would changing my T-stat to a 160* from the stock 180* cause my fans to come on about 10-20 seconds after i start the car and stay on for awhile? I've never got the car re-tuned for the new t-stat would that cause this or is there something else i should be looking into?

 

t-stat isn't really related to the fans directly. The thermostat regulates the car's operating temperature by controlling the flow of coolant. The fans are controlled by the PCM.

Stock temps for the fans to kick on can be found on shoebox's excellent site, http://shbox.com/

 

aha my SES light is also on and that seems to be why they are comming on to protect the engine! Great website there!

 

Swing by your local auto parts store and borrow a OBD-I reader to determine what the SES light is on for.

 

I don't know of any parts stores in my area that loan OBDI or OBDII code readers. Could be different somewhere else.

 

I know O'Reilly & Advance Auto & Auto Zone do.. haven't tried NAPA or Pep Boys.

 

autozone and advanced auto will scan them here for you and print out the codes for you, won't loan out the scanner though. I'll stop by there tonight

 

Dont know about the obd1 scanner, but AZ will loan you the obd2 scanner on their loan a tool program for around $200 or so

I know that doesnt help you out on this but maybe somebody searching the topic could use the info.