1998 Saturn SC2 Radiator Fan not turning on

Tiny
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  • 1998 SATURN SC2
Engine Cooling problem
1998 Saturn SC2 4 cyl Manual 102000 miles

Hi, I just purchased this car yesterday and have found that the radiator fan is not turning on. I've looked this up online and I keep finding people that have had the same problem but after being told to turn on the air conditioner their problem was fixed. Mine however is not. Turning on the AC does not kick the fan on & I'm looking for ideas on what direction to head next. Perhaps the fan motor is bad? Any suggestions? Please feel free to directly email me @ e. Edwards28@yahoo. Com

Thank you!
Elizabeth
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 AT 8:15 AM

18 Replies

Tiny
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I took out the fan & jumped it w/ a battery. It worked. Now I have to figure out why it's not getting any power. Fuses are good.

Thanks for any advice!
Elizabeth
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Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 AT 9:04 AM
Tiny
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Let's do this put your fan motor back in look over by your battery you will see your a/c line there will be switch attached to the line with two wire's going to it. Unhook the connector to it now start your car and turn the a/c on. Now jump the two terminals together to that connector you took off for a few second's did the cooling fan come on?
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Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 AT 4:07 PM
Tiny
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I went and bought a new coolant temperature sensor because I found my old one was leaking & full of fluid. But when I went to replace it the plastic connector broke. Now I'm having to figure out how to fix that. Once I get it all fixed, if it still doesn't fix the problem, I'll try your idea and work from there. Thanks so much for the response!

Elizabeth
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 9:42 AM
Tiny
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My idea was if the fan came on when you jumped it then I was going to tell you to replace the coolant temp sensor. Also if the sensor was leaking into the connector I was going to have you inspect the connector to see if it was corroded and if it was replace the connector. So look's like you just need to replace the connector now.I get my connector's from pick a part. Let me know how you make out after you replace that connector.
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 12:02 PM
Tiny
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Thanks so much! I replaced the connector and the fan is working great! Charged the AC & for some reason the compressor doesn't seem to be acting right and it's not blowing as cold as I believe it should. Hoping that after driving it & letting it run some it'll act right.
Thanks again!
Elizabeth
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 12:11 PM
Tiny
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Was there any charge in the a/c system before you charged it?Also how many ounce's did you put in?Did you get a charging hose that has a gauge on it to tell you if your under charged over charged etc?
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 1:29 PM
Tiny
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I had a friend do it for me so I don't know exactly what the gauges read but I do know there was no charge to it before & the compressor wasn't kicking on at all. Now it kicks on at least. I know he had an open can already on the gauges, so that went in and then some of another can.
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 1:52 PM
Tiny
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To charge the system fully it take's two full 12 ounce can's of charge so if they were 12 ounce can's and the first one wasn't full then you could be a little low on charge causing it to no cool properly.I would ask him how full that first can was and what size the can's were that way you can figure out about how much you have in there. Also if he had a gauge you could figure out if it was under or over charged. If your in the mid's to upper 20's pressure then it's good. If your way above 30 then you have too much in there.
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 2:16 PM
Tiny
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Hmmm, after checking it seems that it's over charged. I just can't figure out why the compressor wasn't kicking on at all until we did charge it when it was over charged (according to your 30+ on gauges) before we even added any refrigerant. I'll take it back to him in a couple days and mess w/ it some more.

Thanks,
Elizabeth
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 10:10 PM
Tiny
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Sounds good I was talking about the 30 plus when the car was idling with the a/c on.I thought you said the system was empty before you charged it?I guess it wasn't if it was reading over 30 before you charged it. Unless you were reading the pressure in the can?
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 10:22 PM
Tiny
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Oh idk.I asked the guy who charged it. He's 78 so it's not always easy to have a clear conversation, lol. But I'll take it back to him Friday & I'll see if I can figure out the gauges & give you a clearer idea of what I'm talking about. Or trying to talk about.

E
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 AT 10:36 PM
Tiny
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Well, it seems that the compressor is bad. The only way to even get it to kick on is to seriously over charge the system. It's about double what you said it should be but when I tried letting out refrigerant the compressor quit working all together. It's not something I can afford to fix right now so it seems it's going to be a looong HOT summer.

Other then that though, the car's running great and I'm over-all happy w/ my purchase.

Thanks again for all you help,
Elizabeth
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Monday, July 5th, 2010 AT 4:14 PM
Tiny
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Having to overcharge the compressor to make it come on isn't a symptom of a bad compressor the way you tell it is bad is to charge it up with 24oz's of charge and measure the high and low pressure's on the a/c system while the compressor is running and if there reading a certain pressure then you have a bad compressor. What turn's the compressor on and off is the high/low switch screwed onto the a/c line by the battery. If it sense's too high or too low of charge in the system it will turn the compressor off until the correct pressure return's.
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Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 AT 11:29 AM
Tiny
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Okay, hate to say it, but I have apparently developed a new problem.

I was driving home today and about 15 miles on the highway I felt a sort of hesitation. While going 65mph. I was only a few miles from the house so I went ahead and continued on. As I was driving the hesitation continued to get worse and I was thinking perhaps I was running low on gas (sitting at about 1/8 tank) but the last mile the temperature gauge steadily rose. It usually sits right at the 1/4 mark and by the time I got home it was at the 1/2 way point.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 2:51 PM
Tiny
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If your car never get's past a 1/4 on the gauge normally then you live in a very cold climate and it never gets very hot or you have a bad thermostat. It's normal to get up to the 1/2 way mark the fan doesn't even come on till you get past the 1/2 mark. As far as your car cutting out I would check for code's check your spark plug wire's plug's. Check your fuel pressure and see if your fuel filter is clear you should be able to blow threw it with little effort if you can't then you need to change it.
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 3:37 PM
Tiny
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Since changing that coolant temp sensor it'd been running just fine with the temp gauge steady at the 1/4 mark. When it first over heated the gauge never went above the 1/2 mark and there was steam pouring out of the hood. Changed the sensor and the car ran cooler and the fan kicked on just fine. I guess I can change the thermostat but there must be a different problem if this just started today & the gauges were running cool the past week. (Oh and I live in Texas so it's definitely HOT here! Lol)

As for the fuel filter, where is it located and how do I check it?

Thanks!
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 3:45 PM
Tiny
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I emailed you the location and how to replace the fuel filter they get changed every 100,000 mile's and by that time are pretty restricted. To check it you would remove the filter and dump all the gas into a container and I know this sounds gross but blow into the nipple that hooks to the hose off the gas tank. You should be able to blow threw it with little effort if you can't you need a new one. As far as living texas and your car running at 1/4 on the gauge then you need to replace the thermostat or your gauge isn't reading correctly. But since you already replaced the sensor and connector then the gauge is probably reading correctly so replace the thermostat. Also as far as your coolant boiling over the cap at the half way mark you probably just have a bad cap that's not holding pressure. To find the thermostat follow the lower radiator hose to the engine block it's at the end of the hose in that housing that's bolted to the block.
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 4:08 PM
Tiny
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Thanks so much! I'll look into all of this & see what I can figure out. Appreciate you taking the time to explain things!
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 4:41 PM

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