The ignition switch turns on the circuit for the heater fan. That's a common enough problem that I wasn't thinking about the radiator fan.
Don't fall into the trap of "getting something" to try to fix the problem. Unless you're real lucky or have a well-known failure, that is the most expensive and least effective way to solve a problem. The failure should be diagnosed so you only buy the parts that are needed.
I don't have easy access to GM wiring diagrams, so if I had to guess, I would start by double-checking the large cartridge-type fuses under the hood. A typical scenario would go something along the lines of the radiator fan motor shorted, blew the fuse, and that same fuse feeds one of the switched accessory circuits inside the car. The dead heater fan is supposed to get your attention that something is wrong. They do that because otherwise you would never know about the blown fuse until the engine overheated.
There are always two power circuits for the ABS and the Air Bag Computers. When a fuse for one of them blows, you need the second circuit to run the warning light. One ABS circuit might be tied to the same radiator fan fuse.
Besides a blown fuse, there can be a loose rivet in the fuse box causing a broken electrical connection. A fuse can become loose in the socket. Wiring splices often corrode and cause dead parts of a circuit.
Different parts of the Engine Computer use different power wires. One part turns on when the ignition switch is turned on to run the engine. Since the radiator fan draws a lot of current, it is usually switched on by a relay. That relay will have its own power wire that can have a blown fuse, corroded connector terminal, etc. You'll need to test at various places to see where voltage is present and where it's missing. From those measurements you can narrow down the cause of the problem. Radiator fan relays are generally easy to test. One of the four wires must have 12 volts all the time. If it does not, there's not much that can be wrong between the terminal and the battery. If voltage is present, you can jump two terminals with a piece of wire to see if the fan runs. If it does, that entire part of the circuit is okay, and the problem is related to the Engine Computer not turning that relay on. Given the other symptoms, I wouldn't suspect a problem with the radiator fan relay.
Thursday, January 5th, 2012 AT 4:40 AM