2002 Ford Thunderbird Repair Question
Mileage: 56,000 miles.
2002 Thunderbird
what to do?
Answer
My friends Grand Cherokee did almost the same thing. His wife let it sit 5 or so minutes
It actually did overheat, but soon was normal after she cranked it back up
They sorta just kept this "Procedure" up, over time, as it became more and more regular
He and I kept checking things....Fan operation, replaced thermostat, etc
Finally, the "procedure" failed to work!
We found the FAN RELAY, would ACTIVATE, But the contacts necessary to complete the FAN MOTOR CIRCUIT, were Kinda Burned.
Even though they were contacting, they were not Transferring Juice from one to the other.
We found this out by careful, RELAY dis-assembly and testing!
All along this was the problem, getting worse and worse.
Sitting for a few minutes (cooling maybe?) allowed it to come alive again
We wanted to be positive, that this was the problem, before we stuck another in, and waited to be called to another breakdown!
The Medic
Well..........................
Have you ever played with the toy where you must fit the triangle, circle, square, oval into the correct slots?
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/PartSearchCmd?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&pageId=partTypeList&suggestion=&actionSrc=Form&searchTerm=radatior+fan+control+relay
Depends on how much you are willing to spend, for one of the above!
As far as location, it may be marked in a fuse or relay box....or not!
I may be able to find you a diagram...if you need me to.
Just remember, this may "NOT" be your fix, your symptoms were very close to the Jeep
Whatcha got to lose?....if nothing else, you just replaced a part that's been "moving" for 9 years, think of it as preventative maintenance!.....and now you have a "old" spare "Radiator Fan Control Relay"..........and labor was cheap!.....and if this does fix you, you owe me lunch!
Then this "factor" could be ruled out, as you journey toward other possible causes.
Your Turn
The Medic