Hey all I am new here and got a quick question about our 97 SL1. It is heating up while sitting at a stop light for more then say 5 minutes. I know the Fan is Not coming on like it should. What I have done so far:


I have replaced the relay, tested the wireing to the switch, tested the fan motor(works fine), Fan blades in great condition, fan grill is clean and unblemished, antifreeze level is high with no leaks, Antifreeze is nice and green with no sludge, new radiator cap 15psi, turn on AC and fan turns on. I am not throwing any codes.


Needs to be checked:


Thermostat, Water temp sensor.


My theory on what is wrong:


I believe now that the water temp sensor is malfunctioning. But it is not throwing any code to say it malfunctioning. Is that possible to have a bad water temp sensor and not show a code? Or maybe the thermostat is worn. But this is would cause the sensor to turn the fan on more often right?


Any help here is very much appericiated. [img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]

 

What makes you think the cooling system is overheating? My temperature gauge stays around 1/4 plus most of the time. It takes a long time for it to idle standing still and reach over the 1/2 point,which is when the fan kicks in. If the CTS has never been replaced, I would replace sensor and the dealer only wiring harness. That sensor can cause alot of engine management problems. It was responsible for changing the air to fuel ratio and setting an error code that was pointing to the catalytic coverter as being bad on my car. The problem was an intermittant one, but I noticed the temperature gauge would drop to the cold position for a second or two. However,I don't think that it is the only part that is left in this scenario, which can cause the problems you are having.

 

staying at the 1/4 mark would be fine but when it starts to climb it get just about to thge 3/4 mark. And that to hot for my likeing. So maybe I should replace the wiring harness also even though the fan turns on fine when the AC is turned on?

 

On average.............S-Cars go to the 3/4 mark before the fan kicks on. If that is whats happening and it does not go into the HOT area don't worry.

 

OK if it goes to the 3/4 mark before the fan kicks on, that makes me uneasy. Is there any known way to have the fan kick on earlier?

 

Everything sounds normal. How long have you had the car? Did you ever notice this before? You can hardwire up a switch to activate the fan manually.





Wire it this way to have the fan turn on whenever:






Or this way to have it come on only when the key the ignition:



Edited by: Low Saturn

 

Why would NORMAL make you uneasy? It's just a placement on a gauge. It's not telling you the temp. If you need to know the exact temp then wire up a high dollar AutoMeter gauge and see just what it is.

 

It is a 97 SL1


Because if the temp is getting that high on the guage then according the Saturns guage the car is getting hot. It just does not sit right with me that the guage has to go that far before the car starts to cool down.


On the flip side of this I ran the Fan manually today with the AC on and it NEVER got to the half way mark at all. In my mind the temp guage should stay as close to one point as possible. Alot of fluctuations in temps like that could cause unnessary wear on engine and head gasketes etc. Also I noticed alot of heat coming off the exhuast manifold while the fan is off. Why did saturn not put a heat sheild on there? That much heat can cause the water in rad to not cool as quickly when stopped or in stop and go traffic. Did anyone make an aftermarket heat sheild?





Thanks for all the help.

 

I'll say it again..........it's NORMAL on all Saturn S-CARS to go to the 3/4 mark before the cooling fan comes on. It was like that in 1992 and it was like that in 2002 when the last S-CAR rolled off of the assembly line. When the car is moving it cools more. When the A/C is turned on the cooling fan says on and when the fan is on it's NORMAL for thetemp gauge to be at the half way mark, as long as it's within it's NORMAL operating temp your ok.So if it does not sit right with you I don't know what to tell you. The answer provided to your question is the truth if you like it or not. Maybe go on every Saturn forum you can find and ask the same question.Edited by: sw2cam

 

<DIV id=post_message_974107>Cars have something called an "operating temperature". Since you dont like how your car correctly functions, you can pull out the insturment cluster, remove the clear front cover, pull off the temp. needle and reposition it slightly in a counter clockwise position. Then reassemble everything.

Now your car will still function correctly, and you'll feel better about what you are looking at on the dash. Nevermind that the temp gauge isnt an indication of actual temperature. If that were the case, there would be numbers in degrees of the actual temperature of the engine.

BTW, do you have emissions testing where you live? If you run the engine with fans running at the insorrect time, you'll never pass an emissions test.</DIV>