Gen 2 cooling fan

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jjcool00

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So here we go, another issue with the LS... never ends lol. Been driving it back again for one week after 7 months and it has another issue. I searched before posting but it seems all of the threads involved are for Gen I.

It appears my cooling fan isn't working at all. I noticed this when I was in traffic this morning and the temp gauge started to rise. I immediately put the heat on blast and it settled down. I parked at my job hopped out and noticed the fan wasn't spinning. I put the AC on and it still didn't turn on even though the car started to overheat immediately, so I shut it off. Is there anything to do besides replace the fan? Anything I should check?

Recent work done to the car: PCM replacement, Transmission rebuild.
 
There have been a few threads. So far it's been the fan itself that failed.
Verify that the heavy wires have power and ground always.
The green yellow wire should have battery power when the key is turned to run.
The white/black wire should have PWM on it from the PCM. If this wire is disconnected, or shorted to ground or battery, the fan will run on high anytime the key is on. If you have ground on black/yellow and power on red/yellow and green/yellow and you disconnect white/black, the fan should come on high. If not, the fan is bad.
Your 04 probably has two connectors, one large two wire and one small two wire. Sometime between 04 and 06, they switched to a single four wire connector. If you get a fan from a junkyard, you can use either style, but you'd have to do some connector work or cut and splicing to get the other style to work. (A new fan is $1,018.)
 
Okay, I know for sure the fan isn't coming on at any time whatsoever at all. Do you think the chances are that when the dealer connected my PCM they may have cramped the fan wire? I will check the wiring probably sometime this week, but so far the fan will not engage no matter what I do.

Side question, if it is the fan itself - RockAuto has the Dorman fan for $220. I know Dorman sucks for cooling components, what's your take on fans? I really don't want to spend a grand on a fan!

Btw, I do have two connectors.
 
So Joe, get this. The wire harness was disconnected?!?! wtf?! Not sure why it would be disconnected. Anyways, I plugged it back in and didn't hear it turn on. I drove the car in stop and go traffic and even though I couldn't tell if it turned on or not it never started to overheat. I turned the AC on full blast AND still didn't hear it turn on.

I sat it in my driveway in park with the AC on flooring it for like 5 mins and it never turned on (audibly) and never began to over heat. I opened the hood and couldn't see it spinning, although I think I wouldn't because of the plastic protector over it.

SO I'm not sure if it's working or not? It's not overheating anymore! Thoughts? I will still test the wires when I buy the equipment to do so this week.
 
Did you check for voltage? The fuses involved are F1.05 (#5 under hood, 15A) and a 60A in-line fuse under the carpet at the front on the passenger side. I can see unplugging the fan while the PCM is being programmed to keep it from running the battery down. (The fan would run during PCM programming even though the engine would be off.) Of course, it is on them to reconnect it and verify that it is working after they are done.
 
I haven't checked for voltage as I don't have a voltimeter or anything here - I have to buy it this week. Another question, even though I don't hear the fan is it possible it is running?

Side note: My AC needs a re-charge and is completely sapped of refrigerant so maybe that's why the fan isn't going into super mode when I hit the AC button?
 
jjcool00 said:
I haven't checked for voltage as I don't have a voltimeter or anything here - I have to buy it this week. Another question, even though I don't hear the fan is it possible it is running?

Side note: My AC needs a re-charge and is completely sapped of refrigerant so maybe that's why the fan isn't going into super mode when I hit the AC button?
Click to expand...

Yes, you really have to open the hood and look at the fan blades.
If you have no refrigerant (or if the pressure is just too low), the PCM won't engage the compressor and it won't call for the fan to run.
If it is that low, you need more than just a re-charge. You need to find and correct the leak, and I would put a new receiver/dryer in. It's also very very important to determine how much AC oil you lost and replace it.
 
It's not leaking, when I had the radiator installed the mechanic drained the refrigerant because he had no clue what he was doing :(

I had the hood opened and was looking at the fan but I think there's a protector over the front to prevent you from sticking your hand in, no? If not then no, it's not spinning.
 
You most certainly can stick you hand in the fan if you really want to. (I wouldn't.)
Okay, you do need to replace the receiver/dryer, and you do need to determine how much oil to add.
 
So the fan isn't running because of the receiver/dryer oil and refrigerant or that is a separate issue? I never use the AC btw, ever.

This may sound dumb, probably because it is but when I open the hood, lean forward and try to look at the fan I can see what LOOKS like a fan but isn't moving. Is that actually the fan? I tried to even move it by hand and it won't budge. That's why I thought it was the protective cover from the fan and the fan is within.

Okay, looking at the picture of the fan assembly online it would appear as though that is the case. So how can I see if the fan spinning? Maybe I'll turn the car on, let it warm up and stick a piece of paper inside to see if it shreds, instead of my hand LOL
 
jjcool00 said:
So the fan isn't running because of the receiver/dryer oil and refrigerant or that is a separate issue? I never use the AC btw, ever....
Click to expand...

The fan won't come on or speed up just because you turn the AC on, because you can't turn the AC on. It should still operate to cool the engine as needed. I've never had trouble seeing the blades. You may need a flashlight.
 
joegr said:
The fan won't come on or speed up just because you turn the AC on, because you can't turn the AC on. It should still operate to cool the engine as needed. I've never had trouble seeing the blades. You may need a flashlight.
Click to expand...

I used a thin zip tie and slowly insterted it into the blade area until I could hear contact. As to not having a volt meter, I got a nice Multimeter that will do quite anything you could possibly want it to for only $30 at AutoZone. I've used it for several things as well as multiple vehicles, good investment.
 
Thanks! I'm going to use a real flashlight and check, the one on my phone just isn't good enough. I'm starting to believe it is actually spinning now because the temperature hasn't crept up at all, even in traffic. But I'll check Autozone for that multimeter and check it out to be certain.
 
Fan works. I started the car today, first time since last weekend and it didn't come on until the engine reached normal operating temperature. Guess the dealer just didn't plug it back in. They also didn't plug back in the DCCV? IDK whichever plug is on the left side of the fan. Pretty sloppy of the tech, but as long as it works... I'm happy!
 
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