SHDY 5.7

Hello Everyone,hope ur day is going good.

I have a stock 98 z,that I'm having some minor issues with. First let me say a few things.......I'm not scared to dig in and get my hands dirty,but this is my first ls1 car,so I want some guidance before I do.

Here are the issues I'm having,when the car reaches operating temps,160* or higher,the coolant light comes on(the one that looks like a radiator). The car never gets hotter then halfway on the temp gauge tho. I've checked the coolant level on the radiator and over flow,the radiator is full,and the overflow was slightly low,so I topped it off. Light still comes on tho.

The second issue is,while checking the coolant level,I learned that my fans are not coming on at all. Now I'm not positive this will cause that light to come on,but something tells me,they have Nothing in common. So now that I've listed my problems,ill ask my questions,please excuse my newbness.

Now that I know the coolant level is full,and that light is still on,my only guess is a bad sensor. Is this common? Would it be the sensor on the radiator? Or temp sensor? Or am I completely naive,and those 2 sensors are the same?

Now,I plan to just run a manual fan switch to fix my fan issue. My question for this is,when I look at the relay box for my fans,I have 3 relays marked "1,2,and 3". I'm assuming these are for speed differences. Which one should I use? I'd just go to 3,but I'm not positive that's the way to go.

For the record,I know a Tuner can change this,but for now,a switch is fine. The car is stock,and I'm still collecting go fast goodies for it. So until its modded,I see no point to have it tuned.

Thank u for any help and guidance u may give in advance.


Thanks,
Dale

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is classic behavior of a bad coolant level sensor. Very common. (It will act up as the car comes up to temperature some time.)

If you aren't overheating, you probably don't have a fan problem. The vans will come on when they need to. Up where we live, I rarely notice my fans come on at all.

FiredUpZ28

Pop the coolant level sensor connector off (passenger side upper corner of the radiator) and look for green stuff growing on the terminals. My wifes car has the same problem it needs a sensor and pigtail connector.

^ What he said

Do the fans come on when you command the A/C on?

SHDY 5.7

Thank u guys. I have not turned the a/c on to see if the fans come on. I will try that today. I will also be disconnecting that sensor.

I found out,typing in "sensor" in the search,is a whole new ball game lol.

Thanks again,
Dale

FiredUpZ28

Parts stores have the sensor for 40-50 bucks. Unfortunately my cost at the dealer for the connector is 30 so I dont even wanna know what customer pay is on it. You can probably get the connector aftermarket though. I may go as far as to taking the connector apart, cleaning it, and putting new terminals in it if I can find the terminal part number.... Rather all that or I'll just unplug it, lol. The cars never been low on coolant in its life.

SHDY 5.7

Ok,went out on my break,disconnected the sensor,and let the car run. No more dummy light. The fans did not come on with the a/c,but the car was only at 160*,if that. So ill try again later.

FiredUpZ28

Hmm... they should come on with the A/C.... Are you sure at least one didnt come on low speed? Like did you actually look at the fans? You wont necessarilly hear the low speed fan all the time. If they are not coming on first check for blown fuses, then start swappin relays to see if you dont have a bad relay. To check the fan motors themselves to see if they work all you gotta do is jump terminal 30 to 87a at the relay and the fan should come on, even if the key is off.

SHDY 5.7

Yes,I physicaly looked and waived my hand in front of the fans. Definately not on. I'll try swapping relays,etc.

DebbieInc

Regarding that "LOW COOLANT" light, I have the same thing on my 99 SS. I took the sensor off , cleaned it really good, reinstalled it but still the light comes on. When I took it off some radiator fluid came out, which i topped off. If I decide to leave it off what do you put in its place to cover it? Seems I remember a hole of sorts by it.