Stupid car tricks
So, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it or not, but my car had developed an overheating issue. It wasn't a big problem, most of the time. As long as I didn't get stuck in stop & go traffic, or have to put up with a lot of city driving (meaning short distances between stop signs and such), it wouldn't get too hot. Going at least 35 mph, it would get enough air flowing through the radiator to keep the car cool.
Brother Mike and I figured out that the cooling fan wasn't running. This basically came down to A.) Fan broken, B.) Temperature sensor broken, or C.) Wiring broken. I took a look at my repair manual, and decided that B or C wouldn't be a terribly easy project, and determining that it is A wouldn't be terribly easy, either. So, I took the car in to Saturn and had them figure it out. It turns out that it is A. I feel that I probably should have paid a diagnosis fee and taken the car home, stopping at an auto parts store. But, Saturn had to order the part, so I figure that would have been likely enough at any auto parts store, too. So, I left the car with Saturn so they could get it fixed ASAP.
But, it wasn't just the fan that is broken. The radiator has been damaged by the ordeal, but is intact and functional. For now. The Saturn people made sure to stress the "For now" part. When I'd taken the car in, I had about a grand sitting ready to deal with the fan problem. I didn't think the fan would be all that expensive, but all the stuff that tells the fan when to turn on might have been. With the radiator thrown in, the total would have been about a grand. And, since there's no telling when I'll be paid next, I figured it would be better to wait until I had some money to live off of (because that grand was all the money I had at the time) until the next paycheck came in. I should have a comfortable cushion once my next paycheck comes in, though. So, hopefully, it'll only be a week. I hope the radiator can hold out that long.
I didn't know the radiator could be damaged by this sort of thing. I've been careful not to let it get near the red zone on the coolant temp gauge, so I figured it would be just fine.
And, this isn't going to take care of the misfiring issue I've been having, either. Hopefully, the misfiring didn't somehow cause the fan to short out. It would be most annoying to have that fan die again.
Brother Mike and I figured out that the cooling fan wasn't running. This basically came down to A.) Fan broken, B.) Temperature sensor broken, or C.) Wiring broken. I took a look at my repair manual, and decided that B or C wouldn't be a terribly easy project, and determining that it is A wouldn't be terribly easy, either. So, I took the car in to Saturn and had them figure it out. It turns out that it is A. I feel that I probably should have paid a diagnosis fee and taken the car home, stopping at an auto parts store. But, Saturn had to order the part, so I figure that would have been likely enough at any auto parts store, too. So, I left the car with Saturn so they could get it fixed ASAP.
But, it wasn't just the fan that is broken. The radiator has been damaged by the ordeal, but is intact and functional. For now. The Saturn people made sure to stress the "For now" part. When I'd taken the car in, I had about a grand sitting ready to deal with the fan problem. I didn't think the fan would be all that expensive, but all the stuff that tells the fan when to turn on might have been. With the radiator thrown in, the total would have been about a grand. And, since there's no telling when I'll be paid next, I figured it would be better to wait until I had some money to live off of (because that grand was all the money I had at the time) until the next paycheck came in. I should have a comfortable cushion once my next paycheck comes in, though. So, hopefully, it'll only be a week. I hope the radiator can hold out that long.
I didn't know the radiator could be damaged by this sort of thing. I've been careful not to let it get near the red zone on the coolant temp gauge, so I figured it would be just fine.
And, this isn't going to take care of the misfiring issue I've been having, either. Hopefully, the misfiring didn't somehow cause the fan to short out. It would be most annoying to have that fan die again.