Engine having trouble keeping steady coolant temp

The fan motor could have a bad winding. If so, it will not run reliably.
The fan motor is cheap and easy to replace.


"MPost" > wrote in message
...
>I can hear my cooling fan kick in when I pull up to my garage at night,
>just before I shut the engine off. I initially thought it was the cooling
>fan, but that wouldn't explain why the car actually runs cool at times.
>
> "ORVAL FAIRAIRN" > wrote in message
> news
>> In article >,
>> William Hughes > wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 22:41:01 -0500, in rec.autos.makers.saturn "Lane"
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>> > Check to see that the plastic air dam is still under the car and
>>> > hasn't been
>>> > torn off. It has a measurable effect on cooling.
>>>
>>> I lost both the air dam and the splash panel in a flood a couple of
>>> years ago.
>>> There's been no effect on cooling as far as I can see. Of course, I'm in
>>> San
>>> Antonio...
>>
>> Maybe the cooling fan has packed it in. I recently lost the fan on my 91
>> SL2 and had cooling problems at lights and in slow traffic.
>
>
>

That still doesn't explain why the car actually runs cool at times, though.

"Mikus" > wrote in message
t...
> The fan motor could have a bad winding. If so, it will not run reliably.
> The fan motor is cheap and easy to replace.
>
>
> "MPost" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I can hear my cooling fan kick in when I pull up to my garage at night,
>>just before I shut the engine off. I initially thought it was the cooling
>>fan, but that wouldn't explain why the car actually runs cool at times.
>>
>> "ORVAL FAIRAIRN" > wrote in message
>> news
>>> In article >,
>>> William Hughes > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 22:41:01 -0500, in rec.autos.makers.saturn "Lane"
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > Check to see that the plastic air dam is still under the car and
>>>> > hasn't been
>>>> > torn off. It has a measurable effect on cooling.
>>>>
>>>> I lost both the air dam and the splash panel in a flood a couple of
>>>> years ago.
>>>> There's been no effect on cooling as far as I can see. Of course, I'm
>>>> in San
>>>> Antonio...
>>>
>>> Maybe the cooling fan has packed it in. I recently lost the fan on my 91
>>> SL2 and had cooling problems at lights and in slow traffic.
>>
>>
>>
>
>

I found that when I was moving in traffic, my car stayed cool. If I stopped
at a light and the fan motor was not getting good RPM's, the enginre would
get hot and the A/C would not cool well.

It turned out that the internals of the power connector on my fan motor was
messed up. If I wiggled it, the fan would get full speed. So I would hit a
bump and the connector got good contact it worked good... next bump, poor
connections, poor cooling....

Anyway, 1 hour later (including the trip to the part store) and $25, the
problem was solved.

"MPost" > wrote in message
...
> That still doesn't explain why the car actually runs cool at times,
> though.
>
> "Mikus" > wrote in message
> t...
>> The fan motor could have a bad winding. If so, it will not run reliably.
>> The fan motor is cheap and easy to replace.
>>
>>
>> "MPost" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>I can hear my cooling fan kick in when I pull up to my garage at night,
>>>just before I shut the engine off. I initially thought it was the cooling
>>>fan, but that wouldn't explain why the car actually runs cool at times.
>>>
>>> "ORVAL FAIRAIRN" > wrote in message
>>> news >>>> In article >,
>>>> William Hughes > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 22:41:01 -0500, in rec.autos.makers.saturn "Lane"
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> > Check to see that the plastic air dam is still under the car and
>>>>> > hasn't been
>>>>> > torn off. It has a measurable effect on cooling.
>>>>>
>>>>> I lost both the air dam and the splash panel in a flood a couple of
>>>>> years ago.
>>>>> There's been no effect on cooling as far as I can see. Of course, I'm
>>>>> in San
>>>>> Antonio...
>>>>
>>>> Maybe the cooling fan has packed it in. I recently lost the fan on my
>>>> 91
>>>> SL2 and had cooling problems at lights and in slow traffic.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

Turns out the problem was a bad coolant temp sender. Replaced both
(apparently, Saturns have 2), and the car's running fine again.

"Bob Shuman" > wrote in message
...
> Assuming your fans are running correctly and there is no debris blocking
> the
> front of the radiator, I'd suggest you flush again now since it is nearly
> 2
> years and due for this anyway. If possible, I also suggest use of a good
> radiator flush and follow all bottle directions. Make sure you get as
> much
> antifreeze out as possible before using it and then make sure you drain it
> a
> few times using fresh rinse water afterward, then fill to 50/50 minimum
> and
> 65/35 maximum (depends on where you live and coolest temp seen during
> winter). I also recommend the garden hose flush systems available from
> Prestone, etc. They do a nice job and you will see a lot of rust come out
> when you reverse flush the system. Also change the thermostat and make
> sure
> you remove and completely clean the overflow reservoir. I use my
> [pressure
> washer to get all that gunk off the plastic container. When refilling,
> use
> the Saturn approved correct fluid available from the dealer since Saturn
> is
> funny about what they recommend and most off the shelf coolants contain
> phosphates which is a no no for Saturn. Also, make sure you get the
> pellets
> from the dealer and crush and put them into the radiator as well since
> this
> will help prevent a head gasket problem.
>
> If this still doesn't correct the problem, I'd replace the Coolant
> Temperature Sender next.
>
> Good luck and post what you do and if it helps for others benefit.
>
> Bob
>
> "MPost" > wrote in message
> ...
>> No. Just did a radiator flush and coolant change.
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ups.com...
>> > when the coolant was changed did you change the thermostat also??
>> >
>>
>>
>
>