92 cutlass ciera cooling fan troubles

1992 OLDSMOBILE

SERGEI

MEMBER
3 POSTS
FOLLOW

1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera 3.3L V6, 90,000 miles. The cooling fan seems to come on late, that is when the engine is already heated above normal operating temperature such as when idling for more than a few minutes (though not ever--yet--threatening to hit the red zone, it usually comes back down after pushing 220 or so). And when the fan comes on, it has some trouble: it stutters on and off before coming on strong, and there's a crackling noise from the relay. It also sometimes crackles and has trouble coming on with the A/C on, though with A/C it at least is trying to stay on the whole time (which means the car usually actually runs cooler with A/C on).
I replaced the relay and the radiator cap, and the coolant temperature sensor was inspected and at least wasn't dirty or anything though I suppose still could be faulty(though since the fan has trouble coming on even with A/C I doubt it has to do with the temp sensor). However, despite new relay and all, there's still crackling from the relay and the same problem! Please help! Thank you.

P.S. When the fan is working properly (such as when the A/C is left on), there are no overheating problems, so I'm fairly confident it's the fan.

Aug 31, 2007 at 1:04 PM

MERLIN2021

CERTIFIED EXPERT
17,250 POSTS

Well clicking sound from the relay is ok, the temp sensor could be telling the PCM the wrong temp...try changing it. What does the fan sound like when it does start? And Do you have 2 fans or 1? Most systems woth A/C have 2.

Aug 31, 2007 at 1:43 PM

SERGEI

MEMBER
3 POSTS

I think I will try changing the temp sensor to see if that works. But as for the relay, it doesn't just click; it crackles as the fan starts to turn then stops and the fan slows back down, and repeats that a few times though usually it eventually comes on full blast for a minute or two, until the engine cools back down some. Maybe I'm wrong about it coming on late; it's just with most cars I've driven before, the temp gauge doesn't fluctuate as much as this one; this car's temp gauge levels out at a bit below quarter of the way around on long highway trips, but when idling it goes up as high as almost half around (I think half is marked 220 F), except when the fan is operating properly (such as with the A/C on), then it stays a little below quarter or even lower. Maybe that's normal for some cars?
There's only one fan, on the left side of the radiator, despite the A/C; I think that's why it always comes on with the A/C on. The fan itself doesn't make any weird noises, it seems to work fine; the only noises are the crackling from the relay.
Also, with the heat on, the fan seems to come on properly, though there's frequent clicking as if it were cycling on and off constantly (it could be from something else, I'll have to look under the hood to see if it's the fan or not).
Wow this is getting confusing, sorry, and maybe I'm overreacting to nothing. But I've had lots of overheating disasters with cars in the past, so whenever the heat fluctuates up at all, I start getting nervous even if it's not yet getting out of control.

Aug 31, 2007 at 4:07 PM