del Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Car in question 1988 GL wagon spfi. Is the electric radiator fan supose to come on with the AC? Or does it only come on when the coolant reaches a certain temp? thanks del Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 AC only. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottG Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hi Del, What General Disorder wrote is absolutely correct & 'by the book'. However, I'm wondering what sort of symptoms your '88 is showing that would cause you to ask the question. I've had some wiring issues with my '86 SPFI wagon, including the auxiliary fan NOT coming on with the AC. I wound up re-wiring the fan with a fuse & temp sensor from Advance Auto Parts. The temp sensor is adjustable, and I have it set to kick in at 190 degrees (I'm running a 180 thermostat). I added a relay & connected it to the wire that operates the AC compressor clutch. Now when I activate the AC, the relay kicks in the electric fan. So my electric fan does double duty: additional cooling when temperatures rise & AC. By the way, how well does your AC cool in the summer heat? My '86 is pretty marginal. Even with the electric & belt driven fans wailing away & the HVAC system set on 'recirculate or max', the interor temp remains rather warm. I'm trying to figure out how to add an additional condensor in the front to get rid of more heat. It's no big secret that you have to get rid of more heat at the condensor(s) to create more cold at the evaporator. I'm going to do some experimenting in the Spring to see how I can create greater interior cooling for summer driving. It gets REALLY HOT in Richmond in the summer! If you'd like a diagram & pictures of my current electric fan set-up, drop me an e-mail at: fordveight@verizon.net Best of luck ScottG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
del Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hi Del, What General Disorder wrote is absolutely correct & 'by the book'. However, I'm wondering what sort of symptoms your '88 is showing that would cause you to ask the question. I've had some wiring issues with my '86 SPFI wagon, including the auxiliary fan NOT coming on with the AC. I wound up re-wiring the fan with a fuse & temp sensor from Advance Auto Parts. The temp sensor is adjustable, and I have it set to kick in at 190 degrees (I'm running a 180 thermostat). I added a relay & connected it to the wire that operates the AC compressor clutch. Now when I activate the AC, the relay kicks in the electric fan. So my electric fan does double duty: additional cooling when temperatures rise & AC. By the way, how well does your AC cool in the summer heat? My '86 is pretty marginal. Even with the electric & belt driven fans wailing away & the HVAC system set on 'recirculate or max', the interor temp remains rather warm. I'm trying to figure out how to add an additional condensor in the front to get rid of more heat. It's no big secret that you have to get rid of more heat at the condensor(s) to create more cold at the evaporator. I'm going to do some experimenting in the Spring to see how I can create greater interior cooling for summer driving. It gets REALLY HOT in Richmond in the summer! If you'd like a diagram & pictures of my current electric fan set-up, drop me an e-mail at: fordveight@verizon.net Best of luck ScottG My fan does not come on with the AC, and I did not know if it was suppose to (this is the first time I have had the AC working). Mine does have a senser in the raidator that turns the fan on if it gets to warm, and it does work in the summer time (now I can not get it warm enough to turn on). The summers in Yakima can easily be over 40c (100f +), so a working AC is a cool thing. del Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 AC only. GD this is wrong. Non A/C equiped EA82s have ONLY the electric fan. It should come on anytime the engine is above 205-210 degrees via the thermoswitch in the Radiator. Even with A/C you're car is the same way. The fan should come on any time the engine gets hot. OR anytime the A/C is on, or the Defrost too. Check you're A/C fuse and A/C relays. They are both located on the passenger side strut tower. Check that the fuse is good, and test the relays for continuity when jumpered. If that is all good, I'd bet the microswitch on the side of the Ducting unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Sorry - Gloyale is right. Electric fan works with the coolant thermo-sensor. Mechanical fan is for the AC. I get mixed up sometimes with the EA82's - Subaru changed a lot of stuff from the EA81's.... found out it didn't work and changed it back on the EJ's. Go figure You could change over to double electric fans - that's what the EA81's and the EJ's have. Mechanical fans are a pain. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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