1st & 2nd Generation (1983–1986 & 1987-1991)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1983-1986 & 1987-1991.
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
I spent a few hours over a couple of days this weekend tracing out the fault that caused both cooling fans to run on high speed whenever the ignition was on and whenever the car was running.
I checked all the sensors, relays, and wiring under the hood...everything tested according to spec.
Turns out my problem was the Condenser Fan Control Amplifier located forward of the glove box. 4 screws hold the actual glove box to the dash. One more removes the bracket that keeps the door from opening too far. Pull the box starting at the top, and the relay looking device is right behind it.
A quick trip to the junkyard for the Amp and a motor mount, and all was well in the Camry Continuum again.
Congrats on the fix! It's always a rewarding feeling to diagnose and fix something yourself, especially when you can get the parts cheap.
How did you manage to trace it to there? "Fan Control Amplifier"?? Never heard of that,I wouldn't have thought there was any such device in the car... I would have thought it was just a bad sensor or relay.
Yeah, my father-in-law thought I was a little insane when he saw me tearing out the glove box to fix the cooling fans that were stuck on.
I figured it out using the electrical schematics I found in the e-version of the repair manual posted in the forum. It was a lot of reading, printing, trying to figure out where the components on paper actually were in the car, and head scratching....and it helps to be handy with a DMM.
I like the way the system is designed so that the fans default to the "ON" state when any component fails.
I like the way the system is designed so that the fans default to the "ON" state when any component fails.
My guess is that it's an open circuit and the component is some kind of resistor, so that when it fails, you have an open circuit keeping the "juice" flowing and the fans running constantly.......
Btw, Toyota is always doing things right....
Did you know if you turn the ignition off with the lights on, the lights will go off as well so as not kill your battery?(figured that one out the other day when I got into my car and I noticed that the 'lights' switch was turned on, but the actual lights were off)........Pretty cool. The only time your lights can stay on with the ignition off is if you turn them on after the ignition is turned off.
The Japanese car companies are always thinking ahead.....my former 1992 Mercury Grand Marquis(gasaholic) didn't even have any of the cool features that my current 1988 Camry has. For example:
Unlock one door with the key, and they all unlock
The headlight thing
.....even cup holders, my Former Mercury didn't even have f-ing cup holders!!!!!!
The only thing that gets on my nerves with the Gen2's is when you 'spritz' the windshield with washer fluid, the wipers dont automatically activate to clean things up
i think the gen2 cam is the only car that i can remember that opening the door kills the lites, and the wiper washer thing is normal for cars back then without a wiper controller of some kind
and the wiper washer thing is normal for cars back then without a wiper controller of some kind
Ive owned alot of 1988 and older cars(as early as 1984), and they all activated the wipers for a short burst to clean things up when 'spritzing' the the window with washer fluid, only the Gen2 Camry is guilty of of NOT doing this in my automotive experiences.
My guess is that it's an open circuit and the component is some kind of resistor, so that when it fails, you have an open circuit keeping the "juice" flowing and the fans running constantly.......
actually, the fan relays are "normally closed", allowing power to run to the fan motors unless all the sensors and other components give the right signals and allow electricity to flow to the magnetic coils in the relays, at which point the magnetic field moves the switch, breaks the contact, and prevents power from running to the fan motors. (how's *that* for a classic run on sentence?)
If any single component fails then the relays lose power and revert back to the default 'closed' position, making the fans turn on.
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I forgot about that until you mentioned it.
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