how to test thrmo fan?

[vscalais]

hey everyone. i have a 97 vs calais 5 litre and i think my thrmo fan has shat itself. is there anyway i can test it to mak sure b4 i go and buy another one. it doesnt come on when the air con is turn on either. and also if it is my thermo fan how do i install the new one? any help would b apreciated. cheers :thumbsup:

 

[fabz]

Disconnect it and rig a wire to the connection using ya batt. so + to + and - to - ha ha and if it comes on then it could be the thermo swith. Its common for them to go... well mine did. Check fuses too.

 

[fabz]

i ment "if it dosent come on" ha ha fat fingers ya see lol

 

[vscalais]

haha cheers for that. which one is the positive and which one is the negatvie????

 

[BlackVXGTS]

Turn on your airconditioning. The fan should come on immediately.

 

[vscalais]

well it doesnt come on wen i turn the airconditioning on so i guess its forked. how hard is it to install a new one?

 

[HDT_aero]

put it in diagnostic mode by bridging the aldl pins as per this guide http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/showthread.php?t=22307

once the engine light flashes then the thermo should be on if its not somthing is wrong

 

[BlackVXGTS]

Well, the fan is right in front of the airconditioning condensor. You will probably have to remove the front bar and the rest should be easy.

 

[vscalais]

kewl i did that and it came up with the error code 15 which says that it is coolant sensor. but why wouldnt my thermo come on when i turn my a/c on. would the coolant sensor affect that? also how do i change my coolant sensor?

 

[BlackVXGTS]

ELECTRIC FAN CONTROL

Circuit Description: The V8 engine has a water pump driven radiator fan incorporating a semi-fluid hydraulic fan clutch. This engine-driven fan provides the primary means of moving air through the engine radiator. On vehicles equipped with air conditioning, an additional electric motor driven fan is placed in front of the A/C condenser. The electric fan(s) will be turned on when the engine cooling fan relay is energised by the PCM. Electric fan(s) will be "ON," controlled by: PCM, if any of the following is present:

- Engine coolant temperature exceeds 110 degrees C. (After PCM turns fan "ON," it will run until coolant temp. is below 105 degrees).
- An engine coolant temperature sensor failure is detected (see DTC 14 or 15 Chart).
- A/C request signal is received and vehicle speed (VSS input) is less than 64 km/h.
- Field service mode is active. (Ignition "ON," engine stopped, and DLC diagnostic "test" enable terminal earthed).

From the above it sounds as if your fan isn't working. If the coolant temperature sensor was faulty (and it may be) it should have caused the fan to come on rather than causing it to stay off. As fabz has suggested in an earlier post, disconnect the fan and test to verify that it's faulty (replacement cost is around $120). The coolant temperature sensor is on the front of the inlet manifold, is an easy replace and relatively cheap (<$20 from memory).