'92 SL fan and engine temp

On my 92 SL DOHC the average temp on the C to H dial is about half way; summers it moves a little over the half mark, winters it stays under.

But when I get stuck in stop 'n go, it climbs up and touches the red zone. Then I do what everyone else does, I punch the a/c button, then punch it again to get the fan going. I don't keep the a/c on because the temp runs back up. The fan cools the temp down quickly to a reasonable amount above normal. If there's 40 minutes of this kind of traffic, that's a lot of punching on the a/c button.

It's too much to expect there is some way to get the fan to work like they do in normal cars; turns on when the engine starts and turns off a few minutes after the engines stops regardless if the key is in the ignition or not. But is there some way to rig the fan relay or something else to get the fan to start when the key is in the accessory position ? Or has anyone figured out a better solution ?

Bill

Reply to
bill
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Your '92 should have 2 engine temp sensors. One will have 2 wires, and one will have 1 wire. The 1 wire sensor is for the dash gauge. The 2 wire sensor goes to the ECM, which in turn, turns the cooling fan off and on. Maybe you should replace that sensor and see if that changes anything. That sensor is less than $20 at your dealer. Good luck, James

Reply to
James1549

Before you go trying to rewire your car to do something it wasn't designed to do from the factory... have you checked the simpler things? Did you do a flush & fill of the coolant, change the thermostat, checked the temperature sensor(s)? Is the plastic air dam still there under the front end of the car? It plays a big part in cooling.

If it climbs into the red and stays there, I would be concerned and look into it. But if it only occasionally touches it, I would not consider it a big deal. As long as the fan comes on by itself, and does so when it is supposed to - but you can't tell that from eyeballing the vauge colors on the gauge. A Saturn tech can plug into the car and monitor your temperature sensors and determine if the PCM is turning on the fan when it should. That is the proper way to diagnose this prior to guessing and replacing parts, or attempting to 're-wire' something.

I think you'll find that most cars now work the same way as your Saturn - they only run the fan when the PCM determines it is needed.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

Reply to
Lane

I'll check out the ECM. Thanks for the suggestion.

But there's a misunderstanding here. On these '92 SL2s the engine cooling fan only comes on if the airconditioner is ON. My fan is operating exactly as designed. Unfortunately it was a poor design choice. You can "fake it out" by punching the a/c button then turning it right off again. The fan will run for about 5 minutes then you have to do it again.

I'm glad to here saturn changed this in newer models but please know your models or do some research before commenting.

Bill

Reply to
bill

I apologize. I guess this fan is supposed to turn on even if the a/c is OFF. But it has never done this since I've owned the car and a simple google turns up dozens of complaints just like mine on the 92 SL2s.

I'll google 1st after this.

Reply to
bill

Either the coolant temperature sensor, the fan relay, the computer getting signals to/from them, or the cooling fan are defective. I put my money on the CTS as this is a common failure. Sounds like yours has been broken for a long time and you are doing manual cooling using the A/C switch.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

THe problem is a defect by design. GM does not let fan come one until coolant temp exceeds 230 degrees to limit fan noise and at which point steam pockets are formomg and can cause it to vent. There is a fter market kit on Ebay that will fit 95 and back Saturns that lets you set fan temp not GM.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Reply to
SnoMan

about 2 years after i got my 93 sl2 i had problems with temp going up, I found that cleaning the radiator with spray hose and air hose used from both sides to get the bugs , lint, feathers and whatever else got in there, took care of the problem I have to do this about every 2 to 3 years!

Reply to
justastreekin

This might be a fan issue, but I would also be wary that it could be a leaking head gasket. I had a 1993 Ford Thunderbird that would run fine until I stopped at a light. If the car was stopped for more than a few seconds, the temperature gauge would shoot up. I know that on that Ford I could smell a little radiator fluid when I would get out of the drivers side door. It was not overpowering, but there was enough of a smell to notice when you first get out of the car. I don't think you would necessarily have to smell the fluid to have a leaking head gasket though.

Anyway, I would just check into this if you can not verify it is truly a fan problem.

bill wrote:

Reply to
ayoung002

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