(Yet another) MSP overheating issue

I haven't been on in a long time, but I'm hoping you guys can help me out. I've been having overheating issues for a while now. In the past my car was overheating all the time. I've since replaced the thermostat, and the radiator cap.

It's still overheating but now it seems to only overheat when sitting still in traffic, so I try to take backroads so I can keep moving. Today as I pulled in my driveway the temp gauge got up to about 3/4 of the way to hot. I waited for it to cool down and drove it around the neighborhood and it never got above normal temp, I guess I didn't drive it long enough.

I will confirm tomorrow on the way home, but I'm pretty sure the radiator fan isn't kicking on, only the A/C fan (I live in FL so I always have the A/C on). I checked the relay, it was fine, and connected the fan directly to the battery and it spun fine. I also checked the connection to the fan for power and it wasn't getting any power, but it may have already cooled off enough to the point where it shouldn't have been getting power.

The water pump seems to be working fine. With the radiator cap open, the thermostat opens and I can see it flowing.

The head gasket (I think) is fine, I have checked the oil, and no signs of coolant, I haven't done a compression test yet.

At this point I'm starting to think the coolant temperature sensor may be bad, and not sending the signal to turn the fan on. However, I've read other posts with people saying they got a CEL when their temp sensor needed to be replaced. My car has gotten pretty hot, but I never got a CEL. Also, does anyone know where the temp sensor is located at? It got dark before I found it.

Sorry for the long post, I've been racking my brain on this one for a while. Thanks in advance for the help,

Michael

did you flush out the old coolant?

What part of FL. If you're close I can take a look.

The radiator fan would be a big issue. You couldn't get it to overheat (after you had let it cool down) at idle?

I live in Tallahassee. Too far from Ocala.

I've flushed it out about 3 months ago when I changed the thermostat.

After I let it cool and it idled in the driveway it never overheated. I had the a/c turned off but the a/c fan would kick on and off like it usually does. I assume this is done to "backup" the radiator fan?

It didn't overheat on the ride home today. But when I got home, again the a/c fan was running without the a/c on and the radiator fan never turned on (3-4 minutes) while idling in the driveway.

Maybe this is normal fan operation? It's been so long since everything worked the way it should.

try revving up the engine the fan should turn out in a minute or 2 maybe check and make sure the sensor for the fan still works and check the fuses for the fan

Anyone know where the fan sensor located off the top of their head? I'm fighting serious sinus problems. So I'd rather go out there with a game plan haha

Not sure about the MSP, but I do know that most secondary fans will come on after a certain threshold temp is reached. This may be the case. But if you still have not seen the primary fan come on, I would start there.

Check your fuses and relays for the radiator fan.

Couple of weeks have gone by and it hasn't overheated once. I've double checked the fuses and relays to both fans, they all have a clean bill of health. Still can't figure out why the rad fan won't kick on, but like I said, it hasn't overheated in two weeks without it so... idk. The weather is finally cooling down. Maybe I can figure it out next summer (just kidding). I'd like to figure it out. I'm not giving up just yet.