Replaced Fan motor multiple times!

[GrouchyOldBear]

Hi Guys,

I have a 2003 non-turbo Cruiser. They cooling fan went out on it 6 months ago. I found this out when the a/c pressure relief valve pop a couple times. I replaced it with a VDO PM9145 cooling fan from O'Reillys. It lasted about 2 weeks and stopped working. I replaced it again and added freon (the compressor was kicking on and off in about 5-10 sec cycles). The second one burned out in a couple weeks as well. I now have a third one on and it lasted about 3 weeks.

It must be something else that is burning these fan motors up. Everything else looks good. I wonder if too much surging of the fan motor kicking on and off when the compressor does causes the windings to super heat.

Anyone else have the same problem?

[slartyblarfast]

I can't speak for aftermarket parts but the OEM is pretty decent. And it comes with a 12 month , 12 k mile warranty. If you have it done at a dealership the warranty includes the labor for replacement.

[PT_Southside]

Hey, Grouchy --

I realize I'm replying to an old thread but did you ever solve your fan problem?

Backstory -- I am a big fan of PTs and have been wanting one for a while. Saved up and bought one for a birthday present for myself in November. It overheated before I got it home! It was a cash as-is sale, but at least the guy was nice enough to pick it up and take it back to his mechanic, who replaced the thermostat switch. It was good for three weeks, then overheated on Thanksgiving day on a long trip to see the family. That was miserable. My mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with it, flushed the radiator, called it good.

It ran okay for about six weeks after that but I was running the heat. On a couple of warm days I turned the heat off and the temperature started to climb. Then it started to climb even with the heat on. After that it would overheat on any trip longer than ten minutes even with the heat on.

I read up online and found so many people with the same problem and the only person who didn't come back in a few weeks and say it was overheating again was a guy who rewired the fan to run constantly. So this weekend I took it to my mechanic and asked him to rig the fan for me. He just called and said the fan motor is faulty and is sucking a ton of power and needs to be replaced before he can rewire it. I'll do this if it's going to solve the problem but reading your post I wonder if I'm going to have to replace it again in three weeks? Please let me know if you're still having problems!

Thanks & sorry for the long post!

[Dino]

Originally Posted by PT_Southside

Hey, Grouchy --

I realize I'm replying to an old thread but did you ever solve your fan problem?

Backstory -- I am a big fan of PTs and have been wanting one for a while. Saved up and bought one for a birthday present for myself in November. It overheated before I got it home! It was a cash as-is sale, but at least the guy was nice enough to pick it up and take it back to his mechanic, who replaced the thermostat switch. It was good for three weeks, then overheated on Thanksgiving day on a long trip to see the family. That was miserable. My mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with it, flushed the radiator, called it good.

It ran okay for about six weeks after that but I was running the heat. On a couple of warm days I turned the heat off and the temperature started to climb. Then it started to climb even with the heat on. After that it would overheat on any trip longer than ten minutes even with the heat on.

I read up online and found so many people with the same problem and the only person who didn't come back in a few weeks and say it was overheating again was a guy who rewired the fan to run constantly. So this weekend I took it to my mechanic and asked him to rig the fan for me. He just called and said the fan motor is faulty and is sucking a ton of power and needs to be replaced before he can rewire it. I'll do this if it's going to solve the problem but reading your post I wonder if I'm going to have to replace it again in three weeks? Please let me know if you're still having problems!

Thanks & sorry for the long post!

The radiator fan motors are problems in the PT

[txcruiser]

Originally Posted by GrouchyOldBear

Hi Guys,

I have a 2003 non-turbo Cruiser. They cooling fan went out on it 6 months ago. I found this out when the a/c pressure relief valve pop a couple times. I replaced it with a VDO PM9145 cooling fan from O'Reillys. It lasted about 2 weeks and stopped working. I replaced it again and added freon (the compressor was kicking on and off in about 5-10 sec cycles). The second one burned out in a couple weeks as well. I now have a third one on and it lasted about 3 weeks.

It must be something else that is burning these fan motors up. Everything else looks good. I wonder if too much surging of the fan motor kicking on and off when the compressor does causes the windings to super heat.

Anyone else have the same problem?

Grouchy, you bought your fan module at Oreilly's? I have 2006 non turbo with a bad fan an that's where I'm buying mine, a Siemens VDO FA70306, which comes with a lifetime warranty, and at a cost of $261.99 Siemens VDO FA70306 - Engine Cooling Fan Assembly | O'Reilly Auto Parts - seems like a better deal than what the dealer is offering for $450.00 with only a 12K mile warranty....