2002 Overheats with air conditioning running

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Beagledog

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Joined
May 10, 2021
Thunderbird Year
2002
The car overheats when ac is running...mechanic spent two days searching said he does not know what is wrong...told me the system on these cars is "complicated."Said something about the system being power steering fluid-based and the connections between cooling and ac system, but can't find out why the radiator fan does not come up to speed when ac on... Said it must be electrical but not obvious because he checked the go to's...so anyone come up against this kind of problem? The mechanic has ruled out major components, pumps...trying to sell car and has redone all the leather and the convertible top and the suspension...this is jamming me up...any thoughts? Thanks
 
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Beagledog said:
mechanic spent two days searching said he does not know what is wrong...told me the system on these cars is "complicated."
Click to expand...
It's a hydraulic cooling fan, some people have converted them- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...erbird-hydraulic-cooling-fan-conversion.8605/

We can take the "car is complicated" statement which is meant to redirect blame, and then interpret that as "I'm not able to work on this car" because I'm not trained on how to work on it. You need to take your car to someone familiar with the 2000-2002 Lincoln LS and/or 2002 Thunderbirds.

You can search the forums for "overheating" and also read this thread with some cooling system tips- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...nderbird-thermostat-housing-water-pumps.9778/

Right of the top of my head, I'm not able to recall any posts specifically about overheating only with the A/C is running, which appears to be what you said your problem is. The car does not overhead when the A/C is turned off?


PS This part goes bad a lot on the 2002- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...c-fan-pump-actuator-solenoid-xw4z3783ca.9518/
 
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biddle said:
It's a hydraulic cooling fan, some people have converted them- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...erbird-hydraulic-cooling-fan-conversion.8605/

We can take the "car is complicated" statement which is meant to redirect blame, and then interpret that as "I'm not able to work on this car" because I'm not trained on how to work on it. You need to take your car to someone familiar with the 2000-2002 Lincoln LS and/or 2002 Thunderbirds.

You can search the forums for "overheating" and also read this thread with some cooling system tips- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...nderbird-thermostat-housing-water-pumps.9778/

Right of the top of my head, I'm not able to recall any posts specifically about overheating only with the A/C is running, which appears to be what you said your problem is. The car does not overhead when the A/C is turned off?


PS This part goes bad a lot on the 2002- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...c-fan-pump-actuator-solenoid-xw4z3783ca.9518/
Click to expand...
thanks for the reply..no it does not overheat when the ac is not running. I have recently replaced the thermostat and another of the items I saw on the thread you reccm'd, so I am surprised that I started having this problem
 
My first guess is your hydraulic fan is not working correctly. With ac off fan should always spin at a slow rpm. With ac on fan should spin at a much faster rpm, which will also increase with engine rpm. I bet your hydraulic pump solenoid is not operating correctly, so fan in not speeding up when ac is on. The problem could be solenoid itself, or pump, or car electronics. A knowledgeable mechanic will need to investigate.

What mileage does your car have? Is hydraulic pump reservoir full of fluid, reservoir if mounted on passenger side shock tower. High mileage, and low fluid are what get these systems.

A friend of mine has a 2002 T Bird similar to mine. He was having overheating issues after driving a while. We
discovered his hydraulic fan was not speeding up when engine got warm. As you would guess his Hydraulic Pump Actuator
is bad, and they are not easy to find.

Out of options, I thought why not remove the actuator, and take the plunger out. It was stuck, and of
course the coil burnt out. So we removed the plunger, and put the actuator back in the car.

Car now works fine, does not overheat at all. Yes the hydraulic fan runs at high speed, but he is fine
with that, because it no longer overheats.

Just a thought for those with this problem.
 
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edward301 said:
As you would guess his Hydraulic Cooling Fan Pump Actuator
is bad, and they are not easy to find.
Click to expand...
As you can see in the clickable link for the word Hydraulic Cooling Fan Pump Actuator, there are some on ebay as I type.

www.ebay.com

LINCOLN LS HYDRAULIC COOLING FAN PUMP SENSOR for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for LINCOLN LS HYDRAULIC COOLING FAN PUMP SENSOR at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!
www.ebay.com
 
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