The red too hot light in the SS has come on twice now. It acts like it's a problem with the radiator fan not coming on as it cools off as soon as you start moving and heats up when you stop. I checked fuse 7 and it's fine. The book says relay 50 is the fan relay but there is no relay 50 and the sticker says there's not supposed to be a relay there.

There is plenty of coolant in the overflow bottle and the top hose is full when I take off the cap.

Does anyone know if there is a fan relay and where it might be and where the thermostat hides and how much trouble it is to replace?

Thanks, Ira

 

to the forum!

A quick way to confirm if the fan is working is to engage the A/C which will automatically send a fan engagement request to the ECM, if the fan runs....you can eliminate failure of the fan motor.

As far as the relay goes, the book is wrong, it's an artifact left over from some long forgotten engineering change.

What sort of engine temps are you seeing on the DIC?

You may have a failing temperature sensor which feeds data to the ECM controlling fan engagement, or you may have a failing thermostat.

See this thread for its location and the replacement procedure, even though the thread was started with the 2.4 in mind, the location is the same on the 2.0 and 2.2's.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-tutorial-library-21/how-save-%24350-00-thermostat-replacement-2-4l-p0128-24493/

There's just less room to work on the 2.0's, more plumbing and stuff in the way.

 

So she has a new thermostat now. thanks for the link. Here's some thoughts about doing it on an SS.

You probably want a flat blade screwdriver, a 13mm socket, a 3 or 6" extension and a ratchet handle to remove the lower passenger side radiator mount so you can see the drain plug.

Pop off the plastic retainer with the screwdriver. remove the two side bolts on the passenger side lower radiator mount, then carefully remove the center one making sure the radiator does not move very far. Next, slide off the rubber radiator mount insulator. Now you have clear access to the drain plug. The stud that the rubber insulator came off of is hollow and the coolant drains out through it. Place a drain pan under the mount and then loosen the drain plug. I needed a very small channel locks to get it to move at all.

You'll want a 10mm flex socket, a 16" or 20" extension and a ratchet handle for the thermostat. You'll also want some tape or paper to attach the bolts to the socket when you put them back.

Use a light to find the thermostat housing and the two bolts holding it on. It's behind the oil filter on the right side of the engine. Make sure you can reach both bolts with your extension and socket. I was able to take the lower one out with my fingers, but I dropped the top one and thankfully it fell right to the ground.

As soon as I popped the housing free a small bit of coolant come out. The thermostat was so stuck I had to use a hooked piece of welding rod to free it. When I did that another quart of coolant came out.

Once it's free it's just make sure you got all the gasket out, lubricate the gasket and install the new thermostat. Replace the housing and 2 bolts. tighten to 8 or 10 foot pounds, snug.

Close the drain plug, replace the radiator mount, refill the radiator and other than refilling a few more times as the air comes to the top, you're done.

I jacked up the car to find the drain plug so it probably didn't drain as much as it would have it it was level. Now that I know what to do I might not have to lift it next time and it might drain better.

It probably helps a lot if you have long skinny arms. I tried to figure out if I could get some of the wiring out of the way but it the end it didn't seem like it was going to help.

Ira

 

And it's not better! Darn. Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the SS fan and fan module? And is the fan module the box you can see from below the car attached to the fan support?

Thanks, Ira

 

An easy way to find out is to visit a GM parts online site. Most of them have diagrams to look at the positions of the parts.

 

Here's a parts diagram, the module is #3, GM part number 25845280



And a link to a good site for diagrams and GM part numbers....

http://www.gmpartsnow.com/parts-cata...em/cooling-fan

 

I seem to recall someone posting up here about a bad wire connection going to their fan module on a SS. Seems that it was a connection that was close to the module itself. Had a burnt connector or such.
Might be something you want to check into.

 

Well, I finally found a diagram for the 2008 HHR SS. I tried to upload an image but I don't see how.

Basically the Fan controller is something like a big Solid State Relay.

40 Amp Fuse 7 in the under hood fuse block feeds the module

Pin 46 in connector X2 feeds a PWM signal into pin 4 of the module.

The module supplies a proportional output on pin B

Pins A and 2 are both ground

I guess pins A and B are the connector to the fan and pins 1, 2 and 4 are on the connector back to the wiring harness.

Does anyone know it's the controller will work if it gets a 100% on signal, and what the signal level might be? I'd expect pull down to ground to turn on but I guess I won't know till I put a scope on it.

I wonder how hard it would be to repair?

Ira

 

You said it was a solid state relay. That means it is infinitely difficult to repair, probability approaching 0/1.

 

Actually I sad "something like" a solid state relay. and since it comes in a metal box, hopefully with screws, it might be possible. I do surface mount design, assembly and repair so if I can get it open and it's not all potted, it might be possible.

Ira