I need help!
I have an 06 Pt Cruiser that recently started overheating. I first noticed it after I pulled up to my destination(which is about a 45 minute drive). When I shut the car off it was overheated to the point of bubbling and gurgling. I let it cool off for about 2 hours before starting it again. Drove back home with no issues of overheating. Next day after about 15 minutes of driving it started to overheat again so I pulled into autozone and bought a thermostat and new fluid. Drained all the fluid, installed thermostat, hooked 1/4 in hose to bleed valve ran to a bottle and plugged overflow hole while slowly pouring fluid back in until no more air was coming through and got a steady stream, started car with heated on and topped it off, also filled overflow to appropriate level, let the car run for about 30 minutes and it would heat up to half way and fan would kick on and bring it back down (did this about 3 times). Thought it was fixed. Next day after about an hour and a half of driving (I do doordash for work) I pulled to a stop and left car running, when I came back out car was starting to over heat again? Let it cool down again and started making my way back home and realized while moving it done just fine, when coming to a stop it started over heating. After reading up on this some I read you can test if your fan is working by turning on your ac, when ac is on fan should be on so I turned the car on, turned ac on and fan kicked on. Immediately turned car off and right back on and tried ac again and this time fan did not kick on? What should I do?
PS my father in law owned the PT before me and he replaced the fan once already with a fan from a salvage yard but when he did he cut out the relays and hard wired it.

 

You could diagnose with a multimeter or test light, but it sounds like you already know what to do

Also sounds like you've done a pretty thorough job addressing the coolant side of things. Pop the cap again to make sure it isn't low or losing any.

The fan doesn't ALWAYS run when the A/C is on, only when the pressure is high and needs the fan to cool down/decrease pressure.

• If it's not cycling on-off regularly like that AND it's not coming on for the coolant either, then it's probably the fan (which you said is hardwired to run any time the car is running in the first place). You could test the fan separately with 12V and ground to confirm.
• If the A/C is regularly cycling the fan on/off, and it's just not working for engine coolant (supposed to be on when the car is running), then it's probably 1 bad stage of the fan (can test each stage separately), or something bad with the wiring/fuses that your father-in-law rigged.

The fan and relays in general have a limited lifespan. Your best off replacing them with new generic ones than old used junkyard ones, and OEM might actually be worth it in the long-run for it as well.

• Generics are about $45-70 on sites like eBay and Amazon, but make sure you get the fan, shroud, and relays, not just a fan. Something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/40155923436...l%3APT+Cruiser
• OEM is anywhere from $300-400 with relays depending on the dealership/location.

FWIW, I've been successfully using a generic replacement for about 3 years now without any issues. You may not be as lucky with a generic.

USE THE RELAYS and ditch the wire hacks! Properly regulating the coolant temp affects fuel efficiency, emissions, engine power, less parasitic loss from alt strain powering that high-amp fan, engine life, oil life, and all kind of other things. That fan serves a larger purpose than just "keeping the coolant temps down". It's one part of a larger system, and that system needs the relay to work right to keep the temps at the OPTIMUM range. Thermostats exist for this very reason, intending to get the coolant UP to optimum temp as quickly as possible. The fan works on the other end of the spectrum by getting the coolant DOWN to optimum temp as quickly as possible AND ONLY AS NEEDED. Use the relays and get it working properly again.


That's what I have for you right now. Check back if you have any questions or issues with any of the testing/diagnosing, and if you get it fixed.

 

I have a 2006 that had an overheating issue. Put 2 fans in it on my own, then had the fan relay replaced with no luck, then what fixed it was the coolant temperature sensor. Maybe try that!