Hi everyone, this is my first post. I drive a '96 protege with the 1.5L engine. My cooling fans aren't running when they're supposed to. They work fine when I turn on my a/c, but they don't turn on when I'm stuck in traffic during a hot day, or during long periods of engine idle. So far my engine hasn't overheated, it just runs a little hotter.
Based on helpful info I found elsewhere on this forum, I checked my coolant temperature sensor. I checked it with an ohmmeter at various temperatures, and it checks out just fine, consistent with resistance values listed in my repair manual. So .... I looked for a faulty relay switch. I found the two identical relay switches in the upper passenger's side corner of my engine bay. I assume one of them is the one that controls the cooling fans during idle. Because the other one controls the fans during operation of the A/C... I held it in my hand and felt it clicking on and off. So, I switched the two relays, and no result. Both relays work just fine.
Besides a loose wire somewhere, what else could be keeping my fans from blowing? Did I check the wrong relays? Are there other sensors that determine when the fans go on, like an airflow sensor?
Also my engine idles very quietly now. Maybe I'm just not used to hearing it without the fans blowing. But this especially happens after I've been driving at highway speeds... the first traffic light I stop at, I panic thinking my engine stopped running. I have to turn off my radio and a/c to hear it, like its at a very low RPM. any help appreciated.
Based on helpful info I found elsewhere on this forum, I checked my coolant temperature sensor. I checked it with an ohmmeter at various temperatures, and it checks out just fine, consistent with resistance values listed in my repair manual. So .... I looked for a faulty relay switch. I found the two identical relay switches in the upper passenger's side corner of my engine bay. I assume one of them is the one that controls the cooling fans during idle. Because the other one controls the fans during operation of the A/C... I held it in my hand and felt it clicking on and off. So, I switched the two relays, and no result. Both relays work just fine.
Besides a loose wire somewhere, what else could be keeping my fans from blowing? Did I check the wrong relays? Are there other sensors that determine when the fans go on, like an airflow sensor?
Also my engine idles very quietly now. Maybe I'm just not used to hearing it without the fans blowing. But this especially happens after I've been driving at highway speeds... the first traffic light I stop at, I panic thinking my engine stopped running. I have to turn off my radio and a/c to hear it, like its at a very low RPM. any help appreciated.
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