Has anyone had problems with their cooling fans on a 96-98 GT?
About 2 years ago, I was at a local drag strip when my car was stock. The fan plug fried (I assume during shutdown when I turned the heater on to sap heat from the engine). I took my car to a Ford dealership and they replaced the fan assembly under warranty. I had never listened to my fan prior to this, so at the time I was not aware that the fan was not supposed to run on high when the engine was on. About a year later, the plug fried again and my car overheated. I replaced the plug this time myself. In the past 4 months the same plug has fried twice, which I have replaced. I know there is a problem now.
So basically now that you know the story, I'm looking for people who know lots about the cooling system to try to trouble-shoot this problem.
I do know that the fan is drawing too much current, which causes the plug to melt at the contacts and the plastic around it. It is either the fan drawing too much current itself or the control system feeding too much current into the fan. Another sign that too much current being drawn is a low battery when the headlights, rear defroster, and any other combination of accessories is on in the car. I believe that the fan being on at all times never allows the battery to recharge or stay well charged at idle when the headlights are on. I've had the battery, starter, and alternator tested and they checked out okay.
So far I have the following parts to consider for this malfunction: fan motor, fan control relay, ECM.
I had a local Ford dealership run a diagnostic test on it, but they told me they can't tell what the problem is until I replace the fan with one that "is asured to work". I'm trying to avoid throwing parts at the problem until it is fixed, to keep from wasting money.
Also any comments on what brand of aftermarket fan to use would be appreciated... What about a Black Magic?
About 2 years ago, I was at a local drag strip when my car was stock. The fan plug fried (I assume during shutdown when I turned the heater on to sap heat from the engine). I took my car to a Ford dealership and they replaced the fan assembly under warranty. I had never listened to my fan prior to this, so at the time I was not aware that the fan was not supposed to run on high when the engine was on. About a year later, the plug fried again and my car overheated. I replaced the plug this time myself. In the past 4 months the same plug has fried twice, which I have replaced. I know there is a problem now.
So basically now that you know the story, I'm looking for people who know lots about the cooling system to try to trouble-shoot this problem.
I do know that the fan is drawing too much current, which causes the plug to melt at the contacts and the plastic around it. It is either the fan drawing too much current itself or the control system feeding too much current into the fan. Another sign that too much current being drawn is a low battery when the headlights, rear defroster, and any other combination of accessories is on in the car. I believe that the fan being on at all times never allows the battery to recharge or stay well charged at idle when the headlights are on. I've had the battery, starter, and alternator tested and they checked out okay.
So far I have the following parts to consider for this malfunction: fan motor, fan control relay, ECM.
I had a local Ford dealership run a diagnostic test on it, but they told me they can't tell what the problem is until I replace the fan with one that "is asured to work". I'm trying to avoid throwing parts at the problem until it is fixed, to keep from wasting money.
Also any comments on what brand of aftermarket fan to use would be appreciated... What about a Black Magic?