Cooling fan help

[ispy]

My vans been down for a while, in need of a water pump and timing belt. I got those done, and now I'm in the middle of a 900 mile trip to my brothers wedding.

My temp gauge has started reading high (about at the 3/4 mark), and the coolant light is flashing. I stopped to check, and the coolant level is fine. I noticed though that neither fan is coming on.

I have no choice but to keep going and hope for the best. Before I return though, I'd like to fix it. I remember reading something about the sensors back when I first got the van, but it didn't really register at the time. I looked under the front end, and there's, what......6 or 8 different sensors? I have no clue which is for the gauge, the light, or the fans.

I know there's probably lots of info on this forum regarding the fans, but I'm sitting at a rest area, on my phone, with a poor signal, trying to do a search, and I'm already behind schedule. If somebody could give me some ideas on which sensors control which fans, and any advice on what else I should check (relay?), I would very much appreciate it.

[ispy]

Sorry, I forgot to mention......' 93 EV.

I've noticed it's now running at about 3/4 on the temp gauge, with the light flashing, about 98% of the time. Every so often the light stops, and the gauge drops to about half for a couple minutes. I assume that means at least one of the fans is coming on occasionally, but I haven't been able to verify that.

[gti_matt]

On the engine between cylinders 1 and 2 is a coolant fitting with two sensors in it. The blue 2-terminal one is for the engine ECU so that won't affect your cooling system directly. The other sensor in that fitting IIRC is a 4-pin one (might also be blue IIRC) and IIRC that one is for the coolant after-run pump and possibly also the dash gauge. This would only be a problem if it's causing your gauge to read too high. It should have no effect on the after-run pump while the engine is running.

There is a bank of some relays above the left headlamp. These do affect cooling fan function and one of these could be bad. There also is in front of the battery a small box with some strip fuses in them for the fans. These do go bad and are dirt-cheap to replace. They can develop hairline cracks that are hard to see but nevertheless interrupt electric flow to the fans. I would blindly replace these...they're like $1 each.

Below the left headlamp (have to remove the metal panel on the outside below the lamp) are two coil-shaped resistors for the lower fan speeds. These might be bad.

Also, have you thought that your thermostat might be sticking closed? That can cause the engine temperature to get too high but yet the fans might not come on because the radiator temperature is fairly low since the coolant isn't being permitted to flow freely between the engine and radiator. You might want to replace your thermostat.

[ispy]

Well, it appears I'll have time to figure it all out. Seems I did in fact blow the head gasket. I made it to the wedding, and back, and put just over 2000 miles on the van in 4 days. Realistically, if I'd been told before I left that I'd end up with a blown head gasket, it's a relatively small price to pay to be at your brothers wedding.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I appreciate it. Now I have to figure out what to do about the van, but I'll post that in a new thread.

[gti_matt]

Owch.

[lukeborn]

I'm not sure about the 93 but my 02 did the same thing and it turned out to be two big green, resistors right behind the bumper in the center of the van, you can see mine without removing the belly pan... If you find those check for resistance, if none they are bad.

Again this is bout an 02 but I think I remember seeing those on my old 93. Worth a shot

Sent from my Slider SL101 using Tapatalk 2

[gti_matt]

Again this is bout an 02 but I think I remember seeing those on my old 93. Worth a shot

On a '93 they are behind the metal panel below the driver's headlight. Tip out the grille to the service position, remove two screws inboard of the panel, and pull the panel off (the snaps are pretty grippy though on the outboard side of the panel).