Fan might not come on until 219 degrees, normal coolant temperature should be between 178 and 184, if you have the AC Delco 131-158 180 degree thermostat. Which is the correct one

 

I would guess my thermostat is a 195 one. My Land Rover has a 180 in it and it barely makes enough heat to warm the inside of the vehicle. I thought it had an overheating problem and dumped a bunch of money into it only to find it is a bad temp gauge on the dash.

 

HHR is supposed to be 180F t-stat. Anything else will confuse the computer. The job of a t-stat is to keep the temp ABOVE the t-stat rating.

 

Well, my temps run pretty consistently from 192-196 with an occasional jump to 201 at stop lights.

Outside temp got up to 40 degrees today so I tried the a/c and it came on. the cooling fan did not. so I guess we do some more testing. I'll start with fuses....been there!

 

Cooling fan doesn’t come on until 219 degrees.
Thermostat should be open at 180 degrees.
Cooling fan should come on when ac or defrost is on .

 

Not a fuse or relay if the fan runs but does not run with AC. If it never runs then suspect fuse, relay or fan motor.

 

I have not seen or heard the fan run. first time I saw the compressor kick in was yesterday when temp got up to 40 degrees outside.

with the heat selector on defrost, I can't put the heater in recirculate mode. it only stays on outside air. when I switch to the heat/ac side, I can select recirculate mode.
temp outside is 31 degrees and the a/c or fan do not come on. tried in A/C mode, and in defrost mode, neither turned on the compressor. maybe if it gets warmer out by 8-10 degrees but forecast is colder for the next few days. The fuse tests OK, relay doesn't look burnt or smell burned. I will likely replace the relay just for the heck of it.

Once it gets above 50 degrees out, I could be replacing the thermostat, still confusing since I have seen posts of coolant temps hitting 203 at stop lights which sounds like a big difference between 180 and 200. I am seeing an occasional 201 temp at long lights now. It drops back to 196 after a few yards of driving.

 

The Owner Manual explains recirc. It turns the AC on with no indicator same with defrost.

LOOK AT MY SIG BEFORE YOU TELL ME YOU DON'T HAVE AN OWNER MANUAL.

 

Looking at the Haynes repair manual (got it with the car) the cooling fan runs off the relay, which is controlled by the ECM and is not physically wired to the a/c clutch. i have a couple of relays on order and if nothing else i can jumper to Lt Blu wire (12v) to see if the fan works or not. tomorrow has snow in the forecast, and Sat high is around 18 degrees so we shall see how it works out.

Wiring schematics are not in the owners manual (which I have from previous owner in glove box)

 

OK, we want to over complicate things.
First, try to run a hot wire to the fan to test it.
Assuming you already looked at the fuse, then worry about the relay.
The ECM just sends a signal to the relay.

Weakest point is the fan motor not any of the mysterious magic stuff that rarely fails.