I have a 1994 caprice 5.7 liter v8 with two cooling fans. The second one is only supposed to come on when the a/c is running. It does not due to the Engine Control Module (computer brain) not telling it to. The fan was tested with a direct wire and it works fine. The options are to replace the ECM or run a jump wire where the relay for you fan(s) are and connect a toggle switch to it and cut it off and on as needed. .
You probably have a bad temperature sensor. TS reads the temp of the coolant and turns the fans on when hot enough. Without it the fans arent controlled by temp. When you turn on the AC the fans always come on.
When I turn my AC on sometimes they come on and sometimes dont, causing it to overheat. I checked the fans by hotwiring from the battery and they turned on everytime.
The cooling fans are set to come on when the coolant reaches 224 degrees (low speed) and 240 degrees (high speed). If they do not turn on (without the AC) then either your coolant does not reach 224, or the switch that turns them on and off is bad. The switch should not be hard to replace, or too expensive. Since you mention that they do come on with the AC, then we know it's not the fans themselves.
check to see if your rad. fans come on when you turn on your a/c the compressor will not work if the do not come on
Yes, when the a/c is used the engine works harder which rises the temp of the engine then turn the fans on to cool the radiator.
Close the blinds, fans
A fans blades are driven by motors. Since there are both AC and DC motors, fans can be AC or DC. The fans in your computer are DC fans. Your ceiling fans are AC fans. (Thanks for fixing my answer)
I believe that the fan(s) come on automatically with the AC system. Someone else might be able to confirm that. If so, then I would guess that you need to find and replace the temp sensor/switch for the fans.
check the relay / check the temp sensor / try turning the fan on by turning on the AC - fan should come on when the AC compresor turns on /
If the AC is on, that is normal.
Electric fans on vehicles only run when necessary,,,over heating or the temperature getting near a dangerous level. They just do not come one when the vehicle runs. Normally they WILL come on if you turn the AC on because of the added stress on the engine.
they do for the ac they only come on when the engine temp is peaked about 210 deg