Dual Cooling Fan Issues!

TonyTtops

The one and only
Joined
May 20, 2007
Forgive my ignorance.... As we all know that owning a Grand National can give you a run for your money.....so here is the latest issue. About 3 years ago a new 160 thermostat and f body rad was installed in the car along with a new temp gauge ( big mistake). I tend to keep my eyes glued to that gauge more than anything. I notice this more in the summer months the car gets a bit warm 190+ when cruising around. I do have a front mount inter-cooler so i figured that was causing not enough air to circulate etc etc. While cruising aound with the ac off the temp got past 210. put the heat on and came down to 190 while burning my feet. At this point im at wits end and I get on gbodyparts.com and order the dual cooling fans with relays. Modified the shroud to fit and finally got it in properly. Hooked everything up and it seemed to be working fine that evening. Plug and play right? switched on the a/c and both fans went on. Success!!! Day one with dual cooling fans. 88 degrees out not really speeding a/c off. Temp 195. :mad: 10 mins later 215 on the gauge. Now im pissed. Pulled in the parking lot a/c off one fan on. put on a/c.. 2 fans on temp down to 205ish.
Day 2.. 80 degrees out 20 mins into the ride 190.. ac not on. pulled over.... One fan blowing on the left. Turned on a/c still one fan on the left blowing. This does not sound normal. Should both fans be on?
Im not the most electrical savvy person when it comes to my Buick and my good friend who owns a garage that only works on the Turbo T and the GNs lives about 700 miles away. I feel like an idiot calling for simple things. Im afraid im going to fry something and no one in my area really knows the car (should have never moved from Ft Laud). So guys Im asking for some insight on what I can do w/o doing damage.
The rad does not seem clogged, water is circulating. Im stumped at this point.
Please help.
Thanks
Anthony.
 
had a similar problem with my big block last summer temps just wouldnt stay down. ordered a new rad and dual cooling fan setup from summit installed and wouldnt you know car still running hot, spent the better part of a week chasing down this problem and it turned out being a faulty temp gauge not saying this is your problem but start with the cheap and easy stuff first. what does the temp read on the scanmaster?
 
NO Scan master yet! I know It was the first thing I should have invested in. I should be Ashamed really!
 
My car was doing that recently. Replaced both the radiator and thermostat, cured the problem. I think it was a bad thermostat, as radiator shop said the radiator was fine. Also, I don't know what brand of fans Brian sells, but I like my Spal fans. Had them about a year, no issues. I had the ramchargers fans before that and had to replace one of the motors. Didn't want to wait for the other motor to fail so I bought the Spal.
 
Try another temp gauge. What brand gauge do you have now ? To and keep away from the cheap autoparts store ones, that's where I went wrong. Bought an autometr and there was like a 20 deg difference
 
I have the Auto meter carbon fiber gauges. That is not a bad fix!! I can handle that. But can you all explain the one fan two fan thing?
 
I don't control my fans through the computer, I bought an aftermarket controller and I can also control them manually. Whenever my controller kicks on both fans come on, I like mines better this way
 
Dumb question, but could there be air in your system causing your cooling issues?

I thought that the way the fans were supposed to work is that one fan turns on when temps get over the thermostat temps, 160....then the second turns on at a higher temp, 180? or when you turn on the A/C.
 
I don't control my fans through the computer, I bought an aftermarket controller and I can also control them manually. Whenever my controller kicks on both fans come on, I like mines better this way

I also have a 83 Z28 with this set up and it never seems to run hot. The only time it runs warm is when the fuse pops!

It was creepin Towards 215 and only one fan was on tried the a/c at this temp the other fan did not go. I also just sent Gbodyparts an email as well about the issue. I would be interested to see their feedback as well. They are not going to take them back cause I cut the tabs off!

so far I will..... check for air in the system, order a new gauge, replace the thermostat with a 160 and a SCANMASTER!!!. Im still open for all other suggestions. Am I missing anything? To all that replied.... Thanks it is very much appreciated!
AP
 
Other guys may be against it but I like being able to control my fans manually and being able to set the turn on temp where I want it.
 
You have a front mount IC, does your car still have the box in material to the rear of the bumper? A manual over ride switch is always a good idea as well. Easier to maintain temp than try to bring it down. If I get in a traffic jam I just throw the switch on to keep the temp low. Think the MOST I have ever seen for temps on my GN with the large front mount we sell, aluminum radiator and dual Spals was around 200-210 on a hot humid day with AC on. That really isn't anything to panic over.
 
If you have a 180 or 195 stat, that can be one issue, but replacing it with a 160 degree stat will not do it alone. The computer chip controls the fan turn on temp. Unless your chip is programmed to turn on at 160, the stat won't help. What chip do you have?
 
Other guys may be against it but I like being able to control my fans manually and being able to set the turn on temp where I want it.

This is definitely an option!!! Would you mind giving me a play by play on how to do this?
I also want to make sure that both fans are working as well.
I love my car but Jeeze, my mechanic named the GN "Christine" for a reason. Its in my blood and I am obsessed!!
 
I bought the Derale Cooling Products 16749 from summit I also have their dual 11" fans and a f body radiator. The instructions for the fan controller can be found on summits site
 
just thought I would share...from Gbodyparts.com

Anthony 90% of fan problems are related to the fan ground feed. Run a ground wire from the negative of the battery side to the ground on the factory fan lead. It should fire up. A long time ago about 3 years ago we use to sell the fans for like $100.00 . The problem was the fans were junk & would die out in a year or 2. We bought a lot better fans them we use to sell & that is why they doubled the price. Try the ground I had a customer last month with the same problem. If it fixes it just run a ground wire from the fan lead to the from & that should fix it permanently....., from gbodyparts.com
 
1 cooling fan and an adjustable fan controller for $20.00 from Advance auto parts,simple and works great.
 
Think the MOST I have ever seen for temps on my GN with the large front mount we sell, aluminum radiator and dual Spals was around 200-210 on a hot humid day with AC on. That really isn't anything to panic over.

I gotta ask how hot is too hot? - assuming iron block and heads
 
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