'92 SL fan and engine temp

On my 92 SL DOHC the average temp on the C to H dial is about half way;
summers it moves a little over the half mark, winters it stays under.

But when I get stuck in stop 'n go, it climbs up and touches the red
zone. Then I do what everyone else does, I punch the a/c button, then
punch it again to get the fan going. I don't keep the a/c on because the
temp runs back up. The fan cools the temp down quickly to a
reasonable amount above normal. If there's 40 minutes of this kind of
traffic, that's a lot of punching on the a/c button.

It's too much to expect there is some way to get the fan to work like
they do in normal cars; turns on when the engine starts and turns off a
few minutes after the engines stops regardless if the key is in the ignition
or not. But is there some way to rig the fan relay or something else to get
the fan to start when the key is in the accessory position ? Or has anyone
figured out a better solution ?

Bill

 

Your '92 should have 2 engine temp sensors. One will have 2 wires, and
one will have 1 wire. The 1 wire sensor is for the dash gauge. The 2
wire sensor goes to the ECM, which in turn, turns the cooling fan off
and on. Maybe you should replace that sensor and see if that changes
anything. That sensor is less than $20 at your dealer. Good luck, James

 

Before you go trying to rewire your car to do something it wasn't designed
to do from the factory... have you checked the simpler things? Did you do a
flush & fill of the coolant, change the thermostat, checked the temperature
sensor(s)? Is the plastic air dam still there under the front end of the
car? It plays a big part in cooling.

If it climbs into the red and stays there, I would be concerned and look
into it. But if it only occasionally touches it, I would not consider it a
big deal. As long as the fan comes on by itself, and does so when it is
supposed to - but you can't tell that from eyeballing the vauge colors on
the gauge. A Saturn tech can plug into the car and monitor your temperature
sensors and determine if the PCM is turning on the fan when it should. That
is the proper way to diagnose this prior to guessing and replacing parts, or
attempting to 're-wire' something.

I think you'll find that most cars now work the same way as your Saturn -
they only run the fan when the PCM determines it is needed.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

On my 92 SL DOHC the average temp on the C to H dial is about half way;

I'll check out the ECM. Thanks for the suggestion.

But there's a misunderstanding here. On these '92 SL2s the engine cooling
fan only comes on if the airconditioner is ON. My fan is operating exactly
as designed. Unfortunately it was a poor design choice. You can "fake it
out" by punching the a/c button then turning it right off again. The fan
will run for about 5 minutes then you have to do it again.

I'm glad to here saturn changed this in newer models but please know your
models or do some research before commenting.

Bill

 

I'll check out the ECM. Thanks for the suggestion.

I apologize. I guess this fan is supposed to turn on even if the a/c is OFF.
But it has never done this since I've owned the car and a simple google
turns up dozens of complaints just like mine on the 92 SL2s.

I'll google 1st after this.

 

Don't you hate it when you have a product that is defective and you go
for years without even realizing that something is wrong?

 

Either the coolant temperature sensor, the fan relay, the computer getting
signals to/from them, or the cooling fan are defective. I put my money on
the CTS as this is a common failure. Sounds like yours has been broken for
a long time and you are doing manual cooling using the A/C switch.

Bob

 

THe problem is a defect by design. GM does not let fan come one until
coolant temp exceeds 230 degrees to limit fan noise and at which point
steam pockets are formomg and can cause it to vent. There is a fter
market kit on Ebay that will fit 95 and back Saturns that lets you set
fan temp not GM.

 

about 2 years after i got my 93 sl2 i had problems with temp going up, I
found that cleaning the radiator with spray hose and air hose used from
both sides to get the bugs , lint, feathers and whatever else got in
there, took care of the problem I have to do this about every 2 to 3
years!

 

This might be a fan issue, but I would also be wary that it could be a
leaking head gasket. I had a 1993 Ford Thunderbird that would run fine
until I stopped at a light. If the car was stopped for more than a few
seconds, the temperature gauge would shoot up. I know that on that Ford
I could smell a little radiator fluid when I would get out of the
drivers side door. It was not overpowering, but there was enough of a
smell to notice when you first get out of the car. I don't think you
would necessarily have to smell the fluid to have a leaking head gasket
though.

Anyway, I would just check into this if you can not verify it is truly
a fan problem.