2011 LaCrosse Electric fan issues

[Ray Chappell]

Hi all,
I bought my car in April and so far I have really enjoyed it. I noticed earlier this week when returning to work from lunch, that my electric fan continued to run after I shut the car off...Having owned it the entire summer, I have never noticed it doing that. I wrote it off as an "Oh well, I have never known it to do that" kind of thing....It has continued to do that for the rest of the week. Each time I shut off my car, I would notice it continued to run for a while. Well, today I was on lunch and took a phone call and was sitting at a parking lot with the car in park and just idleing. I glanced down after a few minutes and noticed that my temp gauge was about 3/4 the way to Hot...I immediately headed the short drive back to work, and it dropped back down to normal withing 15-20 seconds. I added a little water to the overflow tank which was pretty much empty and drove it 23 miles home with no overheating problems. I noticed that the fan has stopped running after the car has been shut off. ABout to check to see if they come on at idle when I start it. I do not see any signs of a leak, but I realize if it's minor, I may not see any leaks. I'm thinking it could be the fan relay. Any thoughts? And where would the pesky relay be located at? I would appreciate any feedback / advice as this is my daily driver.
Thanks,
Ray

 

[bobby49]

"I added a little water to the overflow tank which was pretty much empty"

I guess you know that the coolant doesn't just disappear.

If there is a normal coolant leak, it shows up underneath the engine. You can prove that by putting a large sheet of newspapers or other paper underneath the car while it is parked. Otherwise, you could have a head gasket problem, and coolant is leaking into the cylinders to be burned. You might want to keep an eye on the exhaust color. Plus, that can foul up your exhaust system.

 

[Ray Chappell]

Thanks for the reply Bobby. Yes, I understand it doesn't just disappear, but I don't believe its a head gasket issue since my oil looks clean and not milky. My thoughts were that maybe since it only heated up when the car wasn't moving, and the fan wasn't on, that maybe it heated up enough to lose that water out of the overflow...

 

[bobby49]

"that maybe it heated up enough to lose that water out of the overflow... "

How is that an electric fan issue?

Between the coolant getting hot and getting cold, I never see a flux of more than one cup, or two cups at the absolute maximum.

 

[Ray Chappell]

Well, The fans are there for a reason...If they are not coming on, it will overheat, especially when the car is at idle and not moving, thus no air being rushed through the radiator. That was my reasoning of it being an electric fan issue.....

 

[bobby49]

Even if the coolant is overheated, the loss of fluid says that the fluid is going someplace. Do you smell hot coolant steam when you stick your head under the hood?

 

[Mad*Max]

Is your water pump leaking? Get it checked out ASAP as you don't want the engine to overheat while driving.

 

[bobby49]

What is not mentioned is exactly how much coolant is going missing. A cup a year, or a quart a day, or a cup per 50 miles?

If a normal coolant leak is very small, it might not get all the way to the ground before it evaporates, for example, it could be sizzling on part of the exhaust system and never reaching the ground.

Or it could be leaking a very small amount into a cylinder and combusting as part of the cycle, and not into the oil. A compression test might find this kind of leak.

It could also be leaking from the heater core, and dripping under the carpet, where you may or may not notice it.

The UV dye method is what a shop would do to find the leak.

 

[dbris]

Water pumps were an issue, at least on the 2011. I had no smells and didn't find it until I noticed coolant on the garage floor. Get it checked.