CATM93 Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 I had a car repair shop replace my radiator on my 1987 GL-10 Station Wagon and they did not hook back up my electric fan. What's worse, is that I cannot find where the wire is that powered it up. I would assume that it would have to be thermostatically controlled, or it would run all of the time. Words of wisdom or a picture would be very appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 (edited) sounds like they should repair it. have you looked yet for the connector? look from underneath, have you done that, they're usually low? if you're not comfortable around cars have someone you know that is take a look, probably take 30 seconds unless they did something weird. thermostatically controlled via the little screw in sensor in the radiator that triggers it on. wiring harness usually comes out at the ends of the lower radiator support and/or runs just under the radiator support. if you crawl under there you should find the connector dangling somewhere. usually the fan wiring has a certain "bent" to it, so just use that as a guide as the left/right up/down, that's usually a good place to start. they're really easy to find, i've never seen one difficult. Edited August 26, 2010 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 2 sets of connectors are involved, both on the "right"/US-passenger-side of the radiator. One connector is for the thermoswitch, and the other is for the fan itself. Both should be hanging around near the black evap-emissions ("charcoal") canister that is sitting in the fenderwell behind the right headlight. The connectors will probably be near the gap between the framefails and the radiator/electric fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATM93 Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 Appreciate the replies. My next day off is Monday, so I'll be following your suggestions then. I have a strange notion that they tucked the wiring up some-wear and didn't bother hooking up the thermostat to the new radiator. If this is the case, is there a source of supply for a new one? I had the work done in the winter and didn't notice the fan not working until summertime. I am no longer using this shop for any repairs on my vehicles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis_Toboggan Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I did some rewiring for my cooling fan, added a light so I know when the thermoswitch turns it on, and if the thermoswitch is broken or not. Either way, this is the connector, it's right behind the passenger side headlight, it has a blue wire (power), and a yellow wire (ground). This particular connector in the pic has two red wires coming out of it (from the relay circuit I built) Here's a closer pic of where the connector sits. I have removed the charcoal canister, so it should be easy to find once you get that thing out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATM93 Posted August 28, 2010 Author Share Posted August 28, 2010 Mantis_Toboggan, Thanks for the pictures. I'll be able to start on it on Monday and hopefully I'll be able to get it operating again. I'll post on what I find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 The thermoswitch on our 82 GL is oddly wired. It has a yellow wire with 2 red stripes on it that sends power into the screw-in thermoswitch. BUT no wire coming out of the switch to send that power to the fan. Hmmmmm oddness. Why would they design it this way? I guess it saves money on an extra piece of wire. The circuit is completed by the thermoswitch sending the power to radiator ground which sends it to the fan. (if I worded that correctly). Anyway, we need a new/used thermoswitch if anyone has one to sell me. thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Ok, I figured it out. Here is how it works: The power is sent to the fan; then its ground wire coming out of the fan snakes into a harness and is in some way connected to/becomes that yellow wire which sends the power into the thermoswitch which in turn grounds to the radiator to complete the circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATM93 Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Finally got to look at the car today and I found the thermostatic controlled switch that led to the air-conditioner was not hooked up. There is another spot on the radiator that would hold another switch and I found an empty socket that I think hooked up to it. Does anyone have a source for these switches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis_Toboggan Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 If you have any pics, I might be able to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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