Burping coolant system
 

Hey guys i just put a new rad into my 94 hatch. I topped er up with coolant and ran it for a while to burp the system. i know you are supposed to let it run for about 2 fan cycles but after about 30 min my fan still never came on. i am sure of this because i marked the blade of the fan just incase i missed it. the temp never seems to get too bad and i am getting heat. is my fan pooched and i am just not noticing overheating cause of the cold weather?

the fan prolly won't turn on b/c of the cold weather. If you suspect your fan doesn't work try jumping your thermoswitch (or fan switch).
Did you open the bleeder screw or just leave the rad cap off?

mainly the rad cap. i tried both and got better results from the rad cap. i didn't seem to get much air out anyway. i figured i would have to add alot more then i did. how would i go about jumping the thermoswitch. can i just hook the fan directly to a 12 v source?

When your trying to get the air out of your cooling system, make sure your interior heat is on. If heat is coming out of the interior vents, there is most likely no air in that part of the system.

I started my car up 2 weeks ago(storage) and i could not get the fan to cycle due to the cold weather

you can jump the thermoswitch (which is located on the thermostat housing) by unpluggin it and putting a wire into both slots of the plug on the engine harness side.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/f8ff3724.jpg
I take a spare piece of thin speaker wire and cut off both ends so that the actual copper of the wire is showing on both ends. i twist up both ends so that they are in a nice point. stick one end of the wire into the first socket on the plug. The other end of the wire into the other socket.
With the thermoswitch jumped the fan will turn on as soon as the car turns on. I had to do this when my thermoswitch was pooched to keep my fan running so my car wouldn't over heat, mind you this was in the middle of July.
Or yes, you could hook up the fan directly to the battery.

Yeah I had the heat on full and I do get warmth from it. If I do jump the thermo switch, how could i tell what the prob is if the fan doesn't come on? could be the fan itself or the thermoswitch???
I am gonna jump it right now and I'll let ya know when I get home from work.

haha I've been waiting for someone to say this

ppl, these are common procedures found in your Haynes manual or Chilton. Go to Walmart or CT or Parts Source, or whatever... GET a $20 manual and you'll save yourself so much headache!

Well you didn't have to wait too long it's been covered already. and yes i did.
but anyway i jumped the switch and ound my fan works fine. i guess i will have to replace the switch though.
Thanx trackhack and zeeman you guys were a big help.

don't jump to conclusions... the thermo switch could be just fine, but maybe it's sitting in an air pocket and NOT reading the coolant temps. remove the thermo switch and place it in... I dunno you can use a folgers metal can I guess, just strip the paper off... and fill it with water... heat the water on a stove and keep checking continuity with a multimeter. If the water boils, and there is still no continuity, then the thermo switch is busted. I dunno the exact temp settings when the fan is supposed to come on... again see your Haynes/Chilton manual :)

yeah don't assume its the thermoswitch. This was just a test to see if the fan works. Try going for a good boot and then when you come to a stop (somewhere where you can be stopped without it being a problem) pop the hood and wait to see if the fan comes on.

could it not be a relay instead of the thermo switch?
after going for a good boot i left the car running to see if the fan came on. i marked the blade and went inside for a bit. i came back out 10 min later and the fan still hadent kicked but i wasnt overheating anyway.
should i just wait till warmer weather and see if overheating becomes an issue?
i mean i get decent heat. the temp never climbs past normal and the rad is brand new.

Seems like everyone is having problem with either their rads or coolant...lol

your best bet is to go to any quality shop and ask them to hook up there scanner to your computer. Let them know you want them to see the temp reading from the computer. If the computer is not reading the proper temp (too low) then the fan will never turn on. It will turn on and off at set tempatures. Just out of curiosity, what temp thermostat is in the vehicle. The fan setting is probably around 90 degrees Celcius to turn on. If the t-stat is a lower setting ie: 180 or 160 degrees, than the coolant might never get hot enough. hope this helps.

It's winter....and if your car isn't overheating...I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you just want to find out if your fan still runs...you can try to:

- get some wires and hook your fan directly to your battery. the fan should turn on with the car off.

or

- get a small piece of wire to bypass the resistor (aka completing the circuit manually and ignoring your car's own temperature sensors). the fan should turn on when your car is on...regardless of radiator temperature.

Wow no one has yet to tell you what will fix the problem first of all 30-45 min idiling will bring it to running temp secound of all to burp the system remove the rad cap turn on your heater controls now squeeze your upper rad hose when the fluid goes down in the rad add some more. Now if you are still having a problem do the same procedure with the heater core hoses (little ones look like a garden hose) Cap the system off and your good to go. Wow everyone tells you the worst case scenario this is all it probably is. My fan never comes on in the winter.