pphsfan

What are the dtc's? Does this affect your a/c working properly? My a/c has been kicking off. Would these fans cause the a/c to stop working?

tech2

yes. the a/c will develop high pressure that could damage the system without the fans operating...so a high pressure cut off is enabled.

bachopperj

Hi everyone new member here..I just startd having issues with cooling fans not kicking on when idleing. I've changed thermostat, relays,fuses look good, bled system for air and still same problem..I thought of changing tem sensor but was told if it reading temp in the car then its working..I've read most of these posts on this issue and still stuck..any help wld be great..maybe I missed something?

ruley73

Check the pigtail/plug going the radiator fans. They frequently develop a bad connection and sometimes melt/warp which prevents the necessary current from getting to the fans. Click on this link to read a thread regarding this problem.

This is correct as long as the temp gauge doesn't indicate the same temp all the time. A good example would be if the temp gauge goes directly to the half mark when starting the engine in the morning after it has been off all night. It is obvious in this situation that the engine has not warmed up yet and the temp gauge's needle immediately going to the half mark is incorrect.

Whenever you start your engine after it has cooled off completely, your engine's computer takes this opportunity to check the integrity of the temp sensors (coolant temp sensor and intake air temp sensor). The computer compares the coolant temp sensor reading to that of the intake air temp sensor. If there is enough of a difference (usually equal to or greater than 10*F) between the two readings, a DTC will be triggered for the sensor that it believes to be bad and the Service Engine Soon warning will be visible.

bachopperj

I wasn't aware I had any responses on this issue untill I returned to this site..and ruley73 I just want to say thanks..I went right outside unplugged both fans pluggeed them back in wow they are on..that simple and has been frutrating me for weeks..hope others will see this post and try the lil things b4 changing out a bunch of parts.

Sonicd

I had the same problem with my 2007. Check the electrical connections at the fans. Clean them with electronics cleaner and then lube the connection with electrical grease.

ruley73

I would not recommend using electrical grease. In this case it will harm more than it will help. The plug is weatherproof to begin with and the grease will just add another resistance barrier for the already weak connection to overcome; thus making the problem worse. I would just clean the connection if necessary then give it a squirt of silicone spray before plugging it back in.

santini2014

where is the temperature sending unit located?

Jim Fox

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;

crayola511

I can not find anything in the fusebox labeled Cooling fan S/P. I see Cooling fan low and cooling fan hi but not cooling fan s/p. Does it go by another name?

Alex