A/C Condenser Fan(s)
Working on getting the A/C going in my '88 Turbo and ran into a weird issue with the condenser fans.
I recently pulled a vacuum and recharged the system with R134a. It blew ice cold for about a day, but then stopped. I realized my condenser fans aren't kicking on at all, which likely caused the system to over-pressurize and vent the charge when sitting in traffic.
Here is where I'm at and what I need help with:
The Sensor: I found that the A/C water temp switch (the failsafe sensor on the bottom of the thermostat housing) is completely disconnected/bypassed. I'm going to wire in a new one to restore the safety cutoff. I think I have the right part # but seems oem is discontinued..
The Fans (The Weird Part): My car has a dual condenser fan setup. I couldn't get them to turn on through the female connector it was connected to, so I ran test leads directly from the 12v battery to the fan plugs.
Results: The top fan powered up strong. The bottom fan did absolutely nothing (completely dead).
Questions:
Every time I search the forums or parts catalogs for an '88 Turbo, I can't find any mention of a dual condenser fan setup (vertical). Is this dual setup an aftermarket hack from a previous owner, or did some MK3s come with two front fans?
Since the bottom fan is totally dead, what is the best route here? Should I just try to wire the single working top fan to run by itself, or do I need to rip this out and hunt down a true OEM single fan setup?
Any insight is appreciated.. it’s 90 degrees 20-50% humidity here daily 🤣