2007 A/C and Overheating issues

[Michelle_T]

Hello everyone,
I just bought my 2007 PT Cruiser yesterday and absolutely fell in love with this car immediately. I took it today to show it to my Dad and while sitting at Dairy Queen waiting for my order the signal came on telling me it was hot. I immediately turned the car off, waited for the food, and once we had it started it and went directly home. It instantly started cooling off once I started moving. I waited for it to cool, checked my coolant levels all was good, made it home just fine. I let the car idle when I got home and within just a few minutes it was overheating again while in idle. I did a lot of reading on here and then went out to see if I could hear the fan start when the ac was engaged. All I can hear is what sounds like its trying to and then not. I actually think its the AC compressor I am hearing and not the fan at all. AC worked just fine yesterday and actually on the way to dads today was fine ( I was driving at 65 when it was on earlier today) I'm not sure where to check next, the LPS or the fan. I can see if the fan is engaging or not even with a flashlight. What do I do next? If the fan motor isn't engaging I am understanding the AC will also not blow cold is that correct? I am not shy to work on cars. Have my own tools, and have done many repairs in the past. this is my first PT and I just want to make sure I am on the right path. Pretty depressing after only having Foxy Roxy (my PT's name) for 1 day. Any help would be appreciated

[pt06]

Miche; it is likely the fan motor [a common problem]. There is a test to determine how to check the motor. Turbo or non-turbo engine? You can see the fan blades if you look from the top of the engine toward the fan. You can hear the fan when it is on high speed.

REF: the fan relays are located on the fan housing - passenger side.

[Gamer92]

It could be the fan, bad relay(s), or a bad connection somewhere. Can you hear the fan when the A/C is on? If not there might be an issue with relays, fan motor or wiring. Jack the front of car up and look for the fan connector around the bottom left of the radiator. Hook some test wire to the battery and run it down to the fan connector, if the fan turns on, then you may have a bad relay or connector issue. If the fan doesn't come on, then that would be a bad fan motor.

[Michelle_T]

test wire? and no I don't hear the fan come on with the AC. I hear the AC try to engage and then it cycles off.

[Michelle_T]

oh and the AC works at driving speeds but does that kick off an on while in idle and does not blow cold, it actually will blow warm. I am assuming that might be because the the motion is cooling or possibly turning the fan?

I'm not sure how to hook up the test wires or what wires to use. I have a meter and could check to see if its getting current. Would I do this with the car running or off to check the fan?

[Michelle_T]

PT06 it is a non turbo

[Gamer92]

Test wires are just like mini jumper cables. They should cost around 5 bucks. To hook them up you put the red on positive, and the black on negative. The other ends go on the fan connector there is 3 prongs, left and right ones are hi and low speed, while middle is a ground. You put the red on either high or low, and the black on the middle (ground). Fan should turn on if this is done correctly. If, not bad motor.

As for the A/C only working at moving, that sounds like a fan failure. I had that same issue last year and it was the fan. Still, I would test the fan with the test wires to be sure. I'm not sure if you can use a meter or not.

[Michelle_T]

mine looks to have a seperate connector for the ground and the power. is that right?

[Gamer92]

There are 2 different fan connectors. One is for power and I guess the other is for the relays or PCM. It would be a good idea to jack the car up and use jack stands or use a ramp. Also, putting battery around the fan connections will help with testing.

Inside fan motor connector, middle is ground and sides are high and low speed.



Fan Motor connector



2nd connector.



Test wire set up.

[Michelle_T]

Ok I tested the fan direct. It works in both high and low I replaced the 50amp fuse in the fuse box and bought two relays a low and high speed but they dont look right. Im confused big time now.