Electric Connector for Cooling Fans burned/melted, what to do?

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ScottS

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My 2006 Torrent is overheating (2wd about 50,000miles). After testing the relays and replacing the coolant sensor in the engine (big waste of my time and $), I finally figured out that the plugs/connectors are bad on both electric cooling fans. The left slot on female plug on the wiring harness is black and appears to be melted (see photo). This is the same on both fans on the radiator. Does anyone know what would cause these connectors to burn or melt? Is there a way to replace the connector and not the entire wiring harness? I don't want to take it to the Stealership unless I have to. I know they'll say let's replace the wiring harness for several hundred$$ and then it will melt again. Please help!
 
try this site for connectors, test the fan motors by applying current directly to see if there is an excessive load that would fry the connectors.

http://www.repairconnector.com/
 
Go to a salvage yard and get poth pigtails grom another car. Splice into car harness. Sounds like the fans are drawing more current than normal. Also check the grounds.
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I know this is an old post but Thanks!! Mine was doing the same thing but a quick search in here brought me right here and mine's temporarily fixed until I can get some new pig tails in the morning... Now time to search how to fix the heater/ac door under the dash... :D
 
melsg5 said:
try this site for connectors, test the fan motors by applying current directly to see if there is an excessive load that would fry the connectors.

http://www.repairconnector.com/
Click to expand...

My wife's 06 Torrent just started having the same overheating problem yesterday evening on her way home from work. She had been already having some problems with her AC intermittently getting warm, while running. She had a co-worker look before she came home, and noticed neither cooling fan running. She drove home with the heat running, to help pull heat from the engine.

As soon as she got home, I came out and jiggled the fan wire of the passenger side fan. That was the easiest to get to, as the engine bay was understandibly pretty hot! =) The fan started right up, so we shut it down and decided to let it cool off for a while before I tried fooling with the one under the radiator hose.

A quick web search brought me to this site, and I see that this looks to be a fairly common problem. After it cooled down, I removed the pass connector and confirmed the one burnt looking terminal inside that one. I scraped some of the carbon off the terminals and the reconnected it. It took a little force, but I was able to then remove the driver's side connector after that. It had both terminals looking burnt. Since I had my digital multimeter with me, I put the probes in the connector, while I had her start the engine and turn the AC on. It took a second, but the passenger fan started up, and then I got a voltage reading from the driver's side connector. It got to around 3.94V and then I had her shut the engine off. It gets hot under there pretty quick! So it looks like I'll be needing both connectors, and then start seeing if I can find any shorts in the circuit.

I tried to find the connector on the listed site, but no joy there. A little more research done, and I did find a gm part number pt2188 (88988506) and listings at Amazon and Rockauto, but those pigtails are like $33 each! I've sent an email to the connector site, hoping they may have a lower cost option. If I do find one, I'll post my results here.

I signed up here, to show my appreciation, and to share my experiences with this. I'm thinking the driver's side fan may have been inoperable for a while, and that the passenger fan cutting in and out is what could have been causing the loss of cold air from the AC. It sounds plausible, right?
 
not sure about the fan issue being related to the AC.
have you tried one of those recharging kits that come with a simple gauge?
 
Thanks very much for your input. I had already tested and confirmed adequate freon level from the first day she mentioned the AC issue. The AC has now been working without issue it seems, since at least one of the fans has been working correctly. I'm remembering now from my Auto Service days, that if the car's cooling fan is not working, it would be unable to draw the air flow through the condenser unless the vehicle was moving.

Here's the pigtail connector listing from Amazon: GM PT2188
And also from
RockAuto: ACDelco PT2188

Hope this info may help anyone having similar issues :)
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jconrad73 said:
Thanks very much for your input. I had already tested and confirmed adequate freon level from the first day she mentioned the AC issue. The AC has now been working without issue it seems, since at least one of the fans has been working correctly. I'm remembering now from my Auto Service days, that if the car's cooling fan is not working, it would be unable to draw the air flow through the condenser unless the vehicle was moving.

Here's the pigtail connector listing from Amazon: GM PT2188
And also from
RockAuto: ACDelco PT2188

Hope this info may help anyone having similar issues :)
Click to expand...

Hi I am having this same issue. Was it difficult to get the pieces apart ?
Is there anything else that you needed to purchase?
Thanks and much appreciated .
 
I'm not sure how this blogging works exactly, but: I have a 2006 Pontiac Torrent bought new, 239k miles. Over heated recently; replaced thermostat, that wasn't the problem. Searched internet, checked relays, fuse, etc. Little radiator cooling fan came on with a/c, big one won't come on. Somebody said check the connector on the larger fan, bought one through e-bay $28, GM Part No. pt 2188. Total bitch getting the battery plastic structure out to reach the wiring, but doable. pulled out the old connector - sure enough, it was burned out (ceramic). Spliced in the new one, reassembly wasn't too bad, actually. Voila! both fans now work, car stays cool, no problem. Haven't yet heard the two fans go to "high," which is a roar. Whoever suggested the connector, thank you! I figured it wasn't the fans themselves, as fans motors are pretty robust. But apparently the problem is solved. Very pleased.
 
thanks for the update
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Same issue on my Suzuki, funny enough same plug that works for Pontiac is Suzuki.
 
ScottS said:
My 2006 Torrent is overheating (2wd about 50,000miles). After testing the relays and replacing the coolant sensor in the engine (big waste of my time and $), I finally figured out that the plugs/connectors are bad on both electric cooling fans. The left slot on female plug on the wiring harness is black and appears to be melted (see photo). This is the same on both fans on the radiator. Does anyone know what would cause these connectors to burn or melt? Is there a way to replace the connector and not the entire wiring harness? I don't want to take it to the Stealership unless I have to. I know they'll say let's replace the wiring harness for several hundred$$ and then it will melt again. Please help!
Click to expand...

While this is an old thread, but I noticed the core question raised was never answered -- what exactly could cause these connectors to the fans to melt? I've encountered a similar issue on my 2000 Montana... my partially burnt/melted connector is the one where the four wires come into top of the fan assembly, then are split (at the connector) with two going to each fan. The fans still work, when power applied directly. Relays and fuses all check out.

Am encouraged to see that simply replacing (splicing in pigtail connectors) worked here. Yet am wondering just how one would know that the connectors, in themselves are the issue/cause afoot here. (Not inclined to start cutting without a better understanding and diagnosis.)
 
High resistance will cause heat. So if for any reason the connection was corroded or anything else preventing proper engagement of the connector, it could melt.
 
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