Folk: I noticed my 96-960 wagon's radiator fan running after I shut down. I unplugged the fan from the relay and it of course stopped. Next morning I thought I'd plug it in drive to work and unplug it when I got there. No start. Sounded like it was trying but just wouldn't catch and run.
My theory is/was bad thermo switch/sensor that made the ECU think the car was hot and therefore would not enrich for cold starting. Today, Unplugged the trigger lines from the relay and it stopped. Plugged the trigger back in, no fan. Try to start car, fan started and again did not stop when I turned off the ignition.
I pulled the connector off the temp sensor in the thermostat housing (literally, the bullet connector sockets pulled out of the shell and off their wires. (Now I gotta replace THAT) The car started up fine and no fan running. As I expected, I got a check engine light.
Is there only one sensor? The gauge on the dash read normal. Am I on the right track?
Is this a switch or a linear sensor. It reads 79.3 ohms at room temp in my garage (58degrees).
Local Advance Auto Parts has the sensor for $35.
Whatcha think?
Thanks for any suggestions or info. (My Volvo Guru, Bill Foster, recently passed away and I am without guidance. Not to mention I lost my dear friend of 30 years.)