2001 ptcruiser radiator fan not coming on overheat at idle

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by Shelby5041

steve

yes my low speed fan is not working via direct 12v to dan
my high speed works fine direct 12v to fan

im just trying to make sense out of this before i repalce the fan

i do not have ac on this car anymore so i dont need low speed if low speed is only used for ac condenser cooling

seems to be lots of conflicting online info on how the fan operatres on this year pt cruiser

i have heard now 3 diff scenarios

1. low speed: comes on when ac on
high speed comes on when temp calls for it

2 low speed: comes on when temp calls for it
high speed: comes on when ac on


3 low speed: variable turn on with ot without ac on
high speed variable turn on with or without ac on

My impression of the radiator fan is that if you only apply 12 volts to the low or high speed wire your radiator fan speed is X. If you apply 12 volts to both low and high speed wires your radiator fan speed should be 2X. Please verify this as I don't have the equipment to verify the speed of the fan and can't hear the fan. You can try to see if 12 volts is going to both wires when the high speed should be on. Post what you find out.

[Shelby5041]

little more history about this vehcile i have

i bought the vehicle from someone about 5 years ago for $1000 and he said it had 2 issues

one was it was overheating while idling or slow driving speeds in hot weather and 2nd..it had phantom battery drain so if vehciel wasnt driven daily the battery would lose its charge from sitting for about a week or so


the first one im working on now....but previous owner did take vehcile in for overheating issue back in 2011 and thats when the mecahnic saud radiator fan was at fault due to low speed not working.....previous owner never fixed ..he just didnt drive it much in hot weather.

the 2nd one i troubleshooted via online and myself and found out it was the fog light switch system..once i removed the fog light fuse the battery no longer drains from sitting for a week or so..i dont need fog lights and not worth repalcing the switvch its about an 80.00 part



so now im trying to fix the fan not coming on issue....since i want to get car back on the road..its a 2001 with 54k miles on it.........

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by Shelby5041

little more history about this vehcile i have

i bought the vehicle from someone about 5 years ago for $1000 and he said it had 2 issues

one was it was overheating while idling or slow driving speeds in hot weather and 2nd..it had phantom battery drain so if vehciel wasnt driven daily the battery would lose its charge from sitting for about a week or so


the first one im working on now....but previous owner did take vehcile in for overheating issue back in 2011 and thats when the mecahnic saud radiator fan was at fault due to low speed not working.....previous owner never fixed ..he just didnt drive it much in hot weather.

the 2nd one i troubleshooted via online and myself and found out it was the fog light switch system..once i removed the fog light fuse the battery no longer drains from sitting for a week or so..i dont need fog lights and not worth repalcing the switvch its about an 80.00 part



so now im trying to fix the fan not coming on issue....since i want to get car back on the road..its a 2001 with 54k miles on it.........

Several other members have overheated the engine trying to diagnose the same problem you are having thinking the problem is not the radiator fan. If I were you and I know one of the speeds of the radiator fan is not working I would be running to the auto parts store to get another one.

[Shelby5041]

steve i do not believe that is correct regarding the high and low speed fan operation via what i have seen online

im going to call chrysler dealership monday and request a schematic from chrysler thats been verified and not just some random piece of paper with words on it like online seems to have

[Shelby5041]

called local dealer service and he didnt seem to know when the fan comes on either

regarding low and high speeds

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by Shelby5041

steve i do not believe that is correct regarding the high and low speed fan operation via what i have seen online

im going to call chrysler dealership monday and request a schematic from chrysler thats been verified and not just some random piece of paper with words on it like online seems to have

You would need to order the factory diagnostic service manual for the year Pt Cruiser you have to get the information you are asking for. I see you are trying not to throw parts at your Pt Cruiser and getting this manual would pay off in the long term. Regardless of what you find out I like to have all components keeping my engine cool to be working properly.

[Shelby5041]

hi steve

the chart you posted is incorrect for 2001 pt cruiser 2.4L engine

your radiator fan chart operating is for 1.6L engine
ptcruiser

so it does not pertain to my radiator fan operation sequence.

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by Shelby5041

called local dealer service and he didnt seem to know when the fan comes on either

regarding low and high speeds

My opinion is that when the dealer checks out the radiator fan circuit they hook it up to a expensive diagnostic scan computer with a manual that tells the mechanic what the problem is.

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by Shelby5041

hi steve

the chart you posted is incorrect for 2001 pt cruiser 2.4L engine

your radiator fan chart operating is for 1.6L engine
ptcruiser

so it does not pertain to my radiator fan operation sequence.

Thank you for pointing that out. I have deleted that image. The specific information you want for your specific Pt Cruiser can be found in the 2001 factory manuals. We try to give as accurate information as we can but when a member wants specific information then it's time to obtain the factory manuals for your Pt Cruiser to give you the accurate answers you are looking for. I appreciate any information to keep the thread as accurate as possible.

In my opinion for this forum we have different generations of Pt Cruisers with different size engines and keeping the information accurate for each one is a challenge.

2000 Pt Cruiser
2001-2002 Pt Cruisers
2003-2005 Pt Cruisers
2006-2010 Pt Cruisers

[Shelby5041]

hi steve

the chart you provided is for 1.6L engine but i have seen other people use it for 2.4L engine so im tyrying to see if its compatible for both engines...

i did some research and it seems that chart has some issues and not very accurate however i did a test just now to see how my fan reacts to see if some of the chart is correct

i was under the impression that the 2 speed fan works like this

high speed..only comes on when specified engine temp is reached
low speed.. only comes on as soon as ac is powered on

according to the chart you provided the high and low speeds come on at differtent factors such as temp and vehicle speed

so what i did was since i know my high speed works and low speed does not work i cut the power wires going to fan and swapped the wires...so now when it calls for low speed the high speed fan will kick in


and i jsut did it and when temp guage got to about half way the fan turned on......this now proves to me that the low speed fan is not just for ac on and high speed is not just for engine cooling

per schemhematics the green wire is low speed and yellow wire is high speed and i had the green going to yellow.....so it was calling for low speed fan on when idling and reaching specified temp...

conclusion is that my issue may be that a radiator fan repacement will fix the issue of engine running hot at low speeds / idle...but not 100% sure because originally i did have high speed fan and it wasnt ever coming on..unless engine was never actually reaching 219F which is the on temp per chart....

i would always put heat on or stop car if it went a little over half way...so not sure how accurate gauge is etc...


i am going to buy a new radiator fan