Tonight as I was at Sonic my 00 Intrigue starting running a little hot.I had the car in park and had AC running and I noticed the guage started creeping up close to the H on the guage.I couln't hear the electric fan come on and when I left to go home the temp. started to go back down to normal.Does anyone have any ideas what the problem might be?Bad fan motor?Bad fan relay?After I let the car set for about 30 minutes I checked to see if there was any coolant on the ground and I found none on ground.Level is exactly where it should be too.Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Intrigue overheating
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My cavalier does that too. Occasionally I will look down and it is quite a bit above average. A little bit later, it's a little below average. Nothing to worry about, I think.
Does the fan turn on and or does the needle go past the point that you saw it at it's highest?
Check fuses, then relays. It is possible that your fan has a high/low speed and the fuse or relay is gone for the higher speed and the low can't keep up.
Also if you can access the fan blades, give it a spin with your fingers and see if it spins freely and/or if the bearing in is noisy indicating that the fan motor is starting to go bad.
You can always disconnect the electrical connector to the fan and jump it with straight 12V and see if it spins. And if a multiple speed fan, try to make it spin both speeds.
This will tell you if the fan is bad or if it's a fuse/relay or wiring problem.
Could also be your Thermostat is lazy and not opening fully. If it's the original it's most likely due for replacement being 9 years old.
Good luck.
Also if you can access the fan blades, give it a spin with your fingers and see if it spins freely and/or if the bearing in is noisy indicating that the fan motor is starting to go bad.
You can always disconnect the electrical connector to the fan and jump it with straight 12V and see if it spins. And if a multiple speed fan, try to make it spin both speeds.
This will tell you if the fan is bad or if it's a fuse/relay or wiring problem.
Could also be your Thermostat is lazy and not opening fully. If it's the original it's most likely due for replacement being 9 years old.
Good luck.
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AC means a fan or fans should be on to keep the condensor happy. That car has two, IIRC they're wired in series for low speed and parallel for high. A 5 pronged relay will be involved in the switchover from low to high, you need a schematic to trace this all down.
I appreciate everyone's help.I'm gonna do a little research this morning and see if I can solve the problem.
Turn the A/C on. Regardless of engine temp, the fans should turn on. Check to see if they do!
Hot wire the fan to see if it works.
A puked relay would be next to check.
A puked relay would be next to check.
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Turn the A/C on. Regardless of engine temp, the fans should turn on. Check to see if they do!
With the A/C on "MAX" it should spin at maximum RPM, if it's not then something is wrong with the fan or the fuses/relays/wiring.
Turn the A/C on. Regardless of engine temp, the fans should turn on. Check to see if they do!
With the A/C on "MAX" it should spin at maximum RPM, if it's not then something is wrong with the fan or the fuses/relays/wiring.
I agree with others here- check to make sure the engine fan is running. Also, look in the coolant reservoir- do you see signs of Dex-sludge? That stuff can cause nasty overheating issues.
I forget which engine your car has. Is it the 3400 or the 3800?
I forget which engine your car has. Is it the 3400 or the 3800?
It has 3.5 engine.a.k.a.-oil drunkard.I checked to make sure both fans were running and they were.I bought a t-stat today and I'm not sure if I was given the proper part.I read in the Chilton book that the part is sold as an assembly only.O'riely's sold me a Murray t-stat and they did not have the gasket in stock.I'm not sure exactly what to think and I'm gonna have to wait till morning to see exactly what I'm gonna have to replace.
Originally Posted By: onion
I've never worked on a 3500... can't say much about it. But I'm still betting on Dex-Sludge.
Dex-Sludge. Not bad, but I still prefer the priceless description from one of the techs at the now-gone local Buick franchise: Rust-Cool.
Incidentally, I had the Buick version of this car, a 98 Regal (mine a supercharged GS). I'd have bought an Intrigue if they had offered it with the blown 3.8L, but they didn't. For the first couple years, it was 3800 only, and they later added the 3.5L "Shortstar" as an "upgrade" from the 3800. Were I making that purchase today, I'd take the ancient 3800 over the 3.5 any day. Apologies for the digression.
I've never worked on a 3500... can't say much about it. But I'm still betting on Dex-Sludge.
Dex-Sludge. Not bad, but I still prefer the priceless description from one of the techs at the now-gone local Buick franchise: Rust-Cool.
Incidentally, I had the Buick version of this car, a 98 Regal (mine a supercharged GS). I'd have bought an Intrigue if they had offered it with the blown 3.8L, but they didn't. For the first couple years, it was 3800 only, and they later added the 3.5L "Shortstar" as an "upgrade" from the 3800. Were I making that purchase today, I'd take the ancient 3800 over the 3.5 any day. Apologies for the digression.
Take my word for it, its not anything wrong. My cavaliers thermostat doesn't turn on the fan until about 7/10 of the way to the hot line. I did an experiment earlier with the A/C off, it didn't turn on the fan until about 7/10-4/5 of the way to the hot line on it. Don't worry about it its perfectly fine.
I don't see him saying the fan isn't running with the A/C, but I will agree that if the A/C is on and the fan isn't running then yes something is probably wrong.
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