I have this problem very time and just continue to re wire it, but I want that to stop. There's two green wires, one striped in lime and the other in brown that lead to the resistor assembly which keeps burning out leaving the assembly (harness gets toasted as well) out of contact. Both wires burn out and leaves me fanless and with hot coolant for the Zetec. I've been pleading for help for over two years and yet no help. Anybody here can help?
The "resistor assembly" is on the Haynes Repair Manual Page 3-4 Picture 5.1
FocusOnBlue wrote: I have this problem very time and just continue to re wire it, but I want that to stop. There's two green wires, one striped in lime and the other in brown that lead to the resistor assembly which keeps burning out leaving the assembly (harness gets toasted as well) out of contact. Both wires burn out and leaves me fanless and with hot coolant for the Zetec. I've been pleading for help for over two years and yet no help. Anybody here can help?
The "resistor assembly" is on the Haynes Repair Manual Page 3-4 Picture 5.1
Send me an email or something. If I still have my Haynes manual I'll take a look at the situation for ya. The Grand Prix had a similar issue in the older models but it was in conjunction with the fuel pump and maybe I can cross breed the solution for your situation. No promises, but I'll give it a shot.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
I asked some mechanics and they have no idea about what is going on. Haven't asked the dealer yet, but I guess I'll have to give up and pay the toll. I got a piece of wire to test it, but it just burns the wire up like wood so I can't get the resistor connected. I even got it connected with a female terminal and solid wire, but no luck it continue to burn where I join them to the stranded wire.
wrong size fuse, bad relay, and somewhere the wiring is shorting. most possibly in or at the relay is where the short is at, but may be further down the wiring. you have something. pull the casing off the harness and check it all the way to the relay/fuse box, somewhere one of the wires is shorted to another. swap the relay with another and see if thats it first, also check the fuse size, it should be blowing,unless one of the wires is shorted with another system.
To big of a fuse (to big amps) or a short/bare/broken wire somewhere. Somthing at one end or the other of the wire is calling for too much power thus the burnt wire.
I was working in the dash of a T-Bird once and I replaced a burnt or broken wire(can't remember now) and when I turned the accesories on I literally watched the wire melt from one end to the other. Can't remember how I fixed it but I did.
Are you popping any fuses anywhere? Sounds like you got a high resistance short if you are not or I suppose that there even could be a problem with the fan itself, which in my estimation would explain a high resistance short. If you had a multimeter you could disconnect the fan and check the resistance of the windings in the fan motor and that would tell us something.
I dont know what the value of that resistor assembly is either but it too could be bad and may serve as just a current limiting device and if it has gone bad it too would allow too much current to flow and thus burn the wires up. Furthermore it could also cause a high resistance short.
Basically a high resistance short is just that. A short in the wiring or a device that is not a complet zero ohm short that would pop a fuse. In many cases it just enough resistance to prevent the fuse from popping but will pull enough current to destroy components or even wiring.
If you are not popping fuses I would almost guarantee this is the issue, its just a matter of finding out if its the fan, the resistor module or something else.
As you know a fuse is just a thin strip of metal (there are other things that make up a fuse but in basic terms thats all it is). Its designed to react to a sudden surge in current, but it isnt the current the blows the fuse, its the heat that it generates. But if the surge is not enough to generate sufficient heat quickly enough then the fuse wont blow but the current can and often is at a level to burn up other things.
Fusible links operate under the same principle and in similar fashion. A fusible link is nothing more than a piece of wire spliced in that is 4 wire sizes smaller than the wire its spliced into. For example, if your wire from your fan to the switch was a 16 awg wire, then a fusible link would be a stip of 24 awg wire spliced in line with that 16 awg wire. The theory being that the 24 awg wire is going to melt long before the 16 awg (which it should) and thus open up the circuit and stop the current surge. The problem with them is that they are slow, as are fuses. Though we are talking about milliseconds, when it comes to electronics that is an eternity to be exposed to a current surge. So fusible links are not typically used on sensitive devices but would work fine for like fans, and such.
So anyway, if you have a multimeter I bet you could find the issue in no time.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
I'll look for a multimeter, but to let ya know I had previously changed the fans' relays and the resistor, but that did not solve the issue. I never touch the fuses so don't know if it got something to do with it. I was thinking of rewiring using solid or bigger gauge wire, but that calls for more work. I was wondering maybe the fuse is too big for the fans and was thinking of going down some amps.
You shouldn't have to go bigger on the wire. Putting a biger wire in will allow more poser to go the accessory and may blow out the accessory. The fuse has no part in the amount of power going through it besides not letting more than its specs to go through. Eg: on a wire with a 15AMP fuse ther is probably a constant draw of about 8-12 amps going through it to power options. When an option becomes defective and wants to draw more power than normaly needed the fuse starts to work and blows when the amps increase to 15 or just over(not shure if a 15AMP can hold just 15AMPS and no more or if it blows at 15AMPS).
did the resister you replaced go bad right away or did it work for a period of time. If it broke right away I would say the fan is the culprit. If not than it could have been a falty part that finaly failed(the new resistor).
The resistor seem fine, I just replaced it to see if that is what cause the issue. Other than that it was in new condition. Also the same with the relays, I only changed them to see it that would solve the issue, which did not. But the big fuses that are next to the battery with the relays has two fuses for the fans, one is 30 amps and the other one is 50 amps, which I think that 50 is too much, that is why I ask if it could be the fuse.
I wouldn't rewire with heavier wire. That route may just cause more issues. If there is a short then all that the heavier wire will do is get hotter before it fails.Check the resistance.If you are close to a wrecker, buy a fan out of a wreck for 20.00 and try that out.Does the fan turn freely now? Any sound when you turn it by hand?
____________________
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
do not rewire with a heavier guage. it may work but would only be a temporary crutch to the problem. but most likely would cause a serious fire.
find the problem, dont crutch it.
sounds like its between the relay box and resistor somewhere in the wiring. as i said, pull the covering off the harness and trace the wires. its sounding like your shorted to another hot wire somewhere. if thats the reson, your fuse wont blow since the amperage draw is coming from 2 circuits.
The fans are running with ease and nothing is in the way. I'll take a better look tomorrow at all the wiring, it's too windy here today. From what I can see the wire leading to the relay box looks fine as if new, just there where it enters and leaves the resistor is where the problem occur. It burns around an inch and a half and the rest of the wiring looks fine. I like the idea of just getting a whole new fan set and hope I get it over with.
Is there a list of problems what could cause the positive cable to get hot when vechicle is on. It is killing my battery and I'm on my third one. I wonder if this has to do with my fans burning out as well.
Well you could upgrade the cables....there was a TSB abou that problem whre the positive cable breaks and what not. It was on a recall not a TSB.....look at the recalls and it should have one about the battery cables.
____________________ Captain Morgan and Dr.Pepper are my homies....
Ok I figured out that it heats up when my A/C is running, I turn it off and it cools now. Leave the engine running without the A/C on and works well. But when I turn the A/C on it starts getting really hot and the engine makes a slightly hesitation. Might lead why my fans kept burning out. The A/C runs great, it lets out nice cold air.
sounds like to me that maybe the wires or either grounging out or crosed or to much ampge going throught them makeing them hot causing them to burn out.
