I have a 2001 maxima with about 60,000 miles my a/c work most of the time when the car is moving but at a stand still it works sometime i notice that my fan was making a noise a long time ago but now the fan on the passengerside is not working anymore should i replace the fan from the dealer or should i go with dorman what should i do and will that fix my a/c problem..

 

It's not a difficult fix. You can do this yourself if you have basic tools. Fixing your fan should fix your A/C assuming the fan is the issue.

 

I dunno about Maxima's but some older cars had fans that only kick on with the AC to prevent overheating. Anyways, it's the middle of summer, you should have your fans working if you don't wanna overheat. It's also a good opportunity to upgrade, you can get a fan that moves more air.

 

We have 2 fans and they are on a schedule. That schedule is dependent on coolant temp, and AC function (on or off), as well as a combination of the 2.

I will up a pic from the FSM once I get the chance, but, basically, this is how it goes.

1.) ECT below 205 / AC off = no fans
2.) ECT above 205 / AC off = 1 fan
3.) ECT above 205 + AC on = both fans
4.) ECT below 205 / AC on = 1 fan

There may be some variation on # 2, but that's the general idea. And for you smart *****, ºF.


Maybe pmohr has the FSM pic...

 

Here's the pin out to test the fans:

 

That helps a lot more than me trying to explain all the different scenarios

 

I appreciate the information in previous posts. With that said how can I troubleshoot both fans running all the time when the AC is turned on? It does not matter whether the car is cold or hot. Both fans are going full blast. If I turn the AC off then they shut off.

 

Your ECTS (Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor) might be

 

I looked online at AutoZone. There are two different parts one is a Coolant Temperature Sensor and the other is a cooling fan control. I'm assuming the Coolant Temperature Sensor is the ECTS that you referenced before.

My question in two parts:
1. If it was the ECTS wouldn't the inside gauge be showing a overheating condition? Or is this only for the cooling fan control?

2. What is the cooling fan control? This seems to me that if I have a faulty part here that it could cause the fans to run as they are.

Please advise.

 

Wow, look at you, doing research.

1 sensor tells the gauge what to do, the other tells the fans what to do 9in a nut shell)

It doesn't necessarily mean the gauge will read hot if that sensor is bad. But yeah, get the fan control deal and you should be fine.

 

Check the relay too. There should be one for each fan. Replace the relay of the dead fan with the one that works. If the dead fan then comes on, you know the relay is bad.