Cooling Fan Bad?

[Makensmoke]

I have been on the road for 2 days and 15 miles before my destination the cooling fan started to cycle, now it seems like it is locked on. I am driving to warmer temperatures and guess my A/C is probably running now but have never noticed my fan running this much. Engine, trans and engine oil temps are all in check.

With the engine off the fan spins with resistance. Not a lot of posts on cooling fans on a ‘16 out there, anyone know any failsafe diagnosis procedures? Thank you in advance

 

[Ozymandias]

Yes connect it to wiTech or AlfaOBD to see what it's actually doin. Command and Return is the key. This fan is entirely controlled by the ECM and therefore that's the online way to check it.

Resistance you feel by hand is normal.

 

[bcbender]

Resistance you feel by hand is normal.

Mine failed but I had the opposite phenomena, no noise but when Idling with the A/C on the A/C cabin air would get hot, truck never overheated as there was enough airflow at highway speed,. Mine also felt and had resistance, but something in the electrical signal was NG so I replaced it with the MOPAR part from Geno's and never had any issues after that.

 

[Makensmoke]

I wonder if my exhaust was cleaning?? I have never heard the fan roar like this, but after starting it a few times and then driving it 2 miles to park for the night it stopped acting locked up.

Is fan clutch lockup part of the regeneration process by chance? I have never witnessed a regeneration cycle, pretty new to it all.

 

[bcbender]

Not sure, this is my first emissions equip truck also, I do know on my 04 that after startup especially with A/C on, the fan would roar until I got it up to speed on the road... so a few min or so. And if it was warm and A/C on it was always loud off a stop n go, but I also had a manual with 4:10s so three shifts really quick off lights so it would make noise.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

I wonder if my exhaust was cleaning?? I have never heard the fan roar like this, but after starting it a few times and then driving it 2 miles to park for the night it stopped acting locked up.

Is fan clutch lockup part of the regeneration process by chance? I have never witnessed a regeneration cycle, pretty new to it all.

No, not any part of the DPF regen cycle includes engaging the fan.

 

[Elsbury]

Mine went out on my 19. Had a new fan clutch put in and fine now. It allways runs for a minute or so at startup but then shuts off.

 

[Ozymandias]

By the way, that fan isn't "locking up" like in the old days. It's a PWM signal and the ECM demands certain rpms from the fan that he thinks are sufficient for the cooling of the engine.
That fan can run at any rpm.

That's what I meant with command and Return. The ECM commands, let's say 1200rpm and then the fan speeds up to that and sends back a message to the ECM when he has reached that speed.
If these numbers don't match - MIL and limp mode are activated by the ECM.

 

[Tuesdak]

The AC will kick the fan on-off (to the lockup % it needs) depending on head pressure rather quickly. It can be roaring in less than a block at 25 MPH for AC. Generally it's not needed for AC over 45 MPH. In the winter with no AC my fan hardly runs and on my 2003 MT the MPG went up 5 MPG. AC uses a lot of engine fan.

The diagnostics for the fan indicate a "It's Dead Jim" situation only. The delays in the system do not catch "slow" or "weak" failures.

The fan running on first cold startup is called "Morning Sickness" and is normal. The working fluid moves around and locks the clutch in when it's off IF the ports line up just right. So it isn't always going to happen. Further if the fan was locked in when shut off it will still be locked in the next day. Cold working fluid takes time to move and unlock.

Now don't overlook a clogged cooling stack from bugs, debris, etc. In this case the AC Condenser having restricted cooling will kick the fan in the quickest due to high head pressure. Heat aka hotter condenser = higher head pressure.

Inspect the fan clutch for leaks.

Bottom line if your fan cycles on and off it's working. (It may be old and slow, but, that's another failure mode.)

 

[bcbender]

If these numbers don't match - MIL and limp mode are activated by the ECM.

Is that on the new trucks? My 04 never set a MIL light or limp mode...

 

[Ozymandias]

Mi

Is that on the new trucks? My 04 never set a MIL light or limp mode...

