I have a 2000 s80 volvo...how can i safely check the cooling fan? I suspect it is not working....after 15min of running the car, the fan does not come on. can i just splice into the black and red wire coming into the fan and hook it to the battery?

 

I would not recommend splicing the wires. The fan will only go on under certain conditions idling for 15 minutes isn't necessarily going to cause the fan to turn on. The first question to answer is does the car over heat? If the coolant temputure stays within the normal range it is possible that the fan has been working with out you noticing it (while you are driving). Make sure the AC is on and drive around on a hot day in heavy traffic the fan should come on and off in those circumstances.

 

the car doesn't seem to overheat, but then I have only driven for 3-4 blocks. after driving that distance, i left the car ideling for 30 min. and never saw the fan come on, and the temp never went past 1/2 way. is it possible that the fan is not operating due to PCV issues? I have heard about a case where the fan was not operating, then worked fine just after the EGR valve was replaced. I do seem to have a fair amount of oil film around the air intakes to the turbos. Was wondering too if the sump needs to be serviced .
What are your thoughts.
PS....I removed the fan completly, then hot wired to my truck battery and the fan worked fine.

 

Oops, too late, already hot wired the fan. I removed the fan from the car, then hotwired it to my truck and the fan ran fine. Put the fan back in the car, hotwired it to the blower motor conection, then ground, and fan didn't run. I also have a fair amount of oil film accumlating around the intake tubes which go to the turbos and i was wondering if maybe the PVC system is clogged and causing the malfunction of the fan motor. Maybe i need to check/change the sump. I have checked all i can think of (fuses, relay and fusable link 60) I also let the car idle for 30 min (just after driving the car around the block) and the fan still will not budge!