Hopefully: Final Solution

tweety2300 said:

When it gets to the set temperature the fan should come on and stay on and not turn off till it gets down to set temperature. Me an my brother have been fighting this issue with my moms vibe. It could be a partially blown fuse or bad relay or in her case the circuit in the fuse box went out all together. Next step with it is just run a toggle switch to it or run a wire into the stereo and keep it on all the time. It should not cut on and off while over heating

Click to expand...

Actually, you can get an 'electric fan install kit' which comes with a seperate sensor for the radiator, a relay and wiring. I used one to fix a '93 LeBaron POS that the fans would not come on. Fixed it! I see the kits at Autozone by the electric fans and flex fans...

im feelin like an OG. battery tested at 3.6 and nothing turned on. googled the battery, and apparently its from wal mart and has a 3 year free replacement warranty. sticker says 9/11. s*** better be free.

well had the battery tested at Oreillys and they said it was fine. Tested the alt and it was bad. So, i replaced the alternator with http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa.../N-jkkqlZ93xme?itemIdentifier=411007_23521_0_

alternator: Duralast #12070( Mazda Protege 2.0L MFI DOHC 4cyl)

Tested it after install and everything was fine (belt deflection, reconnect plugs, etc). After about 20 minutes of driving the check engine light came on. No overheating, no battery indicator. Idle was a little rough at first, but after a few startups it decreased a lot. Removed the negative cable for 5 minutes several times. At first it would go away but came back after 20 minutes. Now it just stays on upon starting the engine.

The gas cap is rotates and clicks several times. There is no unclicking when i remove it, so maybe it needs a new gas cap???

Just a recap of recent work:
-i replaced radiator, hoses, ect sensor, thermostat, radiator cap, air filter, cleaned MAF sensor, replaced cracked coolant overflow/resevoir tank, spark plugs, coils, oil change, coolant flush, egr valve (i bought the one that was most recommended on here...but you bastards all live in cold weather climates, so i guess my octopus egr will come in handy if the climate completely changes....but i digress)
-shop worked on head gasket, timing belt and water pump replacement, radiator cap, thermostat, air filter
-shop told me to change oil about 1000 miles down the road since their would be some crap in the engine that would work itself out.
-just replaced alternator. belt and fuses all looked fine.

So tomorrow morning i will have a shop scan and see what pops up. Luckily, while this is happening, my gf is having bulls*** problems with the wheels on her civic.

ive already spent around $2500 easily on parts and labor. this is getting to be bulls***. i just want a working car...you know, for jobs, having a life, etc.

not even sure if its related, but i might just throw in my spare NGK spark plugs tomorrow. unsure what the shop used.