Re: GTV6 overheats - engine/radiator fan won't come on>

[George Graves <gmgraves@domain.elided>]

on 7/13/02 12:03 PM, alfa-digest at owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided wrote:

> 
> Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 22:00:44 -0700
> From: Robert Abatecola <robert@domain.elided>
> Subject: GTV6 overheats - engine/radiator fan won't come on
> 
> Hi everyone.
> 
> My GTV6 overheated today.  I determined that the right radiator fan
> would not come on.  I could get the left fan to come on by turning on
> the A/C and thus was able to keep it cool enough to get it to a
> reasonable parking place (meaning really HOT but no temperature
> light).
> 
> I tried swapping the horn relay with the fan relay but it didn't
> help.  I didn't think it would anyway since the left fan worked with
> A/C (and I could hear the relay click when it did).  I checked the
> voltage at the right fan and got zero, as expected.  That's all I had
> time for given that it's not here at home.
> 
> It seems clear that the thermal switch has failed.  The shop manual
> doesn't say how to test it but I imagine that it's a simple
> open/close switch.  Is it worth testing or should I just get one and
> replace it?  Does anyone near San Jose or Monterey/Carmel have one
> they would part with this weekend?
> 
> Thanks!
> - -- 
> 
> -Robert Abatecola, San Jose, CA
> 1985 GTV6
> 1987 Spider Quadrifoglio


I don't think that's your problem. Now, I'm not saying that one of your fans
isn't defective, but usually, the GTV-6's fans don't come on in normal
driving, even on hot days. On my car, the fans come on ONLY after the
temperature gauge exceeds about 1/3 of the way between the "175" and the
"250" graduations. I was down in New Almaden (South San Jose) recently when
the outside temperature was 95 degrees + F. My temp gauge never rose above
about 180 (just a hair above the "175" mark) and on cooler days it rests
about a tick below the "175" mark. OTOH, last year I had an intermittent
overheating problem that I thought was a fan problem too, until my mechanic
traced it to a sometimes-misbehaving thermostat. After he replaced that,
I've not had any more overheating problems. Also, keep in mind that the fans
will never come on if the car boils away the coolant so that the radiator
level drops below the point where the fan thermal switch resides. Air is
always cooler than the coolant liquid, and if that switch is not immersed,
the fans will NEVER come on irrespective of how hot the engine becomes.
Also, DO NOT operate the car until this problem is solved. I've seen the
aluminum heads on these engines expand so much during overheating, that they
will actually strip the head studs right out of the block! If this happens,
your only recourse would be to either replace the short-block or have the
stud holes, heli-arc filled, re-bored and re-tapped. Not a cheap operation -
and heli-coils won't work at head-torque pressures. Good luck.

George Graves
Mountain View Ca
1986 GTV-6
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