Question about cooling fan for my 04 Saturn Ion

[AmandaS1989]

Okay all you car-whisperer Mustachians out there I have a little question for you. Yesterday I was driving to work and my coolant light came on. My heat hand was only at the middle mark (it usually runs just below). The heat hand went back down after I started moving again and that evening my Dad checked my coolant level thinking it might be a bit low. If it gets even slightly below the max line it can go off. Levels were normal and it hadn't gone off on my drive home so I didn't worry about it.

This morning I was stopped at the same light and noticed the heat hand creeping back up to the middle mark so I turned on my ac and the hand went back down after the fan kicked on. Now my Dad thinks my radiator fan might not be working so I was wondering, how can I check that exactly and if it isn't that, what else could it be?

Thanks guys

[WSUCoug1994]

I am not a Saturn expert but you likely have a thermostat and/or fan clutch problem.  Assuming all of your belts are in good shape your fan clutch could be going bad.  It will be important to spin the fan with the car off and see if it makes noise and spins freely (assuming you don't have an electric fan attached to your radiator).  It could also be your thermostat going bad or water pump for that matter but the water pump will usually start to leak fluid if it is going bad.  If you aren't handy - take it to a shop and have them take a look at the fan clutch, thermostat and/or water pump. 

In the future if your car begins to overheat - do not turn on the AC - turn on the heat.  The AC will likely increase the heat in the motor as the heater pulls heat out of the system and into your cabin.

[AmandaS1989]

Thanks. I'll see if my Uncle will check it for me since he used to be a mechanic.

[sokoloff]

If your radiator has a fan that's shared by the AC, what you did may have helped. If the fan is mechanical (belt driven) rather than electric, then you don't want to use the AC; you instead want to run the heat. (In that case, the heater core [what sends heat into the cabin] is acting as a second radiator, rejecting heat from the coolant into the cabin.)

If there's only one electric fan, test the fan by turning on the AC. If it runs with the AC, but doesn't run when the car is hot, look into the thermostatic switch for the fan. (I'm not familiar with your particular car, but that is assuming the logic is "if the AC is ON, turn on the fan" and separately "if the coolant is too hot, turn on the fan".)

If the fan is electric, you can also idle the car in your driveway and take note of whether the fan eventually turns on as the car heats up in the driveway. If it does turn on, but just turns on a little late (in your opinion), it's probably OK. If it turns on with the AC but NEVER turns on without the AC regardless of coolant temp, change the thermostatic switch.

[sokoloff]

Look at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUwCTJRqnAk

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24003
and/or
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37884

[AmandaS1989]

Thanks sokoloff

[KarefulKactus15]

Thanks. I'll see if my Uncle will check it for me since he used to be a mechanic.

If hes a competent person, this should yield the best results!

[guitar_stitch]

Joy.

1) There is no fan clutch, it's a transverse engine with electric fan.
2) The coolant light means either the coolant is low, or if it was flashing, transmission temperature overheat.
3) The fan operation is controlled by the coolant temperature, and likely won't happen until your gauge is around 3/4 of the way (210 degrees coolant temperature or so)
4) Saturns are known for gumming up the coolant level float switch in the tank.  This has happened since the S-Series.