wiring for idiots

[losinit@usa.net (Cathy Boyko)]

Okay, I'm going nuts here, trying to fix my rad fan. I spliced in a new
uncorroded plug to the thermosensor at the base of the rad, and while I w=
as at
it, I wired in a manual bypass on a switch. It all seemed to work, and I =
went
for a drive, and the fan ran on afterwards as it should, and turned off.

So I get home, no after run, the car is hot enough, fan isn't going. Wasn=
't
going when I checked it on the road, and the car ran a bit hotter than us=
ual.
So I redo one of the solder joints, and check to see if I can jumper it, =
looks
good.  The "switch" circuit has also stopped working, and it is on a diff=
erent
power supply, which has stopped providing power for some reason.

So, any help here would be good.

1. A stupid basic question - advice on the best way to join two or three =
wires
together. I used the twist and solder, then electrical tape method. I'm n=
ot
convinced this is the best.

2. What I observed and what I think it means.
Hot water is moving into the rad okay (should trip the thermoswitch)
Fan runs when jumped (fan is good, wiring to thermoswitch plug/fan/power =
also
good, switch circuit done properly, since it works in the "normal" mode)
12+ V to the plug's positive connector (a good thing)
Fan after run WAS fine, and turned itself off (thermoswitch is good? it's=

nearly new)
Battery just over 13 V (so it's fine)
Fuses all intact and clean (also fine)
Switch circuit runs fine when hooked directly to the battery, so power is=
 the
problem there, that I can deal with, but it is independant of the other
circuit's power supply, so why is it also screwed up?

I'll go double check that the plug is inserted properly, but everything i=
s
clean and new, essentially.


So what the heck have I missed? =


Thanks, I did everything in the Bentley, but I don't want to change the
thermoswitch if I don't need to. But it sort of points to that, doesn't i=
t.
This car makes me nuts. That switch is only a year old, do they fail ofte=
n?
(and is 85 degrees the low temp one?)

Sorry for all the questions, but this car is evil and I need your  suppor=
t. =

What DID I spend my time on before I had it? Cathy