Hi, 1995 850 Turbo with a balky radiator fan. It runs for about 3 seconds then shuts off. I replaced the relay, no change. It does not come on with the A/C.

Any ideas?

Until I solve this, could I unplug the fan and hot wire it to the battery with a switch/relay setup?

 

I'd try hot wiring it just to see if it stays running. Maybe it's the fan itself that is binding.

Have you reached in there and tried spinning it to feel how freely it moves on it's bearings ??

 

I ended up wiring my fan to a switch and the battery...it was wired into the fuse box under the good with one of those add a circuit fuses when i bought it and that setup was so shady it ended up frying/melting the add a circuit thingy...i got a new relay and it still wouldnt work by itself...any ideas as to what it might be...

 

Do you have a check engine light ??

You might have a bad coolant temperature sensor or one that's disconnected or the wire is open.

 

I think this is the most likely culprit. It looks like the temperature gauge is reading low. At normal cruise speed (35/40), the temp gauge reads about the 4/5 o'clock position and at a long idle, it sits at 3 o'clock with no fan. If the fan does click on it's only for a second or two. If I touch a lead from ground to the yellow wire connector on the fan relay, it spins great.