Well, your friend could be right. There is an electric fan that turns on automatically when your engine reaches a certain temperature. The fan is located in between your radiator and your engine. Your fan doesn't turn on when you start the car though. It only turns on when extra cooling is needed. One way you can check for fan operation yourself is by turning on your car and turning on your AC full blast; your fan should turn on very quickly (probably a few seconds). If it doesn't, then you have a problem with your fan indeed. Like your friend suggested, the first thing is to check the fuse: look in your owner manual; it should have a section that describes the fuses. Look which one applies to the fan, go ahead and replace it and see if your fan now comes on. If it still doesn't check your fan motor: unplug the connector at the motor and apply battery voltage directly to the motor with jumper wires; if the fan comes on, your motor is good. If it doesn't you either have a bad connection, a bad relay, or your motor needs to be replaced.
When a car overheats, a problem with the fan is only one possibility. You could also have something wrong with your thermostat, water pump, radiator, bad/low coolant (coolant leak?), Hoses, head gasket, cylinder heads, etc. Did your friend ruled out all these other possibilities?
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Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 AT 12:54 PM
