Electric fan issue, im stumped

Having a fan issue on my GTX. It has a chevy HHR fan on it. Its activated by a toggle switch and uses a relay. The problem im having is when the car is running, it will stop working for a period of time, then just turn back on by itself. Its very unpredictable, sometimes it stays off for a long while, sometimes a short while. Ive tested it when it shuts off by itself, and its getting 12.4 volts to the motor, but fan doesn't work. It only seems to do this when the car has been running for a bit. Any ideas?? Am I overlooking something? Im at the point where im thinking about buying a new fan assembly. I need my fan working, its run to hot without it. Any input would be great, thanks

What sort of fuse is going to the fan? Is it a circuit breaker by chance?

Where is the fan grounded? 12.4v to the fan is nice, but if it doesn't have a ground, the motor won't turn.

Have you tried swapping relays with a different one and/or one of higher capacity? Perhaps the fan is over-loading the relay in amperage and is providing an intermittent connection.


If those don't get you there, you may have a bum fan, fairly doubtful, but possible.

confirm no loose electrical connections/terminals. confirm good continuity in the ground path (I'm thinking you are OK there. all that is left is a bad fan motor (what I'm thinking it is). just jump the case to ground & if the "hot in" terminal has fire then the motor is shot. likely you could pull it & get it to act up on your bench

It might be possible that the fan has a built in thermal switch that shuts it off if the motor gets too hot. Probably to prevent a potential fire.