I have a strange issue with my car overheating. It is a 93 SSE and only has 108,000 mi on it. The car will overheat because the fans will not come on. They will come on when the A/C is on and this has been my temporary fix. I just purchased it and don't know how long it has been going on. Before I tore in to it I wanted to see if anybody has any suggestions on what it could be.

well welcome to our club. Stay awhile and you'll be doing lots of things to your car in no time.

First off let us know what you've checked so far.......coolant up where it should be...coolant res full
when is the last time you replaced the thermostat....so on and so forth


Todd

also we would want to know what your temp gauge is reading when you say it is overheating

my 95 SSE runs at full temp around 200*
about center on the gauge

these 3800'* run a bit hot from the factory anyways

Check the fans relays in the fuse box under the hood.

if you dont know when the thermostat was last changed i would prolly start there and check the relay... the thermostat will run you 10-15 bux and is a 195* thermostat, we usually recommend ordering a 180* one but its your preference... either way if its in the middle at 200... its prolly not overheating

The coolant is level is fine. I have not done anything to the car because I have only had it 3 weeks. I had a 96 SLE before this but it was totaled and I got a good deal on this one and I may know why now. I started to notice this only because the weather is starting to get warmer. I think this issue has been going on for a while because I think it has no thermostat because when it is cold it never gets to operation temp which in my 96 was 205 I think. I have done nothing so far but figure out that I can force the fans on with the A/C. What tells the fans to come on at a certain temperature? Are thier two different relays one for A/C and one for engine temp? If it is the the PCM that controls when the fans kick on I think mine is going out because of another thing that started happening yesterday. I will post about that.

Try replacing the ECT, it'* a easy fix. It could be the engine is fine, just the ECT is sending bad signals.

for us that don't know

what is the ECT?

Engine Coolant Temp sensor.

replaced the coolant temp sensor still did not help.. I was doing a tuneup and while changing the air filter I noticed that the sensor on the air box was unplugged. Plugged it back in and believe it or not that fixed the issue. I tested this by unplugging it while the car was running and the fans went off. plugged it back in and they came on.