It will, just ford a river were the Fan is slowed down from the water. That was the first time I experienced that limp feature with my 04.5

 

[Makensmoke]

I drove it home 1,300 miles as is. The fan got on its cycling kick a few times intermittently but nothing that I could make sense of.

Only thing I can think is that it is AC head pressure related...the compressor was cycling quite a bit before I left so I put a (do it yourself) gauge on it and ended up putting a can of refrigerant in it. I have the same issue with my '00. (compressor cycling)

 

[Tuesdak]

Our AC systems are charged by weight. (Some who do AC for a living maybe can charge it by gauges...) Best to evac the system a recharge it to the proper amount. Too much refrigerant floods out the accumulator, causes higher head pressure, and more fan demand. A can may be a little shy of what's needed then you have a compressor oil starving situation from low refrigerant levels.

Those do it yourself kits... just wasted 50% of the labor cost to charge it properly at a shop...

 

[Ltngdrvr]

Plus, those do it yourself kits don't even have the correct kind of freon for our trucks do they???

 

[Topzide]

Plus, those do it yourself kits don't even have the correct kind of freon for our trucks do they???

They sure do. What's worse is when someone uses the can with stop leak in it!!! That stuff causes more problems and then requires a flush and clean. Was told that if you've used can with sealer in it and don't tell them, they can charge you for the freon that has been ruined in the recharge tank. Best to leave to the pros if you're not going to fix it the right way. Plus most cans are 24 ozs and systems call for 1.91 lbs as an example. How do you know how much is in system with evacuating system, fixing leak and recharge. It's pretty simple to due but requires a fare amount of tools to do correctly!

 

[Makensmoke]

Following up- I brought the truck to our local dealer. Ouch.

They evacuated the system (including the extra 1.7lbs I had in it) put dye in it, sucked it down and found no leaks. Put the correct measurement in and zinged me $380. They didn't even credit me for the 1.7 lbs of freon I left them! lol.

I apparently bought the truck over filled because I only put 1) one pound can in- for the record the gauge was showing my charge was mid way between the green (good) field. Note to self, those handy gauges are not accurate on all models.

The short cycling of the compressor I was hearing may have been from over charge, not under charge.

Either way, thank you for the comments. Up next, leaking rear Fox shocks with 30K on them.

 

[bcbender]

Had FOX2.0 on my 04.. I would call them and see what they can do, they are supposed to be rebuildable and have a good warranty. I had mine on for 7yrs and about 70K miles w/o any issues.

 

[Makensmoke]

Had FOX2.0 on my 04.. I would call them and see what they can do, they are supposed to be rebuildable and have a good warranty. I had mine on for 7yrs and about 70K miles w/o any issues.

I hinted at it when I reached out to them about getting them rebuilt...they didn't offer more than $86 apiece to rebuild them. They look to have a 1 year warranty. I like the ride of my 2.0 so much I just put thousands of $$ into my Harley suspension, upgrading to Fox- hope I have better luck there. At least they can be rebuilt just think its too early. Truck is never dirtier than my profile pic!

 

[bcbender]

ya.. mine were plenty dirty so its not that.. Probably a bad seal so could be an easy fix... I guess I am not the only guy out there that is QC for the aftermarket industry....

I am not sure how your conversation went but I usually try to let any vendor know how taking care of the issue is in their best interests from word of mouth advertising. I'd say if they are far out of warranty I would settle for parts and consumables.. but that's me. I am in a dispute with a paint vendor now and after they "said" they would comp me the materials.. I've yet to see a check so go figure.. Good luck.

 

[Ozymandias]

Following up- I brought the truck to our local dealer. Ouch.

They evacuated the system (including the extra 1.7lbs I had in it) put dye in it, sucked it down and found no leaks. Put the correct measurement in and zinged me $380. They didn't even credit me for the 1.7 lbs of freon I left them! lol.

I apparently bought the truck over filled because I only put 1) one pound can in- for the record the gauge was showing my charge was mid way between the green (good) field. Note to self, those handy gauges are not accurate on all models.

The short cycling of the compressor I was hearing may have been from over charge, not under charge.

Either way, thank you for the comments. Up next, leaking rear Fox shocks with 30K on them.

Let me guess, you have no shield for the piston shaft?