Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94 SSEi

Series I L27 (1992-1994 SE,SLE, SSE) & Series II L36 (1995-1999 SE, SSE, SLE) and common problems for the Series I and II L67 (all supercharged models 92-99) Including Olds 88's, Olds LSS's, Olds 98 91-96, Buick Lesabres and Park Avenue 91-96. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
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Highway Patrol
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Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94 SSEi

Post by Highway Patrol »

Hello everyone, I'm relatively new here so I'm not entirely sure if I'm doing this right. Anyways, my uncle just gave me his 1994 SSEi for my first car and it is in relatively good shape. I had it running the other day and noticed that the temperature was slowly rising past normal (keep in mind it was only idling after being jump-started because of a dead battery). I texted my uncle to see if this was normal and he said it was probably fine. Five minutes later, the car has gone from just below 220* F to 240*F and the radiator fans have not kicked on at all. Worried about overheating the motor, I shut the car down. This was within a timespan of 10-15 minutes of idling, mind you.
Like I said earlier, this is my first car and I do not really know my way around it yet. I also should probably state that I do not have my license so it is currently sitting at my grandmother's house until I get said-license in the next month or so.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by RJolly87 »

Is the service engine soon light on?

If not, does it come on when the ignition is on, but go out oce started?
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by harofreak00 »

Just a quick reply of how I would start diagnosing this.

Turn on the AC and check to see if the fans are on. They should be commanded on no matter what the engine temp is.
Check the fuses and relays in the Maxi fuse relay center.
Try applying 12v directly to the fan to verify they work.
If you don't get anywhere from this, you'll need to find a wiring schematic to dig into it further. I don't have access to schematics that old or I'd love to help you out.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

RJolly87 wrote:Is the service engine soon light on?

If not, does it come on when the ignition is on, but go out oce started?
The CEL is on when the key is turned to Accessory but it goes away after you start the engine.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

harofreak00 wrote:Just a quick reply of how I would start diagnosing this.

Turn on the AC and check to see if the fans are on. They should be commanded on no matter what the engine temp is.
Check the fuses and relays in the Maxi fuse relay center.
Try applying 12v directly to the fan to verify they work.
If you don't get anywhere from this, you'll need to find a wiring schematic to dig into it further. I don't have access to schematics that old or I'd love to help you out.
I'm heading over to my grandmother's house again this afternoon so I'll have to try blasting the A/C haha. I do know that the car had a ton of things done within the last couple of months by my uncle's mechanic so I'm not entirely sure how this was missed.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

Just got to her house. I started the car, turned on the A/C... nothing. Fans did not turn on when the A/C was turned on. I also checked the fuse for the cooling fans and they didn’t appear to be blown. I haven’t figured out how to supply the fans with 12v yet. Maybe the fans bit the dust Then again, why would both fans die at the same time?
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by J Wikoff »

Find the fan and other relays on the firewall under the maxifuse relay center cover. Switch them around (they are all the same) and see if what works/doesn't work changes. Then you'll know you have a bad relay.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

J Wikoff wrote:Find the fan and other relays on the firewall under the maxifuse relay center cover. Switch them around (they are all the same) and see if what works/doesn't work changes. Then you'll know you have a bad relay.
I’ll have to try that when I go over to my grandmothers tomorrow. I really hope it’s just a relay haha.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by 96 SSEi »

hereis your manual.............https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownerce ... owners.pdf

check on firewall, pass side for maxifuse relays/fuses

if you look at the fans, you see 2 wires soldered to the fan motor - run a wire from battery to either wire - you get the wrong one and the fans will spin backwards.

talk to the guy who worked on it and get further info to help you narrow down issue
poverty forces one to do unorthodox things

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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

96 SSEi wrote:hereis your manual.............https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownerce ... owners.pdf

check on firewall, pass side for maxifuse relays/fuses

if you look at the fans, you see 2 wires soldered to the fan motor - run a wire from battery to either wire - you get the wrong one and the fans will spin backwards.

talk to the guy who worked on it and get further info to help you narrow down issue
Alright, good to know. I'll have to try that once it stops pouring outside. :thumbup:
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

Sorry for not ever getting back to you guys with what ended up happening. I went over there last Sat. and tried removing a couple relays with no such luck. I ended up running out of time to screw around because I had to go to work haha. Anyways, I have no clue when the next time I'll be over there will be, but I guess I'll have to try harder to get those relays out.
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Re: Engine temp. @ 240* F and cooling fans not working. -94

Post by Highway Patrol »

By the way, I fixed it! The Cooling Fan relay bit the dust! Now, I've got more, major issues to take care of that you can find in the other thread that I've got going.
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1994 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi- Just over 106k miles and it just so happens to be my first car!
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