I have a 1996 Mercury Sable 3.0l OHV engine. 3 weeks ago the car was overheating, but only when I was city driving. When I drove on the highway it was ok, and then slowed down in the city and it started overheating again. When the temperature. was going up I looked under the hood and the radiator cooling fans were not running. I checked the fuse and plugs and they were ok. 2 days later I took the car to my local Ford Dealer and they said they could not find a problem, it would not over heat and the fans were coming on. 3 weeks later the cars starts to overheat again in slow city driving, and again I check and the fans are not coming on. I took the car back to the dealer and they said they could not get it to overheat and the fans were coming on. They said it might be the water pump and want $720. to replace the pump, and they will NOT guarantee that it will fix the problem. I’m no expert but it seems to be since this is intermitted and the cooling fans are not coming on all the time, that it could it be a sensor or the PCM that is the problem?

Forget the water pump. Typical Ford dealer crap.


Try this. The next time you see the fans don't come on, give the fan blade a little "push" and see if it goes. It may take off and this would mean a fan problem. If that doesn't help it is time to look hard at the controls. You are right, it would then be the sensor or the controls and I can't help you with that. It might be time to try a different shop that understands the Ford controls.

I think it may be a faulty heat sensor or sensor as paulnsue says, one
that controls the fan coming on and off, it should be is near the
thermostat screwed in. I think it has one wire from it. I had a tracer
that did the same thing (EXAMPLE) and replaced it, or you may have a
faulty relay located under the hood near the battery with other relays
in a box. It should be labled on top. Tap the fan relay and see what
happens, good luck.



Water pump, hehehe, they will do anything for a buck[img]smileys/smiley17.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley17.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley17.gif[/img]

I would not try to "push" the cooling fan. You say it only happens at low vehicle speed? Two things to check.


1-- Check thermostat. At higher speed you will get enough(barely) air to cool the water(underflow)


2--Start your car and let it idle in the driveway/garage until the temp guage reads your normal oper. temp. Check to see if the fan/s come on. If not,could be combo temp. limit switch/thermostat.


Always start with the cheapest and easiest problem,being the stat.








Lenny.[img]smileys/smiley16.gif[/img]

Turn the ac on if the fan runs then its the thermoswitch

You're right, I had did some more investigating and found out they are 2 speed fans and when the AC is turned on the fans run on high speed, so I tried it a while ago and they work. So what we have been doing is running the AC whenever the temp. starts to rise. I don't want to spend another penny on this FORD if I don't have to. I'm planning on dumping it this year.

Its paid for right so if you put $300


A month in it then I would dump it.


But for know its only costing you


Gas and oil . I dont like car payments.


Do you? LOL

I have a 95 Mystique GS with the overheating problem as well. I've found numerous things that fixed it. First: be careful if you purchase a replacement generic electric fan from Checker. The one their computer suggests is FAR too small. Buy the largest one they have (14 inches). Another thing that cured the overheating problem is replacing the resistor that is attached to the lower driver's side of the fan shroud. That resistor causes the fan to run at high speed when the radiator heats up. Of course the heat sensor on top of the thermostat housing is something that you should try first. Checker has them for $14 (don't pay $40 at the dealer). When your car overheats the first time, it does some damage to the sensor. Good luck!

Sounds like the coolant temp sensor, or the fan control module not reading the temp sensor or internal relay bad. Sounds like you got the overheating under control but if you don't fix it, and you let somebody who doesn't know about your little trick you may find yourself out of a car. I wouldn't go to a dealer for a problem like this your better off with a independent shop.

Can anyone tell me where the theromstat is located in the 96 Sable?