1994 T- Bird electric fan not working

Hey guys. My mom has a 94 t-bird 4.6 v8 that needs some help. Main problem is overheating caused by the fan not kicking on. What would the main culpret be here ? I am thinking it is a fan switch of some sort not sending the signal to turn the fan on. Or the fan motor my be shot. She wants to take it to Ford, but I am trying to save her a few bucks by doing it myself. Is there a way of testing the switch ? Fan would be easy to check by hooking it up to 12v. Thanks for any insight. FYI : the car only has about 75,000 mi. on it.

Check voltage, fuses, and relays first. If not one of those there has to be a switch somewhere in which case Im a little foggy on location and such.

The coolant temp sensor is in back of the alternator, on top of the engine. If you send me a private message with an email address, I'll send you a picture. I don't know how to post it in here.

Does the fan kick on when you turn the A/C on?

Thanks for the replies guys, good tips. Overlord, I hadn't thought of trying the a/c yet to see if the fan kicks on. I will check it when I get to her house. If it does kick on with the a/c, what would that indicate ?

Likely coolant temp sensor.

Well, when I get a chance to look at the car, the coolant temp sensor is the first place i will look. Thanks guys.

********UPDATE***********

Checked all fuses and relays. All seem good. Started the car let it run fan never kicked on. I then turned on the ac and the ac compressor never kicked in. (i looked at the a/c clutch and it never started turning.) I am on my way to autozone to pick up a new temp sensor. I will post back later if the problem was solved or not. Wish me luck !

Well got home and replaced temp sensor, and for good measure I replaced the temp switch. Started the car and fan still does not work. I let it run for quite some time. The temp gauge kept going up, but no fan. I removed the fan and it tested good. Its kind of strange that the a/c wont even kick on. What else could it be ? There is no sign of any loose burnt or otherwise damaged wires. Is there another fan switch I am missing or relay that could be bad ? Thanks for the help so far.

You said you checked the relays. How did you do that? Do you know how to troubleshoot electrical systems with a volt/ohm meter and do you have one? Do you have power to the A/C clutch coil? Other components that could be bad are the relay module, A/C high pressure cutout/fan switch or the powertrain control module. Since you don't want to pm me with an email address then you should go to your local library and ask for a Mitchell electrical manual for your year Bird, photocopy the pages you need and start tracing the signal path until you find the problem. If they don't have it, they should be able to get it from another library. Don't just keep buying parts without knowing they are bad, hoping they will fix the problem. Let us know when you get the wiring diagram and I'll try to walk you through it. Good luck.

Hey 97Bird. What I ment when I said they all seemed good was the fuses and relays inside the panels themselves. (The fuse box under the dash and the mega fuse box under the hood.) I didnt do any checking of the other various relays that you spoke of. Trouble shooting wiring is not my strong suit, I have never really done much of it. But, noew is a good time to learn ! As far as pm-ing you I have no problem with that, (just hadn't gotten arround to it yet) infact I would greatly appreciate your help. I agree with your point of just replacing parts and hoping that will fix it. The parts were relatively cheap, but there is no sense replacing a part that could still be good.

Check your email!

Thank You 97Bird for taking the time to scan all those docs and the all the info. My days off are monday and tuesday, so I will start on it tommorow. I am gonna learn alot about wiring !

Well, haven't been able to post here for a while. Somebody t-boned our 2004 Taurus (while sitting in our driveway). The person has no insurance and probably no license. But luckily we had uninsured motorist coverage. The car sustained $9700.00 in damage (totaled). Now on to the T-Bird. Didn't have time to work on it any longer, so I took it to a local shop. When it got there the fan was working fine ! They let it run and it cycled on and off which it wouldn't do for me. Maybe the comp got reset after I switched batteries before I brought it over. Strange. Anyways the a/c is still not functioning. I will let you know what the mechanic says when I pick it up.

Sorry to hear about your Taurus and good luck with the Bird.

Just wanted to know how you made out with the TBird.

The fan relay should be in the power distribution block. Normally with your finger on it you can feel it click. Or you can take it out and hook up a wire to the two small terminals if somebody touches the two terminals on the battery with an ohm meter across the large terminals you shouls continuity.
To check the motor for the fan tap it with a hammer and if it starts replace it.
Or take a 12v test light and check for 12volt to the motor. Some fans the computer completes the ground but I've only found this on a chevy. You can make a jumper and if the fan motor don't run with the fan connected directly to the motor it is shot. I've started a few cars tapping the starter with a hammer to get them to the garge without towing. If you have two fans swap the relays the A C should automatically start one fan. The other one uses the temperature sensor to tell it when to start.
If this don't work get a wiring diagram and start checking.

Sorry for not getting back sooner. Been really busy. The shop had it for a couple of days. First day they ran it for a couple of hours and the fan cycled on and off normally. They thoght there was nothing wrong with it. The second day they had it they ran it and the fan never came on ! They were confused at first but they had remembered what I had told them about the ccrm. Turns out that was the culprit ! Now the fan cycles on and off no problem. The a/c commpressor was also bad so they replaced that and a line. Looks like 97bird and the other guys were on the right track. Thanks again ! Great website.

Glad to hear you're back on the road.

If the fan motor is bad tap it with a hammer it should start. If your check your power center their is a relay for the fan. Swap with the relay for the air cond. fan if it works buy a new relay. If you changed the temp sensor take a 12V test light and pull the plug apart about 1/8 inch so you can check for voltage. If you have 12V take the ground conn for the light and hook it to the positive touch the other wire and and if the light works the motor should run. If you don't have any ground check further.
To go any further you will need a wiring diagram.

lol

Thanks for the extra advice rhandwor, but the problem turned out to be the ccrm. Constant Control Relay Module. Everything is fine now !