2001 LS 3.0 L Cooling Problem

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qzyl2m

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Hi, have a 2001 LS 3.0 L. When I start car when eng is cool, I turn on the A/C and the cooling fan goes to higher speed (I believe this is normal).
When the eng temp gets to normal (1/2 way on temp gauge) the cooling fan goes to lower speed, the fan will not go back to higher speed even by turning A/C on and off repeatedly. The temp gauge will rise to almost 3/4 when A/C is on. If the A/C is left off the temp gauge drops back down to 1/2 even with car not moving. Shut car off and when car cools back down I start it , turn on A/C and fan increases speed again. The outside temp has been 35 degrees celsius. It appears the eng temp stays normal as long as I leave the A/C off.
I tried searching forums but didn`t find a solution.

Thanks
Danno
 
I suspect that the fan solenoid (actuator) is sticking, but it could be something else with the hydraulic fan system. Replacing the actuator and all the fluid is probably the lowest cost first step to trying to fix this.
 
Thanks, do you know if it is difficult to replace actuator. Is there anyway to test actuator.

thanks
 
qzyl2m said:
Thanks, do you know if it is difficult to replace actuator. Is there anyway to test actuator.

thanks
Click to expand...

There's no good way to test it beyond what you have already done. If it is the actuator, it is marginal and not completely failed. That is the hardest condition to test for and to verify. Search this forum, there are a few good DIY posts on changing out the actuator. I haven't done it (don't have a gen I), but it sounds like it is often more difficult than it should be.
 
The weird thing is when I start the car when cold, turn A/C on, the cooling fan speeds up every time I do this. But as soon as the eng temp gets to normal the cooling returns to low speed. The fan will not speed up again until the car shut off and is cooled down start it back up turn A/C on and fan speeds up again.
 
Well, if you have an oscilloscope, you can look at the control wire from the PCM to the fan actuator to see what speed the PCM is calling for. Otherwise, it's just a guess that the actuator is sticking when it gets hot.
 
I don`t have an oscilloscope just a DVM. Yeah I was thinking that too that the actuator is sticking when it gets hot. The dealer wants 250 plus tax for actuator and would take 3 days to get it. It looks like a bad spot for clearance to remove actuator. The eng temp is fine if I don`t use the A/C. Not sure what to do.
 
I think that at least one member has claimed some success just by flushing out and cleaning the hydraulic fan system and components.
Alternately, there are those who have converted to an electric fan.
 
Thanks, I could suction out the fluid and replace it and try that
 
I have the car at the dealer and they called and said cooling fan is working normal. He said it is not suppose to increase speed when the A/C is turned on. I am a little confused now. They are a lincoln dealership.He is recommending a coolant change and thermostat.
 
That doesn't really fit with what I have seen.
It is true that when you turn the AC off, the fan speed stays up for a while, so turning it back one after only a minute or two will normally result in no speed change. It's also true that if the engine is hot enough that the fan is already close to maximum, turning the AC on won't change fan speed.

In any event, if the engine is overheating (temp needle past the halfway mark) and the fan is not running at maximum speed, you have a fan problem.
 
the dealer ran car with A/C on the, temp gauge went to 3/4 ,the fan stayed at low speed and he said that is normal. He said the fan is only one speed. He said that is is likely the thermastat causing the problem
 
qzyl2m said:
the dealer ran car with A/C on the, temp gauge went to 3/4 ,the fan stayed at low speed and he said that is normal. He said the fan is only one speed. He said that is is likely the thermastat causing the problem
Click to expand...

He is very very wrong. Is there another dealer you can go to?

It is never normal for the temp gauge to go over the halfway mark.
The fan is not single speed, it is variable speed.
He clearly doesn't know anything about the LS is particular, and very little about cars in general. He should be reported to Ford.
 
yeah your right, he is wrong, i don`t think he liked when it when I told him the fan was variable speed. He was going to talk the tech again and call me back.
 
The dealer called me back and said cooling fan is performing the way it should. he sayr it may be the thermastat they want $440 to replace thermastat and coolant. He said replacing thermastat is not a simple job. i never looked where it is located before so i don`t know.
 
qzyl2m said:
The dealer called me back and said cooling fan is performing the way it should. he sayr it may be the thermastat they want $440 to replace thermastat and coolant. He said replacing thermastat is not a simple job. i never looked where it is located before so i don`t know.
Click to expand...

I surely would not let them touch my car. I can't say this strongly enough. Find another dealer. Not all of them are as bad as this one. With this one, you would be wasting $440, as the suggested repair isn't going to fix your problem. It may be more than a $440 waste if they break something while working on it.
 
I called another dealer, they will replace thermostat and coolant for $170.
 
That 170 will quickly turn into 800-1000 by the time they explain that they needed to replace other brittle/aging/broken/cracked cooling parts on that 01.
 
I picked up car from dealer. I did not let them change coolant and thermostat. I don`t think parts are britle, the car has 40,000 km on it, never winter driven stored in a garage all times. I ran the car today inside my garage, outside temp was 34 degrees celsius. Started car, turned A/C on cooling fan increased in speed as I could hear it. Eng temp gauge got to half way. cooling fan droped to low speed. 30sec later cooling fan increased speed for 30 sec than dropped to low speed, 30 sec later fan speed increased again This increase and decrease went on for 1 hour. I shut off car, and 10 minutes later started car, with A/C left on, the cooling fan was at higher speed. I then backed car out of garage and the cooling fan dropped backed to low speed. I let the car idle for 20 minutes and the fan did not increase speed. I am stumped. I even changed the hydraulic pump fluid because I read somewhere it solved their problem. Can I jumper the actuator to 12 v and ground to see if it is intermittent. If it is intermittent, it is repeating itself the same way every time. don`t want to spend $250 plus tax on actuator if there is a way of testing it first. Any sugestions.
 
qzyl2m said:
... I don`t think parts are britle, the car has 40,000 km on it, never winter driven stored in a garage all times. ...
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the parts don't care what you think. They are 13 years old. They are brittle. I still think that the hydraulic cooling fan is still your bigger problem.
 
Is the cooling fan supposed to cycle speeds when the A/C is on, is this normal. I have not found the answer to this even from the dealer. If the cooling fan is causing the problem why won`t the problem appear when car is cold. Is there anyway of checking fan. Any way of jumpering actuator to to see if problem is from PCU or actuator.
 
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