This if my first post so bear with me. I've reviewed the threads on this issue and am still quite confused. First some background
The Car:
W124 1993 300E
235,000 Miles
Well maintained, though not perfectly
Burns a little oil, radiator probably needs replacing, recent inspection shows most everything in working order.
I have the desire to keep this car going as long as possible, so I want to identify what needs replacing and take care of it. I am familiar with these models, as I have had 5 previous to this. I still don't know every bit and piece but I know enough to be dangerous.
The Issue:
I recently had a son, and this is our only car in Washington DC. It has been hotter than the blazes of hell recently and so Air Conditioning has been a must. I never much bothered with it before as I just used window A/C as it were. But since having the kid, it needs to work. It never really blew cold, but I could do a weird hack. If I shut down the car, when I restarted it, the AC would blow cold, for a bout 10 mins or less, then go hot again.
I checked the pressure in the AC system and it was way too high. I got it back down to legitimate levels and it would blow cold air for longer for about a day. I have noticed that the car would get quite hot quite fast, and when it would get hot, the Aux fan would kick in, the AC would blow cold and the temp would go down.
After a drive today with the same intermittent AC and hot as hell outside temp, I decided to check out the whole system. I am pretty sure that when the AC is turned on the aux fan is supposed to turn on and cool the engine, and perhaps also help it blow colder. When I turned on the AC the aux fan didn't go at all.
Testing the Aux Fan
Here is the test I did.
1) With the key ON I pulled the wire on the temp sensor. The first time I did this, the passenger side fan started right up, but the driver's side didn't, as it did when the motor got hot.
2) With the key ON and the Plug OFF the temp sensor, I pulled the plug for the fans to check the connections, the left fan shut off, the connections were clear and tight, and it started up when I put it back together.
3) Put the plug back ON the temp sensor and turned the key OFF.
This seemed to confirm the aux fan would turn on, but perhaps the drivers side needed to be replaced. I wanted to use a voltimeter to check the power at the connections.
1) With the key ON I pulled the plug off the Temp sensor - fan did not engage
2) Checked the volts at the fan plugs, not juice
3) Bridged the temp sensor plug, no volts at fan connector
This indicated that the fans had just stopped working, perhaps the relay?
1) Open the relay box, pull the Relays (A,B I believe), clean the connectors, use compressed air to blow out the plugs, and put them back in,
2) Key ON, temp sensor plug OFF - no fans, no volts at the connector
3) When I pull the temp sensor plug i cant hear a pop in the relay box coming from the D relay. Remove the D relay and no pop.
Conclusion
I am confused. This all seems to suggest a relay, right? Can I bypass the relay to see if the fans turn?
Looking for suggestions.
Update: Connected the connector to the fans directly to the battery and they didn't turn on. Pulled the plug on the temp sensor with key ON and checked the female connector side, showing 12v. This seems to indicate that it is the Aux fans that are bad.
