Radiator fans stopped spinning.

[CorsairStyle]

I lifted up the bonnet today after noticing the engine was a lot hotter then ususal to find that the radiator fans were not spinning.

Ive always noticed the engine seems to get to middle of H/C guage very freakin quickly if its stopped so im thinking they must of been busted for ages.

pisses me off because ive had 2 mechs work on it since i saw them working. (or not)

this cant of been going on more then 10,000k so im guessing the dmg from a bit of overheating in the sun would be minimal (as in like the tiniest bit over the middle mark on guage) coz i mostly drive at night.

now i gotta figure out how to fix.

bugger.

[phreeky]

turn the air-con on and see if they spin

it's probably just a fuse

[Chadza]

and do a search...if you did you would find that this is NORMAL.

[emademris]

hey mate i had the same prob but it was with the pintara the prob was a fan switch im not sure if that could be your prob but worth a try to ask your mech about it.

[RichTRX]

the fans only spin when the temp guage gets above the 2nd dot (on the 2.4 models) or halfway. If you think your fans aren't working, let the engine run at idle after going for a drive, then while idling, let the temperature build up. If it goes significantly above half without the fans starting, you have a problem. I could be a faulty engine temp sender (the bigger one, not the gauge temp sender - the smaller one) or the fan switch might not be working. Also check out the wiring to the fans.

It's also normal for the engine to seem to be pretty hot when you open the bonnet after it's been idling for a while. The exhaust manifold is right in front of you afterall.

[bigpud2012]

was burning aroudn this arvo and while sitting in the frikn peak hour traffic at the lights my temp guage went bout just under 3/4 and i was getting a little worried.

took chadza advice and just turned the air con on fully HOT no 4 setting, temp went down to mid way in bout 30 seconds

it was kinda hot but just made sure the vents were on my feet.

[Chadza]

you don't really need to put the vents onto fully hot, that would probably take a sum total of 1degree off of the coolant temp. When the air con is on the fans should be on, full stop. If you are a little worried about temp then just use your air-con. Still, u should check out your collant temp sender (the ECU one).

Chad

[ashman01]

had this problem 2.

1st night i went out and it was raining then it stopped. My engine heated up to the top of the gauge while idioling outside my friends house. There was steam coming out my bonnet and when i popped the hood my radiator overfill bottle was bubbling. The problem was the engine temp plugs on the back left side on the engine wernt pulged in properly or if they were they had gunk in them and then i unplugged them and spreyed CRC cleaner on them the fans worked again. Its never heated up again.

[mortz]

Hi,

Not sure if you have a KA24E or CA20E - but...
For the KA24E, if you run the engine and unplug the engine temperature sensor, the radiator fans will come on 'high' speed (very loud).
See photo below:


Obviously they are coming on voluntarily (i.e. if you force them, by switching ON the air con).  Whilst you have the temp sensor unplugged, clean out any dirt / grease in the connector as this will provide greater electrical resistance (and give a false reading to the ECU). 
By the way - the connector is a bit of a bitch to undo first time around - I actually broke mine and it sometimes falls off.... Try removing the little metal clip in it first.
And - so you don't burn yourself, do this when the engine is cold

For further diagnosis, and if you have an ohmmeter (or multimeter) handy, the resistance between the two terminals on the SENSOR (not the wire going back to the ECU) should be approx. 2.1 to 2.9K Ohms at an engine temperature of 20°C, and 0.3 to 0.33K Ohms at 80°C engine temperature.

Hope this helps!!!

EDIT: CA20E Water Temp Sensor Resistance Info (thanks to FSM)

Water temperature sensor temperature / resiastance table:
Temp          Resistance
100            188 Ohms
70              444 Ohms
30              1716 Ohms
(note that this is not the entire list!)