Hey guys. My wife's 06 base model has been overheating in traffic lately. The first day it happened, I checked the coolant and it was a bit low so I added more and replaced the thermostat because I read about the leaky gasket being common. I also checked the power steering fan and found that plastic cage around it was slightly broke. I glued the cage back together. All fuses were fine and none had blown.

She didn't have any problems with it for a few days.

The problem came back today and it has plenty of coolant. You can definitely hear the high speed fan kick on when the A/C is on and the car is idling. I haven't had time to check and see if the PS Fan cage broke again.

I'm trying to find out if there is a difference in symptoms between the PS fan and stage 1 resistor being out? As far as I can tell they both present with the same symptoms and I don't really want to pull the fan out just to find out that the resistor is fine. On the same hand I don't want to blow more money replacing the PS Fan if it is working fine.

 

To test if low speed fan is working:
Turn A/C on.
PS cooling fan should engage. (may have to get down there and look, its not that loud )
About 20-30 seconds later, low speed engine cooling fan should engage. ( also hard to hear over engine running. Get a good flashlight and check fan blades for movement )