1996 Mustangg GT Fans Coming on Late

[Chris1244]

Hi guy's sorry to have problem that I need help with on my first post on these forums.... Well I have a 1996 Mustang GT 2V 4.6 SOHC V8 and have been having a weird cooling problem. I recently have had the fan motor assembly changed due to a bad bearing in the motor. My car overheats and the temperature gauge will reach "L" in "NORMAL" before the radiator fan kicks on. The fan is functional because it does kick on eventually and will come on when the A/C compressor is on. I have been told that the cause of this problem may lay in a "lazy" thermostat that is opening to late ... My question is will a lazy or bad thermostat cause a delay in the fans kicking in ? Or could it be the temperature coolant sensor ? My thinking is if thermostat opens to late and the coolant does not flow to the radiator the fans will not kick in? I hope that is what it is I'm not in a great financial situation right now.. Thank you guys !

 

[duff daddy]

Well, look to see what is working. The thermostat is pretty simple and easy to change. ALso you want to make sure BOTH speeds of you cooling fan are working. If you only have a HIGH speed thats working but the low is inoperative, the fan wont come on at the lower temps, then by the time the "HIGH" speed comes on, it may be too late. If you check the coolant temp sensor you can check ohms and see what the resistance is and compare that to spec. If the resistance is too low in the sensor, it will show a lower temp in the coolant.

 

[Burninriverdiver]

I would get some test leads. Make sure the ground prong (black wire goes to it) is properly grounded, then add power to each prong and see if the fan works at a low speed with the one prong and high with the other. If both work check your wires... Not sure if it is a common thing but my low speed fan wire had been frayed and shorted out. Once the wires were replaced I didn't have the issue again