TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:58 am

Ive got some issues with my brakes, so after I bled them the other day, I took her out for a small drive around a short hiking trail.

Only drove in G, first gear and occasionally stood still. After about 5min of driving, the fan comes on. Then all of the sudden I hear a relay starting clicking like crazy and the fan starting to revv up like crazy. Ive never heard it go this loud before and I got so scared I got out of the car thinking "this is going to blow up any second now".

It stopped after about 40seconds so I waited for a couple of minutes, and then drove off again. And the same thing happened after about 4-5 minutes.
This continued to happen about 2-3 times more for the rest of the drive.

I have no idea what it could be, does anyone have any ideas?

Where exactly is the relay? It didnt sound like the clicking came from the panel with the rest of the relays.
Dont know if it makes a difference but its a 91 Syncro, with no AC.

Sat Apr 26, 2014 6:18 am

The relay is located forward and to the left of the fuse/relay panel in its own dedicated relay holder. Access is difficult, unfasten and pull the fuse/relay panel down and you can get a visual on it.

That high speed fan is loud, but at least it is doing its job.....

Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:46 am

Thanks Syncro Pilot for letting me know where to look for it.
Do you know if its a special type of relay? I cant seem to find the number of it anywhere.
Might not even be the relay itself ofc, but if it is, it would save me some time.

By my intense googling, I have so far counted to 4 things that could be wrong.
Transistor
Relay
Ground points somewhere
The fan itself; might come loose.

Any tips on what to do/think or to ease the replace will be appriciated.

Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:58 am

I think that relay on your van is a 5 pin 40 amp. From memory I think that it might be the same relay as the one in the engine bay relay box on the driver side that controls the ECU. If so, then that is your test relay.

You are driving slowly, minimal airflow over the rad, so what is your coolant gauge doing?

Add to your test/inspect list, the radiator fan switch.

Sat Apr 26, 2014 3:22 pm

The relay operates off of a signal from the fan switch. It could be you fan switch isn't working all that well.

Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:04 pm

is lubricating (quieting) that rad fan easy or a nightmare?

That dude is so loud and obnoxious i'd really like to quiet it down a little.

Protocol?

Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:05 pm

is lubricating (quieting) that rad fan easy or a nightmare?

That dude is so loud and obnoxious i'd really like to quiet it down a little.

Protocol?