I Don't Think The Radiator Fan is Working

[tyluk]

This damn car is driving me crazy! I have not seem my radiator fan come on since I've got it (3 months). It is also using cooling like a SOB. I put over a quart of coolant in and drove it 16 miles and there was hardly any left. I don't see a leak anywhere. Now granite, this is hard driving. I drove it 16 miles through the mountains up a canyon where I could see the engine temp rising. The overheat light never came on but it definitly climbed. Now there is hardly any coolant left and I don't think the radiator fan is working. Is there a way to check the relay? Would it using a ton of coolant indicate radiator fan not working? Thanks for any help.

[Possum79]

easy ways to check the fan is if you have ac turn it on full blast. Should kick the fan on. If you don't have ac then jumper the two terminals on the thermo switch on the radiator.

Does your car smoke at all when climbing these hills other then black smoke?

[Op-Ivy]

Using a ton of coolant would suggest that the headgasket is done.

First off, jump your fan using a wire from the battery. This can tell you if the fan is working. Be careful it goes on very suddenly and starts spinning fast.

If it turns on, there is a fan switch located in the radiator that should be checked. It should be 3 pronged I think. (I'm pretty sure there are two pronged ones as well but that just makes the testing easier anyway.)

1. Unplug the switch and check the plug for the 12v line with a multimeter.

2. When the engine is cold, use a multimeter and check to see if the 12v prong on the switch makes a connection to either of the other prongs on the switch.

If it does then your switch is bad.

[tyluk]

The car does not smoke on the hills other then the black smoke. I will try checking on some of the suggestions. Thanks.

[tyluk]

How exactly do you jump the fan? I connected a wire from the battery to a two prong plug on the back of the fan, nothing. I then connected it to a three prong plug on the drivers side corner of the radiator, nothing. Does the wire need to touch all the prongs or just one of them? I really hope it's not a head gasket. Thanks for your help.

[jtanguay]

do you have a/c? if so try turning it on like the above post by Possum.  if you don't have a/c, then remove the harness from the bottom of the rad going to the thermoswitch and all you need to do is jump two leads in it.  one will give you high speed and one will give you low speed.  something like a paperclip should work...

[tyluk]

Okay. I tried connecting the prongs and nothing but when i turned the a/c on the one fan came on (drivers side, not passenger).

[tyluk]

Alright guys I got it figured out. The relay was bad and that's why it didn't turn on. I was loosing coolant b/c the tank was cracked. I heard it hissing after I turned the car off after driving. It was cracked on the backside. Didn't really leave a puddle. Must have evaporated. Thanks.

[Smokey Eddy]

Yayyyy Problem solved!