# Problems with cooling fan operation



## foolioGrimz (Sep 16, 2014)

Hi, I have a 2012 cruze 1.8L that hydroplaned and went of the road the one time I didn't have full coverage on it.  It hit A%$ first spun around and peeled off the front bumper and landed against mud on the front which pushed in the radiators and radiator fan. I bent the AC Radiator back and its working fine so far but the engine radiator mounting tabs were broken on the bottom so I had to replace that. There were two wires on the passenger side by the hood release mechanism that were torn loose. When I replaced the radiator I started the car and the cooling fan would not come on. I then twisted the broken wires together which made the cooling fan come on ONLY with the AC, and it only cycles every few seconds in HIGH Speed mode. 
I have visually checked all wire connections that I can see and all appear undamaged. I tried disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds. After I did that the cooling fan went into high speed mode a few seconds after turning the vehicle on and would not turn off regardless of engine temperature and regardless of engine/coolant temperature. I couldn't get the coolant temperature to rise above 155 or so according to the digital readout on the dash. This happened no matter how many times I turned the vehicle off and on and how many connections and wires I wiggled around the radiator and what not. I then disconnected the battery for another 30 seconds and after starting the car again I am back to no cooling fan except for AC High Speed Cycles.

Does the computer control cooling fan operation on these new cars? Does anyone have any tips/ or wiring diagram of cooling system? I tried to get a repair manual but the local Oreilly's doesn't have them for this vehicle yet. I am the only breadwinner for a family of four and am strapped for cash, so taking it to the stealership and shelling out thousands of dollars isn't and option.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

The computer sends a signal to the cooling fan relay (fuse box, left fender), which grounds a pin for either low or high-speed operation. 

I think those two wires might be the respective grounds for the cooling fan.

Could you post up a picture of the wires in question and then a reference shot showing where they are in respect to something else? Maybe someone can help you trace where they go on their own car.


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## foolioGrimz (Sep 16, 2014)

yes, they look like a ground connection as after the waterproof Connection it looks like they go to the sheet metal next to the hood latch. If that's the grounding point then it's a strange one since I remember two wires coming from the harness loom and 4 wires coming out and going to ground. I'll post pictures of it later this afternoon. I'd also like to add that I checked the cooling system fuses by switching them out for similar fuses (the mini blade type).


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## foolioGrimz (Sep 16, 2014)

Here is the picture of the wires that were torn loose. You can see that they are connected to ground. Also note that my previous post was incorrect, there are 2 wires going to the connector and *3 *​wires going to ground.


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## foolioGrimz (Sep 16, 2014)

Took her for a test to work about fifty miles round trip. Car stays 206 degrees parked and in town driving. On the highway it creeps up to 210-214. I noticed small leak on radiator connector on the lower passenger side. Could be just needs new o ring. If anyone has taken their s off do you know if there is anything besides an o ring that goes inside that 90 degree plastic connector on the radiator? It also had an error code pop up on the way home.P0171 system too lean bank 1. These new cars seem like over engineered pos. I miss turning a couple screw's on a carb and mechanical cooling fans that didn't have a million relays and circuits.


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