There is no need to once again talk about why the engine cooling fan is needed and what its malfunction is fraught with. As the name implies, its main purpose is to cool the motor while the car is moving. Quite often, this device fails, there are a lot of reasons for that, let's figure out the main points of the repair.
Engine Cooling Fan: Operation
First of all, you need to understand how this device works. Since we are dealing with a whole set of mechanisms and devices that allow heat to be removed from the engine to the environment, this is a rather complex system. In this article we will talk about air cooling, not liquid cooling. The fan is installed between the cylinders. It is driven by a V-belt transmission directly from the crankshaft pulley.
The engine has special covers that allow you to direct air flows to those parts of the motor where the temperature is maximum. The fan consumption of the engine power is 8-9% of the maximum. Do not forget that it turns on and off automatically when it reaches a certain temperature. For example, the VAZ-2110 engine cooling fan starts to work when heated to 95 degrees Celsius and above. If this does not happen, then you need to look for the cause and eliminate it.
Problem finding
As practice shows, it is not always so easy to find the cause of the malfunction, as it may seem. The most common malfunction is failure at the right time. That is, the engine warmed up to a maximum temperature of 95-99 degrees, and the device does not turn on. In this case, we need to open the hood and find the thermal switch, as a rule, it is located on the side of the radiator. You can replace it or try to repair it.
Of course, breaking a thermal switch is not the worst thing that can happen. The failure of the fan motor is much worse. Firstly, repair is more laborious, and secondly, this may not be of any use. But, first of all, you need to check the fuse of the electric motor, as it could fail. If it is ok, then try the following. We disconnect the wires from the thermal switch and connect them together, turn on the ignition. The fan should work. Thus, the breakdown is not caused by the electric motor, but by a switch.
Repair Tool
So, you checked everything, went through each fuse and have already reached the relay, but the problem has not been solved. Therefore, the engine cooling fan does not work, you need to remove and repair the motor of the device. To do this, we need a minimum set of tools. We take a socket head for 10, almost everyone has one in the garage, an extension cord, medium or long, will also be required.
It is advisable to have a ratchet. If one is not available, you can take an ordinary knob. In addition, prepare a rag, as this is a dusty job. It is better to have a flat and Phillips screwdriver and a set of keys at hand. That, in principle, is all, then you can proceed directly to the dismantling of the device. By the way, before starting work, it is advisable to disconnect the mass of the battery, that is, “minus”.
Remove the engine cooling fan
After we have the necessary tools, the machine is installed on a horizontal surface, and the ignition is turned off, you can proceed with dismantling. First you need to completely disconnect the wires going to the fan. First of all, we pull out the plug of the motor, and only then the wires of the temperature sensor. Only here there is one caveat, you need to disconnect both ends, that is, from the sensor and the fan.
Further, the engine cooling fan is ready for removal. But before that you need to unscrew all the bolts. First we unscrew two of them, those that are located above and below, as a result we get a free left side. As for the right one, there is only one bolt in the center. The next step: we take the center of the fan and pulling on ourselves, you need to get it out of the hood without any effort.
A little bit about repair
It is worth noting that the device is completely collapsible. Therefore, it must be replaced as an assembly. However, in some cases it makes sense to carry out self-repair. For example, a winding in an electric motor is closed. Problems are even easier, such as a blown fuse. It is enough to change the part, and everything will work.
It is worth noting that the engine cooling fan, the price of which is rather high today, should be periodically cleaned. After we remove it, we need to use a brush to clean it of various kinds of contaminants, this can improve its performance. Since this device has several speeds, a special resistor is used through which current is supplied. There is a fuse that quite often blows, because of this, in fact, the fan may not turn on.
Check the electric motor and wiring
During the operation of the car, the wires are oxidized, resulting in worse contact. Therefore, before changing anything, you need to look at the condition of the wire. Defective immediately need to be changed or cleaned with a brush. But if the problem still remains, then you will have to check the fan motor. To do this is quite simple, now you will learn how.
If the engine cooling fan does not turn on, then do the following manipulations. First you need to disconnect the plugs of the wires, and then a jumper is installed between the contact of the black-red wire and the plus of the battery. Next, using the second jumper, we connect the terminal of the brown wire and the minus of the battery. After that, turn on the ignition, the fan should work. If this does not happen, then we have a faulty electric motor. In this case, you can try to repair, but it will take a long time, and it is not known what the result will be.
The engine is warm and the fan will not turn on
This is perhaps the most common problem. We already said a little about this at the beginning of the article, but here we need to understand in more detail. For example, the Kalina engine cooling fan should turn on at a temperature of 99 plus or minus 2 degrees. The device should turn off at a temperature of 92 plus or minus 2 degrees. If this does not happen, for example, it turns on, but does not turn off, or vice versa, then you need to repair or replace the thermal switch.
To check if this is the case, you can try to start the engine, let it warm up to operating temperature, carefully unscrew the cap of the expansion tank and put the thermometer in there. If the mark has stopped between 92 and 99 degrees, then the first speed should turn on, if at 99-105, then the device should work at the second speed. If any deviations were noticed, then most likely the fuse on the resistor has blown.
Rotor and brush repair
Sometimes the fault is commonplace dirt. For many years, the car is in operation, and its systems are not cleaned. As a result, we get a malfunction. As an example, let's consider the engine cooling fan VAZ-2110. To carry out repairs, you need to bend the motor cover and look at the general condition of the equipment. As a rule, replacement of brushes is required, which is due to the environment of their operation. They quickly wear out, become dirty and can not cope with their work.
As for the rotor, there are few options. The first step is to check if the winding is working. If everything is in order, then we can rejoice, we do not have to change it. If there is an open or short circuit, then we begin to sort through each turn and look for where the problem is. You also need to clean everything from dirt, and it will be there, believe me, a lot. To do this, you can use a brush for metal, as well as rags. Use of solvents without chemically aggressive components is allowed.
Conclusion
To summarize. We figured out how to fix the engine cooling fan. If you can’t do it on your own, then you need to go to the service, but pleasure is not cheap, and you can take 5000-10000 rubles from you. Of course, if you lubricate rubbing surfaces at least once every few years, clean the blades of dirt, and change the fuses, many problems can be avoided. Nevertheless, no one is safe from breakdowns, but now you know how most of the malfunctions are eliminated, especially since repairing the engine cooling fan is not so difficult. You just need to make a little effort, have the necessary tools and new parts. If you do everything yourself, you can save up to 60-80% of the money.