2003 pt cruiser turbo cooling fan problem PLZ help

[patrickjudkins]

ok here is the deal...my wifey has a 2003 turbo pt cruiser that tends to over heat on occasion,(maybe 4 times in the last 6 months) only when your at very low speeds like a drive thru or parking lot, the coolant boils in the resevoir, so the one time it happened i got out to check while it was happening the fan isnt moving at all so we turn it off grab sum lunch at the place we were going, come back out fires up runs fine for a month. i get it home and research it and i find all these forums about pt's but non are about turbos, so i checked the fan by idleing the car with the ac off and the fan is in low turn the ac on full blast the fan goes into high, so then yesterday it does it agian so i jump out before it gets too terribly over heated and unhook the coolant temp sensor and no fan what so ever, when i undo the coolant sensor the fan should be full blast. Now my problem here is i went to autozone and purchased a fan...got it home it was for the non turbo apparently they dont interchange, even the chrysler people have different part numbers for them. so i figured well i will try the relays, so i bought the two relays and bam the turbo pt doesnt have relays for the high and low speeds, the two spots for the high and low relays are empty. so ive tested the fan and i think its failing intermittenly...is there any other ways to check the fan while it isnt over heating and is there any other conditions that make the fan go on or off that i can test, and then my final question is were in the sam hell can i get a turbo pt cruiser fan and not have to spend 771 dollars from the chrysler people... any info would be greatly appreciated, we are leaving on vacation in about 8 days and will be gone for 2 weeks and are planning on taking the pt cruiser as our transportation so i need to try and get this fixed asap. i guess i need to hit the casino while im on vaca and try to win about 800 bucks to fix a car that i dont owe 800 bucks on. thanks everyone

[VNT]

They are different fans and the turbo fan is expensive but if yours isnt working you really dont want to overheat the car, that would be much more expensive.

You might want to have the dealer confirm if the fan is functioning properly, it is controlled by the pcm, no relay.

Do a search here and on PTCrew.com

I can get you the factory part #, and from what I am told dont waste your time getting an aftermarket, the connectors are not very good, get a Mopar.

[patrickjudkins]

well i have never overheated past about 3/4 of the guage and it seems if i turn the car off immediatly then start it back up the fan instantly goes into high to cool it off, i went out today and bought some electrical connection grease a friend said to try that he has seen some that have poor connections so i will give this a whirl if not i will break down i guess and purchase the way over priced fan from chrysler thanks for your help

[ChefTank]

Silly question... Does it make a loud click noise? My first guess would be the t-stat is sticking (open or closed) which in turn is causing the fan issue (if it does not register the temp of course the fan wont come on)

For your sake i hope it is a $10 fix...




Josh

[patrickjudkins]

well im taking that into consideration and this weekend i will be tearing it apart to replace manifold gaskets while i have th eupper hose off i will be replacing the thermostat and gasket, for my sake i also hope that is the problem, i will probrably trade it before i buy an 800 dollar fan.

[moparman3]

Did you figure out what was wrong with your PT. I have the same model year turbo and mine just decided to not work this week. And since Chrysler decided to eliminate the relays I don't want to just have to replace the fan if its actually still good. Unfortunately I have no way to test the fan.

[patrickjudkins]

well to tell you the truth ours was such an iterm. problem that i think its fixed but if i said it was fixed id be lieing but it has yet to happen since i replaced the thermostat..apparently the coolant tempo sensor gets the wrong reading and makes the fan not come on, thats what i heard so i replaced the thermostat and havent had a problem yet. other than my wife cant drive and ruined the car... so

[4SPEED]

are you sure there are no relays? my Klymer manual says only the turbo has relays mounted to the radiator (where the normal PT has the relays in the engine fuse box). I took a flashlite and saw 2 relays mounted at the bottom of the rad on the driver corner.

I think the PCM could not handle a power surge of that magnitude but instead the PCM engages a relay to handle the power transfer to the fan

I'm kinda getting into a problem where my 03 GT doesn't overheat but the fans don't come on for a test cycle each time it's started

[jevans74]

I am having same problem and had dealer replace fan $1200.00 and still having same problem. Still trying to resolve I will post updates. An occasional problem on this vehicle is the failure of the Powertrain Control Module and the Cooling Fan Motor Assembly. Problems with the Powertrain Control Module can cause the vehicle not to start. Problems with the cooling fan motor can cause the engine to overheat. The cost to replace the Powertrain Control Module is estimated at $480.00 for parts and $26.00 for labor. The cost to replace the Cooling Fan Motor is estimated at $294.00 for parts and $143.00 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65.00 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax. 2003 safety, reviews, crash test ratings at CARFAX
Cheapest place I have found for parts . Mopar, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep parts wholesale prices

[careyk]

I needed a replacement fan for my 03 GT the bearings seized up in the fan...the dealer wanted 1200$ for a used one....what a rip off!!!! I found a used one in Florida some 2000+ miles away....its the only one I could find...I got it for a little over 100$. The mechanic wanted 1.5 hours to install it...at about 150$....I did it myself with the help of my neighbor for free in 1.5 hours. It works great. Unblolt upper grill. Undo upper rad support. Pull rad forward. Unplug old fan at bottom left corner. Jacing up the car helps. Undo 6 bolts on fan attached to rad. Disconnect upper rad hose. Pull out fan....you will have to twist and turn it out. Slide in new fan..Plug it in . Do up all the pieces. Top up coolant..hose etc...Done for 100$....the dealer can take there new fans and shove them up there you know whats and turn them on.