What would cause the engine light to stay on and the FAN to constantly run even when the engine is cold on a 96 2.2 Engine sunfire?

Answer 1

Possible lead wire for the fan shorting out. These problems may or may not be related. As the first contributor said, there might be a wiring problem in the fan switch to the fan motor circuit. Look for a wire rubbing on something else and look for the insulation on the wire to be damaged. Or the switch itself may be bad. I've seen them fail in the shorted (always closed) mode which will make the fan run all the time. This is probably not good on the fan motor as they are not meant to be used continuously. I can't recall right now what that switch looks like, but if you can get the wiring plug off the back of the switch and can get to the terminals that it plugs onto, you can put an ohm meter across the terminals. (do this with the engine off and stone cold) If the needle deflects, the switch is probably shorted (IE; bad) and needs to be replaced. OR, you can just try to CAREFULLY unplug the fan from the switch while the engine is running and the fan is running. If the fan stops, you can pretty much conclude the same thing...bad switch. NOTE: I don't really recommend this procedure. Fans can hurt you! Try to do this from UNDER the car if you can, so you can keep your fingers and clothing ETC away from the spinning fan. Also, this test presumes that the fan is still running all of the time. As to the Check Engine Light, be sure your fuel tank cap is real tight. If it's loose, it can cause the CEL to come on. Failing that, take the car to Auto Zone or Checker or wherever and have them put a code checker on the car's computer. They usually do this for free! It should give you some idea why the light is on.