Electric fan issues or worse?

DrCabe · Feb 18, 2005

96 XJ 4L - In April of '03 I replaced my electric fan; simple procedure, everything was fine....until recently. The electric fan is out again and the "check engine" light is on (I don't recall the engine light being on the last time). I spoke with the Jeep parts guys and they argued whether the check engine light would come on if the electric fan was bad. I bought a new electric fan, plugged it in and let the engine idle for about 15 minutes. When the fan came on I decided the old fan was bad so I took it out and installed the new fan. The new fan has never come on since.

Now I'm wondering if I have an electrical or computer issue. Whats my next step? Take it to the Jeep place and have diagnostics checked or take it to my neighborhood mechanic which I trust (or is there something else I can try)?

thanks in advance

red91 · Feb 18, 2005

DrCabe said:
96 XJ 4L - In April of '03 I replaced my electric fan; simple procedure, everything was fine....until recently. The electric fan is out again and the "check engine" light is on (I don't recall the engine light being on the last time). I spoke with the Jeep parts guys and they argued whether the check engine light would come on if the electric fan was bad. I bought a new electric fan, plugged it in and let the engine idle for about 15 minutes. When the fan came on I decided the old fan was bad so I took it out and installed the new fan. The new fan has never come on since.

Now I'm wondering if I have an electrical or computer issue. Whats my next step? Take it to the Jeep place and have diagnostics checked or take it to my neighborhood mechanic which I trust (or is there something else I can try)?

thanks in advance

electrical fan shouldn't come on until about 215*. it is a backup to the clutch fan.

If your wondering wether or not it works, take it out and get a couple of small leads off of the battery and test it. If it works under that power your fine.

Why the check engine light would come on is related to sensors or ECU not the fan.

Yucca-Man · Feb 18, 2005

A simple check of the 'Check Engine' light (CEL) that the parts guys should have recommended is to drive the Jeep around for awhile to get it good and warm. Once you've done that, shut it down, and then turn the key ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON (On, not start). Wait a few seconds, and the CEL should begin to blink as it displays the stored engine codes. You'll get sequences of two-digit numbers, including FIVE-FIVE (55) which indicates the last code.

A bad fan won't trigger a CEL though. I've run mine disconnected and no light...

brtb · Feb 18, 2005

Probably doesn't apply here, but messing around with the fan relay with the key in "On" triggered the check-engine light in my '00; it cleared out when I unplugged/replugged the battery.

BLINGN XJ · Feb 18, 2005

if you are just worried about the e-fan turning on to cool the jeep run a toggle switch to it. That would just bypass the sensor and you could control when you wanted the fan to come on.{cheap way out}

Electric fan issues or worse?

DrCabe

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red91

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Yucca-Man

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brtb

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BLINGN XJ

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