Ryan's Miata Project

[8valvegrowl]

Nuttin' wrong with more power. DIYAutoTune even makes a plug and play Megasquirt setup for NA's.

[lawdogg]

Miata got inspected! WOO!

[gtivr4]

Hey Ryan, if you want a good parts car/engine swap candidate, there is a decent wrecked 95 (1. Miata on ebay in Montpelier.

[lawdogg]

Winter project: getting my radiator fan to work!

Doesn't turn on when I ground out the thermostat switch. Doesn't turn on when I ground out the 'TFA' diagnostic connector. In both cases, I can hear clicking underneath the fuse box, where supposedly the fan relay lives. That should mean the relay is OK. Might try to apply power directly to the fan to see if the fan itself is bad. Otherwise ?????

[pdudley42]

See if there's power in the wire at the fan with the relay on (ticked). A test light will work fine or a multimeter. And yes, if you jump power to the fan directly, it should kick on. If you jump to the ground wire by mistake, you'll know it!

[lawdogg]

Thanks Paul! Jumped the fan straight to a car battery ... NOTHING! And the Miata's battery will no longer hold a charge either!

Miata shopping list: radiator fan, battery

[pdudley42]

Did you ground the fan ground wire to the same battery? If not, you don't have a complete circuit. If you have a multimeter, you should check for continuity between the fan ground wire and chassis (engine block, alternator case, etc). I'm only suspicious because electric fans rarely DIE. They usually just get old and suck.

[lawdogg]

Did you ground the fan ground wire to the same battery? If not, you don't have a complete circuit. If you have a multimeter, you should check for continuity between the fan ground wire and chassis (engine block, alternator case, etc). I'm only suspicious because electric fans rarely DIE. They usually just get old and suck.

Yep, unplugged the fan, stuck two spade connectors into the + and - ports of the harness to the fan, the other ends of the wires to the battery terminals of a charged battery ... not even a hint of movement. I probably missed something important. Less scotch, more focus.

[lawdogg]

So, it's not completely dead - you were right - it's just old and stuck. :p

It gets power when it should get power - but it needs a manual push to get started. After push starting it, I let it stop, and tried to start it under its own power a few times ... wouldn't go. It will keep going if I take off power and then put power back to it while it's still spinning. I'm guessing that since the fan spins while driving, it probably works while I'm moving, but then dies if I am stopped and it turns off then back on. That's probably why it's only spit coolant at me at the most random times while I'm stopped - like in the autocross pits. Remember that?

So - I guess this effectively means it's broken.

Does this mean it needs to be replaced or is it fixable?

[pdudley42]

Just replace it. A fan is something that's nice to have confidence in. My first place to check is usually car-parts.com, with its well-sorted inventory and user-friendly interface