So i figured out why the engine light came on. The temperature rises simply because the radiator was busted. I changed the radiator and the hose today and now the radiator fan wont blow and my engine is still over heating...Im sure the fan works cos it was tested. However, im not sure if its the sensor or if its some minor wiring problem...any idea anyone? My engine is still overheating.....

 

change the thermostat. also if the coolant temperture sensor is not functioning properly you may have to change it. there may be two coolant temp sensors one for the ecm and one for the guages but most likely there is only one.

other than that a legitimate coolant flush may need to be done.

 

aibeekay, like was mentioned, replace the thermostat. That is your most likely suspect and is also a cheap thing to do. You can do a check of the thermostat by removing the thermostat and then putting it in a pan of hot water that is heating up. Then with a thermometer in the water, as the thermometer passes the temp stamped on the thermostat, you should see the thermostat move and open up. Another "Go-No Go" check is to remove the thermostat and push on the end where the spring is. If the valve moves easy, then it likely it isn't bad. If the valve sticks, then it is definitely bad. The hot water test is much more of a tell tail test. But, for the price of a new thermostat, don't worry about testing it.

After replacing the thermostat and making sure that the system is properly vented (not a simple thing like most other cars where you fill the system and keep adding fluid until it won't take any more, our X-Types require you to pinch tubing and vent from specific points). Members have had issues when they have not properly vented their cooling systems.

As for other problems, I would do a quick check of the fans. You can do this safely by starting up the car when the motor is cold, then turning on the A/C system. You should see the fans turn on when this happens. if they don't, then you have a fan issue. After that, you are more than likely looking at a bad water pump (may have been damaged if you let the engine run out of coolant). There are the temp sensors. I would love to get more into this, but I am currently running into issues with my JTIS CD, so, looking at the schematics at the moment is not possible. Hopefully someone else can help you with that.

Hope this helps you get your problem solved

 

where on the engine can i find the thermostat? I changed the engine coolant sensor and still the fan wont come on ever. How can i be sure that the fan control module is messed up? Im hoping it is not cause they only way is to buy an entire fan assembly and im trying to avoid that. By the way, is the fan control module the same thing as the regulator that is attached to the fan?

 

aibeekay, if you look under the intake (just forward of the throttlebody), you will see the thermostat there.

As for proving the fan controller good, let me see what I can do about getting my JTIS back up and running. I don't have access to my diagrams any more. I will see what I can find. If you look at the fan assembly, there you should see 2 wires running to the motor of the fan. If you take 2 wires and run one from the battery positive to one wire of the fan (access at the controller) and the second wire from the other wire going to the fan and to the negative of the battery, the fan should turn on. If it doesn't, then you have a bad fan. If it does, then I would be looking at a bad controller. THe controllers are known for going out. yes, you can only replace the controller. Granted, the big trick would be finding just the controller. Some have, but they are few and far inbetween.

 

aibeekay, I was slightly off on the thermostat location. After pulling off the intake, look down about half way on the side of the engine (next to the catalytic converter), almost under the battery box. As for testing the fans, the right hand fan has red and green wires. The left hand fan has an orange/gray wire and an orange yellow wire. So, if you can access the controller, you can access the wires at that point.

While it is possible to install an aftermarket fan control module, it will require some different wiring since the fan control module receives a pulsating signal from the ECM to control the speed. if you want to know about this, let me know. Not a hard thing to do if you understand wiring.

Of note, also check fuse #37 to make sure that it isn't bad. If that fuse is bad, then your fans will not work.

 

Thanks a whole lot Thermo. Of course everything you have said is accurate. I met up with my friend today who took care of this for me. He understands wiring so he pulled up my car's circuit diagram. Anyway, we found out that the control module is shocked and it is not giving power to the fans. So what we did was power up the fan directly and included a switch in the circuit. We made sure we used the same guage wire as were initially used in the control module - fan motor circuit. Of course this is only a temporary fix. So now i have my fan running with the control of the switch to avoid the engine overheating while using the AC and when in traffic. This will help me get on the road back to school and then in the meantime, i'd shop for a replacement control module. But it looks like it'd be a pain in the butt to replace just the module by itself. looks almost impossible to run the wiring...

 

aibeekay, guys have done the fan replacement (somewhat common problem with our cars). Most of them said it wasn't that bad. So, look on e-bay (that is where most got their new modules, granted, included the whole fan assembly), that will be your best bet.