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It comes from the computer. If you want to research the pinouts, you can trigger the fans from there. AC and temp sensor are inputs to the ecu.
hey fleming, i think you were the one who suggested that it might be a problem with the temp sensor. so if the temp sensor is broken then it wouldnt be sending anything to the ecu for the fan to run
Something I noticed, it’s detecting the temperature of the engine since the gauge will go steadily higher when I’m sitting still but the fans won’t kick on. So maybe that will give a better indication of what it is
also I wanted to know if this is where the temp sensor is
Last edited by bigmantinycar; October 22nd, 2022 at 02:42 PM.
Could someone post a schematic on where the relay could be? I think I may have found it but not sure, I did find this link on another post https://www.fixya.com/cars/t11591632...elay_switch_96 but it’s not the same orientation for my car, maybe because I have an LS idk. Here’s what’s under my hood
I’m trying to locate the sensor so I can replace it, from similar videos I’ve seen it seems like it’s the piece here in the silver foil. Just wanted to verify that was it
trying to test an ignition coil pack from my 88 LS
i have my multimeter and removed the ignition coil pack from the car. im not sure what the ohm resistance is for these and how to identify the primary winding
If you remove the coil from the car you can measure continuity of the coil from the + and - slots on the bottom side. You can also take it to the auto parts store and they can test it on their machine. If the coil is OPEN then it's bad.
If you remove the coil from the car you can measure continuity of the coil from the + and - slots on the bottom side. You can also take it to the auto parts store and they can test it on their machine. If the coil is OPEN then it's bad.
yeah i know how people feel about autozone but they claimed they couldnt check it, maybe ill ask another rep or store to see if i get the same answer. on the bottom side i see two little slits and one has an "N" which i assume is the negative one. i wasnt sure what you meant by open
Should be a fuse and relay center on the side of the bay.
i found it right under the windshield on the passenger side, pretty well hidden with the plastic flap. i think i found it by mistake while looking for the power steering cap
im starting to think it may be the coolant. the one time that i let my car sit idle for a while when i made a quick run in the store, the car was audibly very loud when i came back which let me know something was wrong. maybe that was the fans that were on and just loud, which lets me know the coolant is not doing that its supposed to. maybe it has air bubbles? the condition of the coolant and the level is fairly good
Last edited by bigmantinycar; October 24th, 2022 at 07:22 AM.
Many of your questions are probably answered in this forum section. Your questions should also go there to get better responses. You could even make a thread called "Working on my LS" or something like that to keep all your items in one place so people can follow along, and they'll already know what car you have, etc.
Many of your questions are probably answered in this forum section. Your questions should also go there to get better responses. You could even make a thread called "Working on my LS" or something like that to keep all your items in one place so people can follow along, and they'll already know what car you have, etc.
i did try that but someone referred me to the owners manual which i think didnt answer even half of the questions. i just needed some basic info since this was the first car i owned on this platform
A lot of the questions could be solved by asking Google. You don't seem to have a knowledge of working on old cars. This can be difficult. I owned a '71 Buick G/S, a relative twin of my '71 Cutlass. Still running into issues that are confusing. I've worked on old cars over 50 years. Nothing provides the information a factory manual can I own one for all my cars. Good luck w/ your Olds.
A lot of the questions could be solved by asking Google. You don't seem to have a knowledge of working on old cars. This can be difficult. I owned a '71 Buick G/S, a relative twin of my '71 Cutlass. Still running into issues that are confusing. I've worked on old cars over 50 years. Nothing provides the information a factory manual can I own one for all my cars. Good luck w/ your Olds.
thanks, one of the selling points of getting this car is how easy its supposed to be to work on. of course the 3800 engine helps with that but alot of the things on this car doesnt make sense. maybe once i fix the main issue itll be better
'96 cars aren't bad to work on. I owned a 1989 LaSaber as a winter beater. Ran like heck & beat it up pretty well. The 3.8 was a very good engine. Other than a water pump I never had an issue w/ that car. 150,000 miles on it. Drove it in the late teens. Even Haynes made a fairly good cheap manual on the 3.8. You have to wade through it though. There were many variants of it.
Last edited by Falkon; October 24th, 2022 at 12:21 PM.
well i verified that both fans do in fact turn on, i just drove home and first thing i did was check under the hood. but even though theyre blaring, the car still gets warm while not moving or in stop go traffic.
