JFREEMVP

Hey everybody, I have 2002 GLE MAXIMA, and my car is overheating, when in traffic and coming to stops. Blasting the Heat keeps the car cool. The AC works fine while moving, but is HOT when stopping or in traffic. So, I popped the hood, turned the AC on, and saw that the FANS WERE NOT ON at all. My service engine light also is on. Got it read, and code is P1217, which they say it's Thermostat or water pump. So I bought a thermostat, but did not put it in yet. My question is, if the Thermostat is bad, is that causing the fans to not turn on at all? Or should i start with the fans first before, worrying about the thermostat, since i know the fans aren't spinning, even with AC ON...

vq30nismo

P1217 code will set when the car is overheating and the cooling fans aren't kicking on and since yours arent i would start there before doing the thermostat.

First i would check to see if the cooling fan fuses are blown there by the battery in the fuse block.

If the fuses are fine i swap out the a/c relay also by the battery with another relay in the box i belive the horn relay is the same the part numbers are labeled on them so just swap it with the same number and check to see if there kicking on now.

Since both fans arent working i wouldnt think the motors would both be dead so i would also follow the wiring from both fans and check there connections. The plug for the is on the radiator fan housing on the drivers side.

a33nismo

That sounds right i would also try to turn the fan blades while the car is off by hand to make sure they will spin freely.

Also with a/c on your fans should be on at a minimum at low speed so there is definalty a issue with them.

JFREEMVP

Thank you both for your quick responses! I did see the box near the battery, and pulled one of the fan fuses out looked like a plug and had a tab that i had to push in with a flathead to pull out, how do i know if it's blown or not? can I tell by just looking at it? Im going out now to look at it again. I'm familiar with the clear colored fuses inside of the car being cracked down the middle meaning blown, but how do i determine with these big plug thingys? lol.

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

Make sure that you actually have coolant lol

JFREEMVP

Yes the coolant level is perfect @ MAX. There are also no leaks, so it's coming down to the fans which aren't working at all. My question is, if the THERMOSTAT is bad or closed, would that make both fans not work at all?....Anyway. Ok, so i checked the fuses for the blow motors, and the fusbile links for the rad fan which are 40Amp. They all seem good. The fans do not come on when AC is running. So what's next? There's also a box in front of the battery, which says, RAD FAN 1, RAD FAN 2 and are more like plugs, I pulled one and have no idea how to tell if that is bad or not.

rebelhell

iTrader: (1)

No, the thermostat will have no affect on the fans whatsoever. All that does is control water flow. Now the fuses are in the fuse box between the battery and the driver's side fender. They are FEMALE fuses, they do this because those are slow trip fuses for the high load on fan startup. There should be two. And they should look like the square boxes in this picture marked 40. Use the diagram on the lid and test them with a multi-meter.



The box between the battery and your headlight is a box of relays. There should be three relays for the cooling fans. They are marked Rad Fan 1, 2, 3 as in the picture below. They are socketed and just pull straight out. These can't be easily tested. Your best bet is to find one and swap them with known good relays.

JFREEMVP

Thanks Rebel, Great photos, that's exactly what i've been looking at. I'm on to the third photo , which are the Relays now, which like you said, have tabs and pull out. I will go to autozone, and buy a good relay, and use that to test it out. Hopefully they are easy to replace with the new one.

rebelhell

iTrader: (1)

They should be very easy to replace. Much like a big fuse.

JFREEMVP

ok so im down to, fan motor, coolant temperature switch, or relays. hopefully its just one of the last two.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

The first thing to check is the fan motors. Just lightly touch the blade and it should spin freely as a33nismo advised.

Then take hold of a fan blade and try to wiggle it front to rear. There should be ZERO front to back movement.

I hate to be a pessimist, but 99 times out of a 100 the motors are bad. They may cause the fuses to blow when the bushings wear out, so if you have blown fuses, it's another indication of a bad motor.

JFREEMVP

Damnit Dennis I hope it isn't the motor, but i'm going to figure this out by today. I'm going to test the motor as you said, and if it isn't bad, then I'll do the relays! I'll let you guys know what ends up being the issue, thanks for the helP

Max_Gator

Just fyi when one of my fan motors went - I could not tell it was bad. The blade moved just like the good one. I simply replaced the entire unit.

JFREEMVP

Guys so heres the UPDATE. GOOD NEWS is I got one of the fans working, which, also has the car keeping cool and AC working. I basically changed all 3 RAD FAN RELAYS, in the compartment in front of the battery which look like tan plugs. So this fixed one fan, which i had to manually spin first to get it to work. BUT, the other fan still has yet to kick in, I'm not sure if they are both supposed to SPIN when the AC is on? But anyway this is a good TEMPORARY fix, but i may have a bigger issue, since the other fan did not kick on. The fan closer to the Passenger side is now on, but the driver side fan is NOT as far as i can tell so far. So, next up is, new fan motor? or just new assembly, Or just buying a new damn car lol.

cjandura

iTrader: (3)

Turn ac on full and let car come up to temp

Sent from my iPhone using MaximaOrg

JFREEMVP

So at one point today, i got both fans to work, just by tapping on the motors, but the one closer to the drivers side, actually wont stay on. So, is this just motors going bad? So I just get new motor, or entire assembly

rebelhell

iTrader: (1)

Your motors are going bad (one definitely already is). You can either replace both motors or the entire assembly, it's up to you. Order them from RockAuto. Looks like $42 a piece for the motors or $86 for the entire assembly (I recommend TYC, check the pictures some are just generic and not direct repalcement). If it were me, I'd just replace the entire assembly and be done.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

As others have said, the fan motors are bad. The relays were probably never the problem, those things rarely go bad.

If you take apart the motors, this is probably what you will find:

bneuman73

Have you tried replacing or testing the engine coolant sensor? It would be a $20 and 20 minute fix? There is a video out there somewhere I can try and find if you need it?

Bill

8082KMAXSE

I experienced what happened to you about 2 years ago in my 2K. I basically bought a KOYO unit from a radiator shop and it took care of everything. The bad motors are causing your relays to go bad. Excessive heat probably. I would just bite the bullet and replace it as a whole. They vary in price for non-oem fans. I paid a little over $100for mine. good luck.

JFREEMVP

WOOOHOOOO MY AC AND CAR IS AS COLD AS ICE NOW! Just ended up replacing the entire fan assembly. Got it for 80 bucks shipped at AM-autoparts.com. I just pulled out the old fan, and plugged this one in, and now i have two powerful fans blowing cold air! THANKS GUYS FOR ALL THE ADVICE!!!!!!