at the engine) ever going on.
If I turn the air on, no fan goes on at all, until the cycling fan goes on. But that other fan just doesn't ever go on.

Any ideas guys & gals? Should I replace the fans (they are 1 unit aren't they? Hard to replace? I see two bolts holding it in, while the bottom part sits in a holding clip)

I'm not sure what to do, but what I do know is NO DEALERSHIP VISITS FOR ME!!

Thanks gang!
N.

I'm sorry I don't have anything to add, but I am curious. Why No Dealership Visits?

Sounds like what happened to me. I believe that the fans short out, the ac fan freezes and the main fan tends to cycle frequently. When it was in the shop getting fixed the we heard it cycling about every 20-30 seconds. The mechanic found the ac fan to be frozen. After replacing, the car ran much cooler. (later we found a shorted out alternator wire that may have caused this and other wonderful electrical problems, notice the sig) As for the dealer, Ford actually had the cheapest price on the unit. Anyway don't know if this is your same prob or not but I'd also get the wp checked while you get the rest checked to. (they have a bad habit of going even after replacement)

Must be the fan. As a matter of fact, when I see my temp gauge start to creep up (not into the red, just a letter or two), I actually turn *on* my a/c, and the fan kicks right in and the needle heads back toward the "O*R" are. Go figure.

You don't mention year of car but for most, fans are wired in parallel so fan motor/wiring likely suspect.
Also, although not clear in post, is a/c producing cold air and is a/c clutch engaging?

The fans on the 2.5 are indeed wired in parallel.

They should always operate in tandem.

If one doesn't work, it (or its wiring) is defective.

Steve

Yes, the car is producing very cold air, just in stop & go city traffic where the car isn't getting a blast of air, the temp will go up and the fan cycles on and off. Like I said before, the other fan NEVER goes on. When it started blowing cold air it must have gotten so hot & pressurized, the compressor shut off. I understand that's built in for safety.

Okay, so the fan is bad. Is it a DIY job? I can salvage yard it no problem, but if I can't put it in, then I'm not sure if that's the route

No dealerships, because, they overcharge. When I replaced my sway bar links myself, the dealership wanted over $300 to do it and it's a 10 minute job... Hence me doing it myself

I'LL CAPS LOCK THIS FOR EVERYONE TO SEE BECAUSE I'M YELLING...


THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED, I WENT TO THE SALVAGE YARD AND GOT A REPLACEMENT, (ALSO GOT A NEW REMOTE TRUNK RELEASE MECHANISM) AND PUT IT IN, IT WAS A BEYATCH TO DO, BUT IT WORKED AND NOW BOTH FANS RUN SILENTLY WHEN THE AIR IS ON, AND SHUT OFF 20 SECONDS AFTER I TURN THE AIR OFF.

THE CAR DOESN'T OVERHEAT EITHER, AND THE BEST PART IS, I DID IT ALL FOR $86 AND 2.5 HOURS OF MY LIFE. NOT BAD HUH???

THIS WEBSITE IS A GODSEND AND ALL THOSE WHO HELP OTHERS HERE WILL SIT AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD WHEN THEY DIE...


THANKS AGAIN!

NATE

With my V6 , 95 Duratec, my cooling fans and AC were working last week. Fans were on most of the time when the defrost and defrost /footwell were selected. I believe that is normal, correct me please if I'm wrong. As of Friday I have no AC and fans do not come on when defrost etc is selected as well as when AC normal and AC max are selected. Is there a correlation with the fans not kicking in and AC not working ?
(Fans were replaced prior to recall and Ford paid after the fact)

I'm not sure on that. I had 1 fan out. I literally reached my hand down the front of the engine bay (car off and cold) and felt that fans blades, to see how easy they turned. One turned just fine, the other was stuck and almost impossible to turn.
You may do the same to see if that's it, but I really doubt it, sounds more like a relay or something which is affecting the entire system.