2006 equinox heating up and nether fan will kick in.
May 31st, 2015, 5:26 PM
#21
September 17th, 2015, 6:57 PM
#22
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thank you!
You'll see this "Radiator fans won't run on my Equinox" all over the internet if you do a search. I had the same problem with my 2007 Equinox. It was driving me crazy troubleshooting it. I'd think I’d fixed it by changing relays or even removing the incredibly complex fuse box to trace the wiring and then re-installing it. The fans would mysteriously start working again after I tried something and then a few days later they'd stop working. What I eventually found in BOTH fans was that the electoral connectors were burned out. I was accidentally "fixing" them by unplugging and plugging the connectors at the fans in again. I didn't really see the problem until I removed the battery tray so I could get a closer look. BOTH fans had connectors with one side that was burned and melted. I've attached a picture of one of them below. These connectors are incredibly overpriced. They are also a design defect. They are too small for the current and hot location. That's why they are burning out by the thousands. Many don't notice the problem until both of them burn out since even without either fan running, just driving over 20 mph pushes enough air through the radiator and condenser to keep the A/C working more or less. It was the stop-and-go traffic here in Florida that made me aware of it. If it wasn't so ridiculously difficult to get at them, the best fix would be to cut the connectors out and solder the wires directly to the fan motors. I found an easier fix that has lasted for the past four weeks in the hottest time of year. I got a can of contact cleaner from Radio Shack. I sprayed the cleaner into both male and female connectors and let it sit for 5 minutes. I then blew the residue out of the connectors with clean dry compressed air. I repeated this until the brown gunk stopped coming out of the connectors with the air. The next part is VERY important. Because of the stiff blue seals, it is VERY hard to make a proper mechanical connection. You have to push the male and female together with a lot of force. Test the connection by trying to pull the two apart. If the black plastic latch (seen in the top of the connector in the picture below) doesn't catch, the heat of the poor electrical connection and the vibration will cause the plug to come loose and the fans will stop one at a time again. I'll bet GM is just as aware of this design defect as they are of the ignition switch problem. They have no (other than moral) incentive to correct it because it bring lots of out-of-warranty cars in for service and if they can sell you on the idea of changing the two fans and brackets they'll have you on the hook for hundreds of dollars. To get at those fans the whole front bumper and grill have to come off and the condenser and radiator have to come out through the front to get at the fans. Lot's of labor charge there. I’d be willing to bet that a few engines have been destroyed because of this defect. They probably sell a few new cars too by telling the owner they'll take the Equinox as a trade in instead of the owner paying to fix it. Here's the picture below. Both Fan connectors were burned like this one;
September 18th, 2015, 11:15 AM
#23
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It's the Electric Plugs!!!!!
This is an update on my rather long answer a couple of replies before this one. I got into some unavoidable stop and go traffic that I couldn't pull over from, to turn off the motor. I heard alarms and read warnings on the dash that I had never seen before as the engine cooked. After going through that experience I took it to the local Chevy dealer to complain about the poor design and inaccessibility of the fan motor plugs. He was very apologetic and said GM had learned from that particular design flaw and showed me the current Equinox with one radiator fan with a bigger more accessible plug. Even though I described the two incidents of severe overheating he offered a top trade-in price and low purchase price/interest rate on a new Equinox. My wife really wanted an Equinox so we bought the new one which has enough of a warranty to reduce the anxiety of a repeat of the same problem. This worked for us but I understand that many cannot just buy a new one.
For those people doing an internet search for answers to questions about "fans not running" or "no A/C" on Equinoxes built around 2007, PLEASE even though they are EXTREMELY hard to get to, check the connectors on the two fan motors FIRST. It's a good education on how electrical systems on GM cars work, but taking the system apart and checking every relay and sensor is probably a waste of time on this model.
For those people doing an internet search for answers to questions about "fans not running" or "no A/C" on Equinoxes built around 2007, PLEASE even though they are EXTREMELY hard to get to, check the connectors on the two fan motors FIRST. It's a good education on how electrical systems on GM cars work, but taking the system apart and checking every relay and sensor is probably a waste of time on this model.
