Radiator fan quit working... any ideas on how to troubleshoot?

[Joseph Dell]

So we finally have a nice viper day in Atlanta and I was wondering why my car was running a little hot... turns out the radiator fan isn't kicking on at all.

I tried the trick where you pull the AC/Clutch fuse and then turn on the AC to get the fan to engage... nothing. Checked the 50a fuse under the hood... looks fine.

How does one go about trouble-shooting this?

Shop manual says pin 1 is high speed, pin 2 is low, and pin 3 is ground (on the connector to the fan) so I took a volt-meter and tried to find voltage coming out of that connector... but no luck. so i don't know if it is electrical, PCM, or other. Anyone have any ideas on what I can do to try to fix this?

Heck, I'd wire in a bypass to run it (switched) all the time if I knew how. but something tells me that 12v to the fan isn't going to cut it...

Thanks in advance!

Joseph

 

[99 R/T 10]

Hey JD,
Fuse would have been my first thought, do you have a manual? Trouble shooting guide might offer a clue. I check mine and get back to ya. Second thought would be a fried fan motor. My 96 would work in low speed and caused my A/C to blow

 

[Qualitywires.com]

JD,

One of the fan wires is black for ground I think and the other two are for high speed and low speed. If you run your high speed on all the time, I think you take the chance of running down your battery even when you're driving. I would just connect a 12 volt lead on one of the positive wires and stick your finger in the shroud by the fan impellers...if you feel pain the fan works!

It could be a bad relay also.

 

[big-n-italian]

Mine wasn't working last year. I had a bad connection at the fan if I remeber right. I I took it apart, and cleaned the connection well, works fine now.

 

[Joseph Dell]

hum...

I tried running a wire directly from the 12v lead to the HIGH connector... and from the ground to the GROUND connector (ys, i have a manual) and no dice. If it is suppose to work, then my motor may be toasted. stuck an entire hand in there and didn't lose any fingers!

I like the idea of taking it apart and cleaning it... i'll try that before i plunk down the $$$ on a new one.

As for the rest of the trouble-shooting... if it just takes power to make the fan spin,then i bet mine is toast.

Thanks for the advice!

JD

 

[Cudaman]

Joesph ...... do you have a Roe kit on the fan?


Cudaman


P.S. That is a loooooog couple of hours......hmmmmmmmm

 

[V10 ACR]

I had the same problem. First check the relays housed in the box ahead of the PDC. Mine were burnt and melted. Replaced the relays (about $10 each) and still no dice. Fan moter was toast. Went to dealer to get a new motor, but had to get the entire fan assembly. Expected a large hit, but the part was only $165.00. Took alll of 30 min to swap it out. Works great.

 

[Mark Red GTS Cooper]

I had the same problem, bad connection at the fan, cleaned and it was fine!

Mark

 

[Joseph Dell]

Here is an update - took the fan out, cleaned the contacts, and put power directly to the contacts... fan spun. So the fan works... now i need to figure out why the car isn't making it kick on. Any ideas where to look? Or if it is a relay, which relay would be the culprit?

thanks in advance!!

JD

 

[Jay Lopez]

In 2003, we had an article in our North Texas Viper Club newsletter that describes temporarily using one of the two fan relays to act as a starter relay in an emergency. The article is still available. There are 2 fan relays near the battery jumper post under the hood.

http://www.northtexasviperclub.com/newsletters/newsletter2003-08.htm