I have replaced the cooling relay and the fans still don’t come on. I had a mechanic look at the car a few months ago and said it was the radiator well I replaced that and clearly that wasn’t the issue because I’m having the same problem. The coolant overflow bubbles when engine is hot. Because obviously the fans aren’t coming on. Thermostat opens and closes said a different mechanic. I don’t want to spend a lot of money repairing the issue. This was my dads car when he passed in 2010 so for sentimental reasons I want to keep it.

 

What model/year?

I have the same issue. 1993 Protege DX. Fan will spin if powered directly to 12V. Relay in fuse box replaced. There is a single wire temp switch on the driver's side of the head toward the top. I tried a different (used) one of those. There is also a test point where you can jumper a couple pins, turn the key on, and see if the fan spins. Mine used to spin doing that, but now doesn't. Before summer I'll probably break down and just pay my favorite mechanic. I don't want to go through yet another summer without the fan working. That's a PITA. It works as long as traffic doesn't get backed up, but when it does I'm sitting on the side of the road waiting for the engine to cool off and/or traffic to ease.