Forcing '96 Grand Caravan Fan On?

Hi folks:

My wife's 1996 Grand Caravan was showing the "Service Engine Soon" light
reporting a problem with the electric fan. I found the fuse had blown and
replaced it, disconnected the battery to clear the light - all is well so
far.

How can I force the fan on to make sure that it is operative? (My real
question is whether the fuse blew because the fan died (and is bound up or
something) or whether the diagnostic came up just because of a power-spike
that fried the fuse.

I KNOW that one way to find out would be to let the car get hot on a hot day
and make sure that the fan goes on, but I can't predict when that next hot
day would be.

Thanks in advance.

Unless you live in a very cold climate this time of year, you should be able
to idle it in the driveway till it warms up. Not moving down the road to
keep air going through the radiator, it's going to warm up to the point that
either the fan will kick on or it will overheat. If you turn on the AC,
it should force the fan to kick on no matter what - at least it does on my
92.

Wesley


"David Gintz" > wrote in message
...
> Hi folks:
>
> My wife's 1996 Grand Caravan was showing the "Service Engine Soon" light
> reporting a problem with the electric fan. I found the fuse had blown and
> replaced it, disconnected the battery to clear the light - all is well so
> far.
>
> How can I force the fan on to make sure that it is operative? (My real
> question is whether the fuse blew because the fan died (and is bound up or
> something) or whether the diagnostic came up just because of a power-spike
> that fried the fuse.
>
> I KNOW that one way to find out would be to let the car get hot on a hot
day
> and make sure that the fan goes on, but I can't predict when that next hot
> day would be.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>

"David Gintz" > wrote in message
...
> Hi folks:
>
> My wife's 1996 Grand Caravan was showing the "Service Engine Soon" light
> reporting a problem with the electric fan. I found the fuse had blown and
> replaced it, disconnected the battery to clear the light - all is well so
> far.
>
> How can I force the fan on to make sure that it is operative? (My real
> question is whether the fuse blew because the fan died (and is bound up or
> something) or whether the diagnostic came up just because of a power-spike
> that fried the fuse.
>
> I KNOW that one way to find out would be to let the car get hot on a hot
day
> and make sure that the fan goes on, but I can't predict when that next hot
> day would be.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
If the fuse blew chances are you are having a problem with the A/C
compressor or the radiator fan motor is getting ready to go out on you

"maxpower" > wrote in message
...
> If the fuse blew chances are you are having a problem with the A/C
> compressor or the radiator fan motor is getting ready to go out on you
>
>

I just ran the car for a while until the engine got hot. I then turned the
A/C on and noticed that there are two fans in there. One was on while the
other was not. Then, when I shut the car down, I found that I could spin one
of the fans but the other appears to be locked up. Both fans seem to be the
same. Are they both always supposed to be on at the same time? If so, then
it appears I need a new fan.

Thanks for the help, guys.

"David Gintz" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "maxpower" > wrote in message
> ...
> > If the fuse blew chances are you are having a problem with the A/C
> > compressor or the radiator fan motor is getting ready to go out on you
> >
> >
>
> I just ran the car for a while until the engine got hot. I then turned the
> A/C on and noticed that there are two fans in there. One was on while the
> other was not. Then, when I shut the car down, I found that I could spin
one
> of the fans but the other appears to be locked up. Both fans seem to be
the
> same. Are they both always supposed to be on at the same time? If so, then
> it appears I need a new fan.
>
> Thanks for the help, guys.
>
The one that is locked up is the one causing your fuse to pop, and more then
likely that one is on the drivers side which is radiator fan, only comes on
when the engine reaches the temp that requires it to turn on. 212 degrees.
The one on the passenger side is for the A/C compressor, it turns on when
the compressor discharge pressure reaches a preset pressure.. If Im not
mistaken I think the only way to get this from a dealer is as a complete
unit, A complete assembly meaning both motors blades and shroud, I may even
have a new one here at the house still in the box

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

"maxpower" > wrote in message
...

> The one that is locked up is the one causing your fuse to pop, and more
> then
> likely that one is on the drivers side which is radiator fan, only comes
> on
> when the engine reaches the temp that requires it to turn on. 212 degrees.
> The one on the passenger side is for the A/C compressor, it turns on when
> the compressor discharge pressure reaches a preset pressure.. If Im not
> mistaken I think the only way to get this from a dealer is as a complete
> unit, A complete assembly meaning both motors blades and shroud, I may
> even
> have a new one here at the house still in the box
>
> Glenn Beasley
> Chrysler Tech
>
>

Actually, the one that is not working is the one on the passenger side. Now,
as for having "one here at the house in the box", does that mean you want to
sell it?

(What should I expect to pay for this anyway?)

"David Gintz" > wrote in message
...
>
> "maxpower" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> > The one that is locked up is the one causing your fuse to pop, and more
> > then
> > likely that one is on the drivers side which is radiator fan, only comes
> > on
> > when the engine reaches the temp that requires it to turn on. 212
degrees.
> > The one on the passenger side is for the A/C compressor, it turns on
when
> > the compressor discharge pressure reaches a preset pressure.. If Im not
> > mistaken I think the only way to get this from a dealer is as a complete
> > unit, A complete assembly meaning both motors blades and shroud, I may
> > even
> > have a new one here at the house still in the box
> >
> > Glenn Beasley
> > Chrysler Tech
> >
> >
>
> Actually, the one that is not working is the one on the passenger side.
Now,
> as for having "one here at the house in the box", does that mean you want
to
> sell it?
>
> (What should I expect to pay for this anyway?)
>
Check to see if you can get an aftermarket fan motor first, I dont remember
what years Chrysler made it so that you had to buy the complete unit, But if
I have the one you need I will sell it, Contact your local dealer and find
out what the part number is, The one I bought for my van is a 4682624, I
think I paid $300.00, I will let it go for $125.00.

But anyway, if you let your A/C run untill the pressure builds up, the PCM
will request that fan turn on.....it will pop the fuse again

One more (final?) question:

the fan on the passenger side doesn't spin freely (even when off)
although the fan on the driver side does spin freely. Does this
indicate that the passenger (A/C) fan is seized or is it supposed to be
different than the other side?

Thanks.

"David" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> One more (final?) question:
>
> the fan on the passenger side doesn't spin freely (even when off)
> although the fan on the driver side does spin freely. Does this
> indicate that the passenger (A/C) fan is seized or is it supposed to be
> different than the other side?
>
> Thanks.
>

ahhh yea

If this ever happens to you like it did on our
96 GrVoyager 3.3L, be sure to unplug the fan that siezed and replace the
fuse so you at least have the other fan running until you can replace the
whole unit. By the way, I bought an aftermarket replacement unit from
1aauto.com for $139.95 plus $16 shipping. The dealer wanted $427 plus tax
(just for the part, no labor) and the mopar web site had it for $332 plus
shipping.
The $139.95 fans are now in the car and working great, quality looks the
same or better than the original mopar unit.