rdweninger Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Hello everyone. I thought I knew how it worked... but it is not operating as I thought. '85 GL EA82. Originally had the feedback carb and AC. I removed the A/C and installed a Weber. So the fan is running ALL the time with the ignitiion on. Even when I disconnect the plug from the thermoswitch in the radiator. I thought the thermoswitch would complete the ground when it reaches a certain temperature... thus engaging the fan. But, again, the fan runs all the time with the ignition on... regardless of whether the thermoswitch is plugged in or not... cold or hot. Any ideas on how this works or how to wire it correctly? Thanks for the help... Ron W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 if it had ac pull the ac fuse on the ps side stut tower is in its own holder and will stop fans coming on its ment to turn on fans when in defrost mode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 So the electric radiator fan circuit has 2 potential grounds? One is the ground thru the thermoswitch at high temp... and the other ground is if/when the A/C defrost button is activated? This is getting interesting...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 The info I have shows the fan is turned on by the AC system using a relay that has the coil tied to a pressure switch that is tied to power, rather than switching a ground connection to the fan motor, like the radiator switch does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Well... I pulled the fuse by the passenger side strut tower, but the fan still runs. So I found a plug near the thermoswitch wiring harness that I had unhooked when I pulled the A/C. I jumpered the 2 wires, and the fan stopped. So now I need to test the thermoswitch. Get it up to temp, and see if the fan kicks on. I tried crossing the terminals on the thermoswitch... but only got a spark... and no fan. Anyone?... am I on the right track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 spark meens you blew the fan fuse check if fan still works when on defrost seting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Hello Ivan, yes, the fan still works. Didn't blow a fuse. I installed a mechanical temp gauge last night... but it does not work. I even tried putting the sensor in some 212 degree water to test it. No work. Back to the parts store today. The strange part is the fan is always on. Even with the thermoswitch wiring unplugged and the defrost OFF. So how is the fan getting to ground? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'm not sure why the fan stopped running when jumpered the connector that I assume went to the thermo sensor. This is the opposite the way I think it should work. If you remove the jumper does the fan turn back on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 yes... the fan comes back on when I remove the jumper wire from the A/C plug coming from the harness. I finally found a mechanical temp gauge in the megatropilous of Tillamook (more cows than people). I'll install that tonight. Then I can watch my temp and check to see if the thermoswitch (in radiator) ever closes. If it does operate correctly... I think I can just power the fan with ignition on... and run the ground thru the thermoswitch and then to ground. Fan should run when I reach the magic 200 degree threshold. Otherwise, I'll rig it with a dash switch like all the other idiots out there... LMFAO. Me, included! I truely believe this is why alot of EA82's overheat and blow HG's. My other '85 has never had a problem with the radiator, thermoswitch, fan or overheating. But it has no A/C or PS. Any sockeye running yet? I miss my summers fishing off SW Kodiak. Caught 1200 lbs of sockeye in 10 hours. Had a net, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 To verify the thermoswitch circuit for the fan is working ok you should be able to jumper the connector to the switch and verify the fan turns on. It sounds like you have things under control now. The Kings aren't running very well at this time so they have restrictions going on for them. While we may have the good fish here you guys have the great cheese. Love that extra sharp cheeder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2labs Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Apologies if I'm being over simplistic or just plain dense, but every ea82 with a/c that I've seen has 2 fans, an extra fan dedicated to the a/c circuit, and the normal one that they all have. Just wondering how many fans you have and which one(s) are running, if for no other reason than to better understand it myself. Thanks and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Yes, they usually have 2 fans with A/C. I removed the clutch fan off the water pump. I believe that fan is a major contributor of water pump bearing failure and/or gasket seal failure. So I just have the electric fan. I wired it up last night. Took the blue with red stripe and hooked that to a hot wire that is on with ignition. Then took the yellow wire from the fan and hooked that into one post on the thermoswitch (in radiator). Then attached the other thermoswitch lead to ground (used the existing ground wire from thermoswitch 2-wire plug). Now everything works correctly. The fan only comes on when the temperature is 200 degrees. Stays on until the temp drops significantly. Soldered and heat shrinked... should last another 200k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'm not so sure removing the mechanical fan is going to save you much in mechanical problems. The electric fan is now going to have to work much more than it would have normally. You also may find the water pump life span doesn't improve as much as you hope it will. I could be wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I bought my first Subaru 19 years ago . '85 EA82 5mt 4wd. The PO had hired a mechanic to remove the A/C and the mechanical fan and Weberized it. I still have the car, 125000 miles later, and have not put a water pump on it. I did reseal the metal pipe that goes to the radiator hose with some black rtv about 10 years ago. Also, living near the Oregon coast, it is nice and cool. Today's high will be 55 degrees. I have not heard my fan kick on since that hot summer 3 years ago. The one I'm working on now is also an '85 EA82 5mt 4wd. My son and I just finished it up last night. Bought it for $200, put $750 into it... including the total HG and reseal, Weber and other goodies. The kid put the whole thing back together. I just drank beer and pointed... LMAO. I signed over the title this morning. And, finally, GD just finished putting in a new old shortblock and resealed my other '85 Wagon. That one is a 3AT and FWD. Has 85,000 miles... original owner was the World Whale Foundation. My daughter will be the proud owner of that one when she turns 16. I hope the Kings start running soon for you. Getting kind of late for springers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Good deal. A family of happy Soob owners. It doesn't get much better than that. You can also fix them when they need it. The skills your son is picking up now will most likely be a big help in his life later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 The switch is not a ground switch on the ea82 cars only the ea81 cars the ea82 car its a power in power out switch it gets hot and makes the conection axoss the termanals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Ivan, That's good to know that EA82 use the thermoswitch with 12v... and EA81 uses the thermoswitch as ground. So the likely scenerio. Previous Owner ran into a pole. It is obvious from the smashed in bumper and new headlight lense. I bet they found a radiator from an EA81 and installed it. The wiring plugs were disassembled/modified/destroyed from the PO trying to figure out how to make the fan operate. They couldn't get it to work... so they drove it w/o the fan. Got too hot... Blew the HG. So I buy the car, reseal the motor. Go to hook up the fan. It's all screwed up. First found a blown fuse (probably had 2 12v leads... one from ignition and one from the EA82 thermoswitch). Replaced the fuse. Then check the wires from the thermoswitch with Multimeter... they go to ground (which is strange...you said they are hot). So I take 12v at ignition to the fan and use the EA81 thermoswitch to complete the ground. I'll double check the wire at the thermoswitch to make sure it is not 12v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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