2001 cruiser fan and relay issues

[azdave]

My daughter has a 2001 PT Cruiser. Last month she had an overheating problem with fan not coming on even with AC. I replaced the relay (and thermostat). Upon further testing, the low speed on the fan motor had gone out. I replaced the fan motor and everything was resolved.

yesterday she went again to the 3/4 mark. She brought over her car and sure enough even with the AC on, no fan coming on.
I bypassed the PCM and tested the fan with a 12v battery. The low and high speed BOTH work. I was glad, that was not fun taking off the grill to replace the motor. The relay is only a month old. Is it likely that the new relay went bad? Is that very common? The high speed fuse is ok, I switched it with the horn and the horn works. Is there a way to test if my low speed relay is bad except for just buying a new one? Could it be anything else?

[CREWZIN]

There should be a code if the relay wasn't working. Fan problems very seldom turn out to be either of the relays. The code would be:

P1490 (M) Low Speed Fan CTRL Relay Circuit - An open or shorted condition detected in control circuit of the low-speed radiator fan control relay.

In the 2001 cruiser, in the fuse box under the hood is a 40amp fuse for the fan. Did you check that? It's the #5 fuse. Do you havve a owners manual?

[azdave]

Checked #5 fuse... visibly looks fine. Last month when motor went out, no code was on at first, then after a day of troubleshooting that code you mentioned came on. After I replaced the motor (which for sure did not work low speed) AND the relay the light went off. This time, fan motor works but does not come on and there is no code.

When I called Auto Zone about replacing the Relay last time when the motor went out the guy told me that he doesn't suggest buying it from them because he sees way too many of them come back bad. I called Checker and asked them and they laughed and told me to buy it from them instead. Ended up being only $10 at Checker. The Auto Zone guy told me he suggested I only replace the relay's from the dealer.

Since it's not coming on with the AC either, it couldn't be the temperature sensor right? If the low speed relay is not working would the high speed fan come on at any time on it's own? Because it's not. I've checked the HS relay, switched with the horn. Doesn't it have to start at low speed?

[CREWZIN]

We have owners that come back after replacing the Camshaft sensor (and Crankshaft sensor too) and they still have problems. The sensors were bought at auto stores. After the new sensors were bought from Chrysler, everything worked fine.

Yes, the low speed fan should come on before the high speed, A/C or not and yes the temperature sensor is in the mix, along with the computer itself for the running of the fans.