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electric cooling fan strangness


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so ok the other day i noticed the electric cooling fan stopped again.

 

if i jump the connector that comes off of the radiator switch it comes on but i got to thinkin when i try the A/C should the elecric fan come on as well or will a bad radiator switch keep it from kicking on?

 

i'm going to go on the hunt for a new switch here in a moment but i thought when i turn the a/c on the electric fan should come on as well reguardless of engine temp.

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ok well the strange gets stranger.

 

found some in the j-yard and swapped them in the parking lot and still nothing.

noticed when i re installed the fan the connector to the fan got between the shroud and radiator and so i got it out, after i did the fan worked.

pluged old relays back in, fan still works.

 

now these plugs (fan power/rad switch) are plugs i had checked many many times over and over again and had now effect on operation or now. i jerkd on them while the fan was on and nothing.

 

i returned the relays to the j-yard and got my 5 bucks back and the old relays are still working.

 

only thing is the fan stays on now and doesent go off untill the key is off.

 

before i returned the relays i tried them one by one and nothing made the fan go off.

 

so now i have the oppisite problem fan stays on wont go off. i unplugged the rad switch and it still stays on so its not that. both sets of relays had the same out come and i used ones out of a newer car that had been replaced.

 

there is a brown T connector below the rad switch and fan plug, its Brown with the one end jumped like it was something from the factory but it may not be, the wire in it is black with a white line, the harness end i cant tell because its right out of the harness up under the carbon canister

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Which year is your Subie?

Early EA82 Models with A/C has a Problem with the Wiring for that Fan: it was originally Designed to Kick ON when the A/C System Gained some Pressure, Not Directly by the Relays, so Those Early Models (Like Mines) Got a Pressure Switch that Send the Power ON Signal to those Two Relays Behind the Strut Tower.

The Pressure Switch is Located Nearby the Passenger`s Side Headlamp, Below / Behind it, on the A/C Pressure Line, it Looks like a Round Relay with Two Pin Connector with independent single Wires each one... (Near it there`s Another Pressure Switch but That is the "Sensor" that Stops the A/C when there`s No Pressure on the System, it Looks Different Due to a Rubber Base Attached to its Connector Wires.) ...I Suggest to Look at That Area.

That Pressure Switch is so Simple, is just a Permanent ON Bypass that Works like This: its Two Wires are Always Connected (ON) and That Keep the Fan Always OFF. Just when the Pressure Raises Up with the A/C ON, that Switch Release internally the Bypass, that Lets the Fan to Kick ON.

if you Leaved one -or the two- Plugs removed from that Pressure Switch, Your Fan will be Permantly ON untill you Remove the Key: That seems to be the Behaviour on your Subie. icon4.gif

Subaru did an Adaptor to Correct that bad design, it Consist on Two Wires, Each one has Female Connectors in one Side and Male Connectors in the Other; that Pair of Wires Share one Wire from one to Another between them and is Designed to be Plugged Between the Original Relays Behind the Strut Tower and their Plugs. The Idea is to Bypass that Pressure Switch and Let the Relays Power ON the Fan Directly when you Power ON the A/C like Usual in other cars.

So, I Suggest you to Check for unplugged Tiny Single Wire(s) to the Pressure Switch located Behind / Below the Passenger`s Headlamp in the A/C Pressure Line. If there`s an Unplugged One and you Notice that the Fan Comes OFF when its Plugged; if so, That is the Cause of your Problems.

Let me Know the Results of that, in Order to Continue Helping you to Solve the Problem.

Good Luck!

Kind Regards.

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It sounds like the relays are being forced on somehow. I assume that if the relay isn't plugged in the circuit the fan doesn't work. Indicating the power to the fan is going through the relay.

 

correcto, if i unplug the relay fan no workie

 

2.7 this is on a 1990, wouldnt consider it early for these cars but i dont know how early is early on these.

 

is this line your talking about on the a/c high pressure line or low pressure line.

i've checked those connectors down there and everythings plugged in but i bet if this pressure switch is on the high side and theres too much pressure its probally triggering it so its on all the time.

 

i am having an a/c problem and so far it seems the high side is sucking the pressure out of the low side, i have tried recharging it and the same thing happens. some one told me the expansion valve can cause the high side to suck the low dry and thus boosting high side pressure so i wouldnt be supprised if high is so higly charged in the off position that its triggering this switch.

 

i think after i redo the connector (has become loose after all this diag) i am gonna turn the car on and have some one suck 134a out the high side and see if the fan turns off.

 

what do you guys think?

 

i will double check the pressure switch connectors tommorow, running out of energy/light right now and i need to call the fiance.

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No, 1990 is Not the Early ones Design I Was Writing About, so your Subie Must Not has that Pressure Activated Switch for the Fan, it Works Just by the Relays Already.

 

... i am gonna turn the car on and have some one suck 134a out the high side and see if the fan turns off. ...

 

134a? ... Those Subies were Designed to Use Freon R12, So I imagine that you Already installed a Retrofit Kit for 134a ... isn`t it?

 

Kind Regards.

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owner before me converted to 134a

now from what i have read the later models should have the hitachi a/c thats next to the power steering and the early models have the alternator next to the power steering right?

 

well since mines such a freakshow any way being a 90 turbo with full time 4wd it aparently has the older style a/c, its not a hitachi style compressor it has the alternator next to the power steering so it may have this pressure switch after all.

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The info I am looking at shows a trinary switch tieing to the relay and it has four leads to it so it may be the thing you are looking for. The wire colors are blk/yel, red/wht or blk/wht, blu/red, blu/wht.

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yep, i thought there'd be a pressure switch still even though they changed where its at.

 

i went to the junkyard to replace the fan power connector (was fried on the inside) and i soldered it on (crimp is the suck) and while i was there i checked the a/c stuff, th switch on the lines are the same as the connector on the dryer. also after looking it over a little more the dryer is on the high pressure side so its probally ove charged.

 

i didnt get an expansion valve though, too deep in the dash and it was too hot in the yard car to pull it, i wonder if theres some sort of trick to fix it while its on

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fan relay to blame for not comming on when the a/c is on?

 

If there is no pressure in you're AC system, or if there is a fault with the pressure switch in the reciever/drier then the signal voltage will not be sent to the relay to turn on the fan.

 

Normal fan operation (i.e. temp swith controlled) is not run through a relay. the relay is for operation of the fan while running A/C or Defrost.

 

you probably have a bad temp switch, and a faulty or depressurized A/C

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