Electric fan died on my newly rebuilt engine!

[wyk3d]

While driving on my engine with 70 miles on it i looked down and noticed that the temp was steadily climbing past 220....which is bad. Anyways got the car turned off and troublshooted back to a possible fuseable link problem. At least we assume this because there is no power going to the red wires on the relays and there is a newly fried wire coming off the starter all the way back to the link. Where can i get this fuseable link from?? What gauge (it looks like 10 currently on there), amperage, etc... am i looking for. It has one wire for the starter back to the link with two coming out of it. Please give me some info as setting fire to the car is seeming more like a good idea.

Dan

[Jimn8or]

Go to a good GM Parts advisor. He should be able to help you with your wiring dilemma as far as wiring sizes and fusable links. You need to know WHY this happened. Have a look at the relays on the d/s inner fender. Back to front they are; fan delay relay, low speed relay and of course then the high speed relay. The delay relay is a very, very common failed piece. Perhaps one of these is the source of your problem. Someone else you should contact is SalvageV6 on this board, the resident electrical wizard.
HTH
Jim

[wyk3d]

it looks like from what we can infer that the tape around the wire wore away and grounded itself on something. The link itself isnt destroyed. Its been burned all the way back to the link but its still intact. We replaced the relays anyway just to be sure and checked them, they all work fine, fan works fine. The delay relay was toast inside( sounded like maracas when we took it off and shook) but it hasnt worked since i owned the car. And as far as a parts supplier goes, no one in my area even knows who makes a grand national so they are going to be of NO help at all. A guy at pep boys told me they dont have alot of foreign car parts on hand when i called to ask about a part, just to give you an idea of intelligence levels.

Dan

[wyk3d]

relays dont look like they are any good. What is the part number for the relays that go in there. Originally there were 960388-04s in there. I have 2 960388-06 sitting on the bench. Can i use these or do they require the other ones??

Dan

[salvageV6]

Can't even get a flow switch to work with my new alky. kit so I ain't no goorooo.

Anyway your problem could be easier.

From your description it is fusible link E off the starter.

Temporarily, since I have no clue if GM makes a service kit for that link, I would hook up a 10 gague wire up to the link if there is enough good wire to make a perfect crimp onto for the existing wiring.

The fusible link itself is 1 RED which is 16 gauge from the metric size conversion table.

Pep Boys should have repair fusible links as do other parts houses.

Good luck.

[wyk3d]

we fixed the link problem........started it up and SIZZLE CRACK POP......wires started smoking........relays are toast at this point. Everything from the starter to the connectors is good. Need to know if the two good relays i have will work as the numbers are slightly different. We tossed them in just to test and no sizzle snap pop, but i want to be sure before i pack everything up.

Dan

[wyk3d]

delay relay was plugged back in by mistake even tho its no good (most of it fell out when we popped it open).......hot wires dont like when relays dont work right....they tend to melt other stuff. All is well again, i just unplugged the delay relay. There is no problem with doing this right?? It doesnt affect the way the car runs or anything?

Dan

[salvageV6]

Correct you do NOT need the delay relay in the car.

Actually it makes your battery and fan much happier.

[wyk3d]

well.........i spoke too soon....took it for a test drive and started smelling burning wires..........opened the hood and smoke pours from everywhere. The loom from the fan going to wherever it goes is gone now. What could have caused this and how do i even go about fixing it???

Dan

[Tow Man]

Did you check the fan motor for shorting out? Can you tell which direction the wire burned? In other words, If the insulation is totaly burned at the fan but not as burned at the relays, you know that your problem was on the fan side or vise-versa.

Once you rewire the harness that burned splice a fuse into the wire near the fan. This way you won't keep burning wires up until you find the problem.

I feel your pain, I hate electrical problems

Good luck! Vic

[wyk3d]

fan motor seemed to be running ok. We had to direct wire it to get the car home the first time. The insulation is toast from the fan to the connector. Connector was fused together, after connector and all the way through the harness as far as we checked anyway. The wires before the relay are fine. No burned or melted wires at all. Its everything after the relays. How hard is it to repair this harness as its part of the main wire loom? Would it be easier to just go grab a new electric fan setup and run an external harness?? Who sells one if thats a better route?

Dan