Whenever my car gets to this temp on the gauge:



my driver side fan kicks on and will stay running until the car is shut off. I couldn't find anything with searching so just kind of wondering what could cause this and what should I be looking for? I'm sure it's not bad for my car to switch the fan on and stay running, but I just want to know why it's doing it. Thanks.

Well the fan is controlled according to the temperature sensor, so a good guess would be that the temp. sensor on the coolant/engine/where ever it is is "saying" the car is hot. I think the sensor feeds both the temp. gauge and the switch/relay that turns on the fan, so I guess if your gauge is reading acceptable temps but the fans still turn on, it maybe the switch/relay/what ever that is messed up.

So when you have just turned on the car they dont come on, but a few secs later they do? Weird, I have no idea where all the stuff I just told you is :P but the idea is right... I think :7

I wouldn't want the fans on most all the time. Don't want the engine running too cold.

Here& Here

I found this for ya, check it out. Azdave talks about the sensors you should inspect. In the second link freelancefool talks about some testing and relays.

I replaced the coolant temperature sensor already because I didn't have one when I got a new thermostat housing so I doubt that is the problem. I'll try to do some more searching when I have some free time here at work.

EDIT:
I'll try testing out the relays after work today. Thanks for the 2nd link.

Well remember to check BOTH of the sensors under the thermostat, as one if just for the gauge and the other goes to the ECU which controls the fan. I may seem over eager here but I found one more that might help out.

Clicky Da Linky

Originally posted by edxmon
Well remember to check BOTH of the sensors under the thermostat, as one if just for the gauge and the other goes to the ECU which controls the fan.

Yeah I bought the sensor new that communicates with the ECU.

EDIT:
Just read through the link you posted last ed and read that Dave said the speed sensor ties into it somehow too. My speed sensor isn't hooked up because I am still looking for a harness that will fit into it because I have a 95 speed sensor on a 99 car. That may be my problem right there. I better start looking harder for a harness plug to fit that speed sensor now, thanks again.

Since when do people quote me about how to fix stuff on these cars?

Anyway, is that where your temperature gauge normally sits or does it normally climb up to just under the halfway mark? If it normally climbs up to the halfway mark I would look into the LO RAD FAN relay.

Also since you have a turbo car, you might want to invest in a temp gauge. The stock gauge is pretty crappy. The 'normal' just below halfway point is the second step on the temp gauge. It sits there from about 130*-190*F in my experience, so it doesn't paint an accurate picture of how hot your motor is getting.

Originally posted by freelancefool
Since when do people quote me about how to fix stuff on these cars? Anyway, is that where your temperature gauge normally sits or does it normally climb up to just under the halfway mark? If it normally climbs up to the halfway mark I would look into the LO RAD FAN relay. Also since you have a turbo car, you might want to invest in a temp gauge. The stock gauge is pretty crappy. The 'normal' just below halfway point is the second step on the temp gauge. It sits there from about 130*-190*F in my experience, so it doesn't paint an accurate picture of how hot your motor is getting.

Well you helped solve that other guys issue, so I assumed you must have been right :P. And no biggie man, helping is what the forum is for.

Well I did have an aftermarket Water temp gauge for a while, and while it was more accurate, I didn't find myself looking at it much. The halfway point on the regular gauge was anywhere in between 150-210 before it moved up anymore. And yeah, the temp goes up normally and doesn't overheat at all according to the gauge.

Well, did you try swapping the LO RAD FAN and HI RAD FAN relays? I'm curious to know what is going on now.

hey I think you bought my t-stat housing....try swapping that thing in there, both the sensors are new.

Originally posted by talon749
hey I think you bought my t-stat housing....try swapping that thing in there, both the sensors are new.

It's already in there, I had to put a different coolant temp sensor on it because my harness wouldn't plug into the one you gave me.

I'll go out and swap the relays in a little bit.