January 10th, 2016, 3:45 PM
#24
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I have a 2006 Equinox and when I turn on the A/C the fans go on and then after a minute or so they go off with the A/C still on.Can it be a relay that has a bad contact?Or should I just replace all of them?
August 2nd, 2016, 8:25 PM
#26
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2012 over heating
My 2012 Equinox (4 Cylinder) AC is blowing hot air when idle and eventually overheating throwing all the bells and whistles and going above red FAST. After cooling, I run car and see no cooling fan EVER. Help! It's hot in TX summer!
August 4th, 2016, 10:00 AM
#27
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We have replaced the thermostat, coolant, fuses and relays. Fans generally not coming on. One came on unexpectedly when vehicle got just above the half way mark on gauge, but not consistent when needed.
August 5th, 2016, 11:02 AM
#28
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It's the Fan Connectors
Hello everyone, I wrote on this thread several years ago about my experience with overheating on the older Equinoxes and I see the problem is still vexing many owners. If you've looked at "everything" and the fans still won't run I'll bet you doughnut that the problem is burned out connectors at each fan. These identical connectors are too small for the heat and high amperage at this location and depending on the climate and how much the A/C is used in slow traffic conditions (I'm in central Florida). they will inevitably fail. You won't notice when the first fan fails (usually the larger one) because as others have said, once the vehicle is moving more than 20 mph (particularly in cooler climates) the vehicle can survive without the fans. Think about it. If you could get at them, The FIRST thing you would have checked was whether or not voltage was getting to the fan connectors. You didn't because you couldn't see them let alone unplug them. I to went through the tedious job of digging out the main circuit connectors under the fuse block and even pried the black covers off of the relays to manually close them. I finally bit the bullet and bloodied all of my knuckles standing on my head to reach and disconnect those #&$%%& fan connectors. At first I just wiggled them and the fans started working, but couple of weeks later the engine was overheating in stop and go traffic again. I would have replaced the connectors except that female connector is molded to the side of the fan and at least while the fans are in place you can't separate them from the fan body. Then I looked up the method of replacing the fans. YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE FRONT FASCIA THEN DRAIN THE FREON FROM THE A/C AND REMOVE THE CONDENSER THEN DRAIN THE COOLANT AND REMOVE THE RADIATOR TO GET AT THE FANS! I traded the Equinox in and bought a new one. I was honest and told the salesman why I was getting rid of my old Equinox. He admitted HE WAS AWARE OF THE DEFECT IN THE FAN CONNECTORS and gave me a good trade-in. If you're less scrupulous, sell you older Equinox in the winter😩.
April 18th, 2018, 4:15 PM
#29
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2007 3.4l 162km Chevy equinox
I have a 2007 equinox 3.l I changed the water pump, thermostat, temp sensor, flushed the heater core and flush the rad, put brand new coolent. The car ran fine for a few days and then it started acting up. It blows warm to cold are only and over heats on idel. When driving it runs like normal. Head gasket is good got it checked out at the shop. No leaks and no smoke coming from the tail pipe. Also never had to top up on coolent at all. Any suggestions..? Plz and thanks
April 18th, 2018, 5:18 PM
#30
I have a 2007 equinox 3.l I changed the water pump, thermostat, temp sensor, flushed the heater core and flush the rad, put brand new coolent. The car ran fine for a few days and then it started acting up. It blows warm to cold are only and over heats on idel. When driving it runs like normal. Head gasket is good got it checked out at the shop. No leaks and no smoke coming from the tail pipe. Also never had to top up on coolent at all. Any suggestions..? Plz and thanks
Did did you bleed the cooling system after you put new coolant in? Also, check the cooling fans and make sure they are running. They should always run when the AC is turned on. If they don't run check the plug going to the coolng fan assembly. It also wouldn't hurt to replace the coolant lid.
