2014 PPV Radiator cooling fans not activating / turning on

[sheistybikey]

Hey guys, got a PPV about a month ago and its been great but the fans wont come on. It runs and drives well but obviously will overheat in traffic. Here are some symptoms and things I've tried already as I'm a little lost and out of ideas other than take it to the dealer which I'd like to avoid because they're low quality where I live.

Symptoms:
- fans wont turn on and will slowly rise in temp
- fan will barely kick on for 5 seconds when at 200* but ONLY while the a/c is on, and temps will surpass 212* eventually

Solutions tried:
-unplugged the temp sensor they will then come on at full speed and the coolant temps show -40c
-replaced the fan control module with a new oem one, no dice
-checked some fuses, they look decent but i stopped pursuing that after the fans came on at 100%
-a/c system pumps out nice cold air so i don't think its the a/c (low a/c causes fans not to activate I've heard)
-swapped fuse #61 , still no dice (advice from another thread)

So that's about all I've tried, kind of frustrating consider the fans obviously work, the car just seems to not be telling it to activate or its not getting the signal? there's really only two main threads on this and both fixed theirs with a relay or fuse which mine did not. Any advice where to go from here. Electrical stuff isn't my strong suit but if there's anything else mechanically i can try. unfortunately don't have an HP tuner so the only diagnostic i can do is regular obd2 ready and unplugging the temp sensor to activate them

[Sanford]

Don’t have any personal, hands on with a 14-17 model. If it is only getting to 212 F., that probably is not hot enough to turn the fans on. The earlier models, along with a fair number of GM cars will not turn the fans on until 220 F. If your AC head pressure gets high enough, you should see an increase in fan speed. One of the best purchases you can do if you do most of your own wrenching is to get a ~$400 scanner that will read all of the modules. There is so much info available with the better scanner that makes troubleshooting so much easier.

[JoeR]

The fans turn on at around 220F, but only at 30% speed.
By 225F they are at 91% speed, and that's the max they are programmed for.

If you unplug the coolant temp sensor and the fans run, it's almost a certainty that there's nothing wrong with them.

If you're still concerned with it, get yourself a cheap scanner (as mentioned by Sanford) and make sure engine temp stays below 230F while sitting still. Once moving they will drop to thermostat temp, around 190F.

Because the fans speeds are programmable with HPTuners, I have mine set as follows:
0% Below 206.6F
30% 206.6F
40% 210.2F
50% 213.8F
60% 221F
70% 224.6F
91% 221F and up.

At 30% fan speed in drive my temps never climb over 205 and you never even hear the fan run.

Of course the AC requires higher speeds to keep the condenser cooled off, and it is set in steps from 8% to 91% as the pressures climb.

Joe

[sheistybikey]

Holy shit that's hot. My crown vic never got over 200* .Seems like 230 is insanely hot. Well i feel like an idiot, I've read the whole manual and found no info on any of this. The info on this car is so hard to source! The other thread discussing engine temps and rad fans mentioned that after he 'fixed' his issue it got up to 210* then fans took it back down to 170*.

I hate making redundant posts on forums however I've yet to see anything here where it states that 220* is optimal for this car, so i'll leave this post up for people with the same concerns as me. Does anyone here have a service manual or any other info where I can find this stuff myself? I have all the manuals off this site I believe. I'll definitely look into getting it tuned to activate the fans sooner as I personally don't like the idea of my car getting up to 230* all the time, seems like that would shorten the lifespan of the car significantly.

Also a little update, went out to the car and idled until 220* and the fans did come on for a sec until it dropped to about 208*..crazy. I also had to rev the car quite a bit to reach those temps. seems the fans on this car are ALMOST redundant. I have to idle AND rev the engine for them to even come on? this is kind of crazy to me as almost all my other cars have had the rad fans come on quite regularly to keep them at 200*. Lot of conflicting info on this subject if you google around, "ls engine temp" will yield a million different opinions that 220 is fine or how 220 is way to much and 210 is optimal and all this stuff. Anyways thanks everyone for the help i guess my cars fine

[JoeR]

That is hot, but I've been gm tech since the 80s and I can tell you that GM vehicles with on/off style electric fans usually have them turn on at 230F and off at 210F. Vehicles with variable speed fans usually turn on in the 220 range, like our cars. If it caused engine damage, it would have been doing so for 40 years. If you're already tuning it, go ahead and drop the fan temps, but I'd never do it for this reason alone. It's not a big deal at all.

You're right that the fan doesn't run long. It moves a LOT of air and can handle hot temps with the AC on full blast, which requires a lot more CFM than idle speed in spring temps.

So, please don't sweat this. Nothing is wrong. Enjoy your new ride.

Joe

[Sanford]

Sold parts over two decades ago, and as JoeR stated, a lot of the GM’s used to turn the fans on around 230F. Back then, you would see a pretty big swing on the temp gauge, especially if the AC did not work. On the 11-13’s, the temp gauge/ECM/instrument panel is programmed to keep the needle at one spot once the thermostat opens. The gauge will only go up once you get into the 230F range. I am guessing most modern car temp gauges are this way. The 13 Caprice’s are the most modern cars in my fleet.