2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Horton Fan Problem

[PCrable]

Hi All,

last week, I had the fun of going elk hunting in the mountains of Colorado and pulled my 5th wheel up to the hunting area.



On the trip there, everything was fine until I got off the main road and was driving on the gravel up some small inclines. The engine coolant temperature kept riging until it pinned at 240 and the check guages light came on. After letting it cool down, I got up the road a little farther and it did the same thing. Some diagnosis showed that the fan was not engaging, even with the manual override switch under the dash.



Once we got cam set up, I did some diagnosis with my circuit tester. The wiring going up to the fan was working fine. It would supply 12 volts to the fan. An ohm meter on the fan showed an open connection and applying 12 volts to the fan directly didn't do anything.



Luckily, one of the guys with us had a satellite phone (cell phones don't work in the middle of no-where) and I called Horton. They said it sounded like a clutch problem in the fan itself, but there was a way to manually engage the fan to get me out without overheating problems.



You can thread 3 M6 allen head screws with 1 thread per mm and 20mm long into some holes on the engine facing side of the fan body and manually lock up the fan. We needed to cut a little bit off of the allen wrench we were using to be able to get in easily and turn the screws.



This will keep you going. Now it's time to remove the fan and try to figure out what's wrong with it. My guess is an electrical problem of some sort like a loose wire.



I'll let you know what I find, but thought the idea of carrying those 3 screws and an allen wrench with you might save one of you guys in a pinch too.



--Phil

 

[Roger rodbolt]

Phil,

I appreciate the info and will ad the cutoff allen wrench and screws to my tool kit. I had no idea that the Horton had such a provision. Any luck on the elk hunt? Larry

 

[WDaniels]

I can fill you in on what is a good probability on happened to your fan. The electromagnet portion of the fan that engages is burnt up. I've had that happen to me. The harness on these things is the secret. When you or the temp sensor turns the fan off an electrical spike goes down the line. The harness is designed to eliminate that spike. If the spike gets to your fan where the electromagnet is it will last 3 turnoffs then goes tango uniform. I speak from experience. The first fan I had the installer didn't install the whole harness and that's what happened to me. I don't know how to check the harness for it's capabilities. The clutch can be replaced without buying the whole fan tho.

 

[PCrable]

I finally got around to taking the Horton off last night to see if I could figure out what's wrong with it.



After finally getting it off, I narrowed the problem down to the wiring harness that leads into the fan hub itself. There must be a broken wire in the harness, because you can allpy 12 volts to the plug and then bend the wires back and forth a little and it works. The fan had also been working intermittenly while still on the truck, so I figured it had to be some kind of lose electrical connection.



I called Horton this morning to see what could be done about it. After talking to the first guy to answer the phone, he says they're a manufacturer, not a repair facility. A new Hub lists for $450. I explained that it's just a problem with the wiring harness and couldn't they do something to fix it ? He gave me the name os a sales rep and took my name down to call me back. We'll see how good their customer service is...



Just in case, I figure I'll strip down the wiring harness and repair it myself. Anyone know where you can get the braided nylon sleeve that they put over the wires to protect them ?



--Phil

 

[Roger rodbolt]

Phil,

I think that you are on the right track, repair it yourself or take it locally to electrical repair shop. The braided nylon sleeve is okay to protect the wires from abrasion but to prevent the problem you have from reoccuring you should use a soft lay cable or ties to take the stress off the wires. The stress occurs when the Horton engages. Larry

 

[jcbrown]

Phil,

Originally posted by PCrable

You can thread 3 M6 allen head screws with 1 thread per mm and 20mm long into some holes on the engine facing side of the fan body and manually lock up the fan.

Are the screws used to push the clutch in to lock? Which three holes do you use? The three inner or the three outer threaded holes?

 

[PCrable]

JC,

yes. . the 3 screws basically push the clutch in to lock it just like the magnet would do when it works.



It's been a while since I've had the problem, so I'd have to go look which holes. I think it was the inner ones. If I remember correctly, if you get the wrong holes, the screws won't go in very far at all. You do need an allen wrench that's not very long... I had to cut some off the short length so I could get in there to tighten them down.



--Phil