Overheating issue due to no fans running

You could be correct but I am starting to wonder if we have a different issue that is causing the fans to be off. Take a look at this that I just found. I highlighted the two sections we need to check. Basically we need to hook up a gauge set and see what the pressure is on the high and low side.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/re-charge-an-air-conditioner-system

Let's check the pressures of the A/C system and just make sure they are okay. If they are, check to see if the compressor comes on when you turn it on. if it does then the pressure switches are okay.

I am not convinced yet so I would not want to point you in that direction until we have a little more proof first. Plus there may be a way to trick it if this proves out if you don't need it.

Let's rent a gauge set from a tool rental just to see what the pressure is even though we can probably assume it is pretty empty.

Thanks. We will wait to hear back. Thanks for the update.

Okay. That is positive news towards the fan issue but the set back is your A/C pressure sensor is a 3 wire sensor that is wired to the PCM. That means it is not an on/off sensor. It actually has a resistor in the PCM and tells the PCM what the pressure is. That means we can't jump the switch and "trick" the PCM that the pressure is above the minimum. If it were a two wire switch then if the pressure is above the minimum threshold then the switch closes and the PCM just senses 12 volts and knows the pressure is not too low.

So this is what I would suggest: Get one of those refill cans so that you can get the A/C pressure above 28 PSI so the PCM will allow the fans to run.

Take a look at the attachment and tell me if you read that the same way I do. The PCM will shut the fans off if the A/C pressure is below 28 PSI. If you agree, let me know what happens.

Smart. Thanks for the update. We will wait to hear back.

I am not sure. However, we need to get a new post started for that one because I am sure others in the future will want to identify this and they will not find it on this post. If you can also post these pictures along with a couple others or at least a general location of where this is as it is hard to orientate where this is.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new

Thanks.

Okay. Just to confirm, because this is a long post, originally your fans did not come on and the vehicle was overheating. Now after this repair to the A/C system the fans are coming on but the vehicle is still overheating?

If this is the case we have made progress. Now let's look at just the cooling system. Let's try something to try and narrow this down. If you start the vehicle after making sure the coolant is full and just let it idle does it overheat? The fans should be on and clearly it should not overheat. However, if it overheats just idling then I suspect we have restriction in the cooling system. Let's do this and go to the next step.

If the vehicle is not overheating when at idle then I would not be as concerned with the fans not coming on. It just doesn't need them if it is not overheating. However, next thing is to let it idle with the A/C on and see if it overheats which will force the fans on. Let is run at idle for up to 30 minutes after it reaches operating temperature with the A/C on and see if it overheats.

If it does not, then I suspect there is a restriction so we need to check around the engine cooling system for a hot spots using a laser temperature meter.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-an-infrared-temperature-meter

I suspect it is the radiator but clearly we have no proof yet for that.

Interesting. So if it doesn't overheat at all at idle even with the A/C on or off, we need to check the rest of the cooling system with a laser temperature meter just to see if there are any hot spots. So let me know if it does over heat with the A/C on and idling.

If no hot spots then we are dealing with a water pump issue, or possibly an air pocket. However, I will review this post to refresh what you have already done so we are not wasting time. It is a long one and I clearly have forgotten a number of things on it.