This problem seems to manifest itself at least once a year. At some point, my fans just stop working. Each and every time, it is because the wires get fried. You can actually see a hole was burned out in the side of the wiring harness connector that attaches the fan wiring to the 2 relays next to the batter. I just don't get it... What could be causing this?

 

Do you carry a fire extinguisher?

 

Probably the fans are going out and causing a high amp draw that is melting the wires. Replacement fan motors are about $23 each.

 

I'm with Zepher on this one....the only thing that will melt wires is too much current (or getting against the exhaust which is pretty unlikely in this case.) Overcurrent means a short of some kind, and inside the fan motor is the most likely place.

If this is the case the fan will still run, but won't move as much air which leads to reduced cooling and more run-time for the fan. This leads to more current through the wiring and more heat. As the wiring gets worse it conducts less voltage which means the fan runs even slower, which leads to more heat. It's one of those problems that kind of feeds on itself and eventually it gets to the point where it won't work at all.

 

You sure you didn't put too thin a wire when your eplaced it last time?

 

B I N G O !

 

Okay, well, I'm pretty sure I replaced the fan motors not too long ago, but I can't remember if I had purchased new ones or just picked them up from a junk yard. What's the life expectancy on these puppies? Is it me or do these cars have major cooling issues?? Car seems to always run pretty hot, even when the fans were on. Maybe what you said was right, the fans were not rotating as fast as they should've, thus causing the car to run hot and drawing too much amps from the battery, causing the wire melt down. Ya, it's also possible I used to small of a wire last time.

Is there way to test the fans so that I don't just throw money at them unnecessarily?? If so, how? Thanks!

 

I have my original ones, if that helps any

 

You can hook up an ammeter to them and see what the current draw is.
You;d need to also hook up the meter to someones fans that work great to get a reference value.

Sometimes the front of the radiator or condensor or in-between will accumulate a lot of dirt and debris, make sure it is nice and clean.

 

I just bought a new one from Autozone, so that will be a great referrence. Now, I just gotta find an ampmeter. They aren't too expensive are they? Where do you get them from, RadioShack??

 

I suppose you could get a cheapo one from Radioshack.

 

just get one that can read at upto 20 amps just to be on the safe side.
I think the Fluke I have only does 10amps on the 12v side. If it stops raining this week, I'll measure mine and see what it reads.

 

my cooling fan died recently and I've replaced the fan motor and the relay switch. After I replaced the relay switch there was an electrical fire after at least 2 minutes of the car idling. Could've overcurrent have caused this and if so where would it have occured. If the relay and the motor are brand new I don't see where it could've happened?