2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser Cooling fan not turning on

KANSAS13

MEMBER
2002 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER
2.6L
AUTOMATIC
80,000 MILES

Car was overheating when idling in traffic with A/C on, took to shop and was told that the cooling fan was not turning on. Instead of paying the shop to replace the fan I bought the part and installed it myself. Once it was installed I took it for a test drive and it was still overheating and I think the fan still isn't turning on. Looking for advice on what I could have done wrong, or other things that could be causing the fan to not work. Thanks!

Monday, July 7th, 2014 AT 9:16 PM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

Did they actually diagnose the fan motor as defective or just say it wasn't running? Was the old motor tight? There's relays in the circuit too. The first thing is to determine if the Engine Computer is turning the low speed relay on. You can try to do that by feeling it or using a test light or voltmeter when the engine gets real hot, but it's a lot easier with a scanner that allows you to command the computers to do things. That's part of what you pay the mechanic for. I have a Chrysler DRB3 scanner because with an extra plug-in card, it works on other car brands too. A lot of shops bought them because of that ability. They cost over $6000.00, and like all other scanners, can cost hundreds of dollars per year to keep updated.

Also consider that if the old motor was tight, it will draw heavy current and blow a fuse. On a 2002 model that should be a large plug-in fuse, but on older ones it was a fuse link wire that was spliced into the circuit it protects. You can identify that by testing for 12 volts on either terminal 30 or 87 of the relay.

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