When Should The Fan Run?

[IAmGary]

A stupid question but my searches didn't turn up a definitive answer so here goes:

In all the cars I've ever driven the radiator fan starts up when the car is turned on (at least, every time I've opened the hood I see it spinning). Should this also be the case with an m20 e30 or will the fan stay off until the thermostat triggers it in response to a threshold temp being reached?

Last night noticed the fan wasn't running after 30 minutes of driving. Turned on the AC for 5 minutes and it still didn't come on. My temp gauge is flaky so I can't trust it to tell me anything.

[jlevie]

The aux fan is thermostatically controlled and only comes on when the radiator temperature is high. If the engine driven fan is working properly the aux fan should only come on when A/C is being used and the car is idling or in stop and go traffic.

[IAmGary]

Thanks!

[Robotin]

The aux fan is thermostatically controlled and only comes on when the radiator temperature is high. If the engine driven fan is working properly the aux fan should only come on when A/C is being used and the car is idling or in stop and go traffic.

i think this is the first time ive seen a thread not turn into everyone argueing..

glad some people know what they r doing..