Is the upper radiator hose hot and pressurized?
yes- plugged radiator
No- stuck thermostat
so im sure you mean this one, it was hot, especially compared to the other radiator hose, i didnt check it for pressure though. so that means it doesnt need to be bled, just a coolant flush
Define hot, a car of that vintage, the fans should come on around 220 and turn off around 200 to 210. That car will run at 220 all day with no problems.
Define hot, a car of that vintage, the fans should come on around 220 and turn off around 200 to 210. That car will run at 220 all day with no problems.
meaning very warm to the touch, i could only touch the radiator hose for a couple of seconds. im not sure exactly when the fans come on but i do know the car will just continue to increase temperature if its left idle. plsu the coolant in the reservoir doesnt look in th best of shape
Originally Posted by gs72
Also with A/C on one of the fans should come on and stay on to help control the A/C pressures.
both fans were blowing when i checked and i didnt even use the ac
the owners manual says i should do a drain, flush and refill and also use dexcool. i heard another forum memeber say that dexcool could cause issues, im not sure if that was the factory typ or the one you buy in stores. i just wanted more info on that sinc the universal doesnt seem to pose an issue
also, whats the proper way to flush before refilling (use plain water, engine running? etc.) and i think i could have corrosion in the system so is the prestone cooling sysmtem cleaner good to use or is there something better
NO! You MUST use Dexcool in your Olds unless you disassemble the motor and hot tank the block. The universal coolant at the auto parts store will do fine as long as it's compatible with Dexcool. If you put traditional green coolant in your 88 you're asking for trouble.
Just like ATF, almost all the "universal" fluids are backward compatible.
The Dexcool damage could already be done, though. He posted a pic with "green" fluid already. It's not like it's been properly serviced it's whole life. You're making chicken salad out of chicken poo at this point. There's not much to do other than flush (CLR?) and refill.
When I measure continuity with my multimeter I like to turn ON the tone. With the tone ON and the multimeter set to ohms when you touch the leads to each other the multimeter will beep. If you touch the leads to the 2 slots on the bottom side of the coil the multimeter should beep.
Also, definitely go to a different auto parts store. There's no reason they can't test your coils. The guy is just an ignoramus.
Thank goodness for universal coolant these days. Just make sure it is compatible with all types of coolant on the bottle, as said. I have seen first hand the nasty, grey sludge made when the old green was mixed with Dexcool. It seriously looked like modeling clay. It came into the shop, we flushed it, drove for a bit with just water then flushed it again and went to a 50/50 green coolant mix. Thank goodness, since then, every manufacture has come out with their own, less destructive long life coolant. Thanks to that, most aftermarket coolant is now universal. An example, Ford is Orange and my 2017 Challenger is Purple. Not sure what GM is using these days.
Are you having starting issues? Also check for damage on the harmonic balancer, if you are. They rubber often fails and separates. My 88 Delta also did that, it wasn't the first one I saw.
You mentioned in another thread that your owner's manual called for Dexcool. That's definitely not Dexcool; but as someone else said, the damage has already been done. I suggest draining that coolant, flushing and refilling with Dexcool and distilled water.
You mentioned in another thread that your owner's manual called for Dexcool. That's definitely not Dexcool; but as someone else said, the damage has already been done. I suggest draining that coolant, flushing and refilling with Dexcool and distilled water.
when you say 'that' is not dexcool, do you mean whats already in there? yeah im sure the green is universal coolant, im not worried about that but id like to just do it right moving forward
Did you find the power steering pump? I recently replaced power steering hoses on my 96 98 that led to replacing the PS pump and the rack and pinion.
i havent, i assumed the noise im hearing was the power steering but it may be something else. so im atleast trying to diagnose the noise before i figure that out since the power steering might be fine
thanks, ill have to check what the compatibility is on the one i want. i guess 50/50 would be the best? ive seen some on youtube do half concentrate and half 50/50
and after the drain, do i just will it with regular tap water and drive it for a few minutes before refill? and do you think i should use the prestone total system cleaner or is it not necessary after a simple flush and fill
Last edited by bigmantinycar; October 25th, 2022 at 07:32 AM.
October 22nd, 2022, 09:49 AM
