Electric fan question...

Stangler

A.K.A. Mr. Hankey
Founding Member
Dec 20, 2001
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What controlls the fan on my 88' 4cyl stang? Is there a sensor in the rad., or does the computer turn it on based off the water temp sensor? The reason I ask is, sometimes it's not coming on. works great for awhile,.. then it stops for a bit.
Any help would be great.

Nate
 
Funny you should ask.

On my new 89 2.3 LX, there is a cooling fan control module, located under the dash on the left of the steering column.

It has two built in relays, and apparently one solid state relay that works the ac.

It apparently operates from its own temp sensor in the engine. Mine, I think, is located in the bottom of the intake. I think the car has 3 coolant sensors, the ect for the EEC3 near the fuel rails, the gage sender at the rear of the block and this one for the fan.

Apparently the cooling fan module is a problem, because it switches the full power to the fan, both for engine cooling and for ac operation.

Mine had overheated the wires and burned the contacts in the circuit board connector and wires. It had melted the plastic connector.

Ford sells a connector repair kit, with several pigtails with new connectors and a new plastic connector piece. Installed one last Sat.

I put a new fan motor in also in hopes that the new one draws less amps than the original.

Mine works for the ac, but the temps are cool and I have not noticed if that the engine warms up enough yet.

Apparently this setup has changed frequently over the years, becoming more complex, and turning into an IRCM and CCRM module, including the fuel pump relay later on.

The fan is supposed to come on at 210 deg or something fairly high.

The connector repair kit was $22, the new module from Ford was $121.

Let us know what you find.