Possible Overheating issue, Help please

Hey guys, so my jeep normally runs between the quarter and mid lines on the temp gauge. Today while coming home from the beach and towing my boat, the AC would stop slowing anytime I had to accelerate or climb, as soon as I let off it would come back on, then the needle started climbing slowly. I turned the AC off and for a while that helped, then about 5 miles before home it climbed to half or a tic past and stayed there. The belt driven fan is running and there is an electric fan on the other side of that, but I have never seen that run. Any ideas here? Please help.

Stop Blowing, not slowing

The electric fan should come on anytime the A/C is on. You can test the system if you have a thermostat in it by letting the it warm up with the A/C off, once it gets to about 220F the computer should trigger on the elec fan. And the A/C cutting off under full throttle is a normal thing I think, but not 100% on that. Didn't think the blower would shut off.

The blower should not shut off. You may have some weird issue with the blower itself, or the wiring. Jeep changed the aux fan operation around 1999-2001. Earlier models have the aux fan on anytime the A/C or compressor are running, or when engine temperature reaches 218F. After the model year change, the aux fan comes on when A/C high pressure is 300 +/- 20 psi or when engine temperature reaches 223F (and shuts off at 217F).

The Jeep should run 210F most of the time. In hot weather or under heavy load, a full tick past 210F is not unreasonable especially depending on the accuracy of your gauge. My 01 XJ can be 221F and still hanging onto 210F. My 97 XJ can be 218F and 2/3-3/4 of the way to the next tick past 210F.

Whenever engine temperature is getting high, make sure the thermostat is good (195F thermostat), fan clutch is good (replace if several years old), make sure the radiator and condenser are not clogged with dirt and bugs. If the coolant is dirty or neglected, the radiator may need to be back flushed or replaced.

You may want to verify the aux fan operation and try a ODBII scanner to see what engine temperatures you are really getting.

Are you sure the it wasn't blowing through the defrost vents? Could be a vacuum problem. Under acceleration or climb, the vacuum drops, and if there's a leak, it will drop enough to let the HVAC flapper door flip to it's default setting, the defrost vents.

Agree with Makapo. Also- How's your fan shroud look? Seems to be a major thing people overlook when diag'ing overheating concerns. I know mine was busted to s*** when I bought it and the new one doesn't seem that stout either...

I don't even have a fan shroud. The jeep didn't have one when I bought it.

In addition, to what I said, I agree with the others. Confirm its not blowing out somewhere else & get a fan shroud.