Overheated for the first time since new.

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N7Quarian

N7Quarian

Joined
Jun 23, 2012
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246
Location
Vero Beach FL
Well poopsticks. I went to go get some dog food tonight and while in traffic I looked down at the temp gauge. Past the middle and slowly climbing. I pulled over and let it cool down 7 times until I got home, (The needle never got into the 'red' zone.) The car only overheated when standing still thus making the problem the electric fan. When I got home The needle was already in the middle. I stepped outside and of course the fan was not running. Now it came down to why the fan failed because the plastic fan blades got so hot that they melted and warped. I fulled the fuse box cover under the hood and a 30 amp fuse marked 'Rad' was blown. I thought that 'Rad' meant Radio but the radio worked fine. So i'm assuming that it means Radiator fan. Now to see why it blew. That I don't know, because I don't want to buy a new fan and fuse just to have this happen again. (BTW I didn't see any relays that was meant for the fan.) Could the fan motor itself have caused this to happen? The car only has about 40k miles on it.
 
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How many miles on this vehicle? It could have been the culprit because if the fan motor resistance (winding coils failed) became to high it would attempt to draw too much current and this could cause a lot of heat and the blown fuse. Could also have been a worn bearing as well. But I wouldn't think a 2006 vehicle would have this issue.
 
around 40k miles. Although about 2 weeks ago I did do a river crossing and the water did reach right above the front bumper.
 
Originally Posted By: N7Quarian
around 40k miles. Although about 2 weeks ago I did do a river crossing and the water did reach right above the front bumper.
My guess is that either caused the fuse to blow or caused corrosion in the motor.
 
The motor turns fine except for the fan blades because they warped and I have done many river crossings in the past. I want to know it there is any other thing I should check before I install the new fan and fuse. Anything else that might cause the fuse to blow.
 
Start with a new fuse and see what happens. If the fuse blows, run an independent power sorce to the fan and measure the amps with a multimeter. If the draw is less than the fuse, fan running, check the wiring.
 
Originally Posted By: N7Quarian
The motor turns fine except for the fan blades because they warped and I have done many river crossings in the past. I want to know it there is any other thing I should check before I install the new fan and fuse. Anything else that might cause the fuse to blow.
Even a blown (Burnt out) fan motor will spin well. It will just work on finger power instead of electricity. My first step would be to see if the motor has 12v when the car is warmed up. If not it could be the fan temp switch also.
 
How easy is it on this vehicle to apply 12V directly to the fan to see if it can spin? The was the nice thing about my old Audi. It had terminals with studs and nuts, as opposed to little plastic plugs all over the place. That saved me a huge amount of grief and expense in checking my fan issue a couple years back.
 
UPDATE: The fan works and the fan relay works BUT, As you all know the 30 AMP fuse was burnt, so what I did was place a 40 AMP fuse in its place JUST FOR TESTING. I started the car and turned on the AC WHEN THE CAR WAS STONE COLD. The fan turned on. I then stopped the AC and the fan stopped as well. I waited for the car to reach normal operating temp which it did but the fan did not turn on, I restarted the AC and the fan turned back on BUT the fuse started to fog up a bit and get hot. I pulled the fuse and let it cool down. So there is resistance and the fan will not turn on when in operating temp. So I'm assuming its the fan switch that measures the coolant that's broken, will that cause resistance and make the fuse hot? (BTW I do not own a volt meter and I don't know where to buy one.)
 
The motor itself can develop excessive current draw and blow the fuse. Thermal switch can prevent turn on but is unlikely to cause a power draw as it is normally open
 
So it might be the motor even though its running fine? But the thermal switch is also the issue aswell? The fuse holder and its connections look fine BTW.
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
It could have been the culprit because if the fan motor resistance (winding coils failed) became to high it would attempt to draw too much current and this could cause a lot of heat and the blown fuse.
The more resistance you have, the LESS the current will be. Current is inversely proportional to resistance. Remember Ohm's law V = I*R.
 
If the fan came on due to AC demand while crossing the river that could overload the motor and blow the fuse. It doesn't explain the melted fan blade. Water getting into the fan motor could have ruined the fan motor. Too much heat from the motor melting the blade and blowing the fuse is my guess. Shut the AC off or remove the fuse for the rad fan the next time you cross that river.
 
The fan might have warped slightly because it wasn't turning and the heat from the engine might have done that. However the fan is not touching anything and the blades are not greatly warped.
 
Okay I started the car and let it warm up with the A/C off and a 40 amp fuse in place of a 30 amp fuse JUST FOR TESTING and the relay disconnected. The car warmed up and I plugged in the relay. Nothing happened. I try the A/C Blower fan relay that DOES work and still, nothing happened. I turn on the A/C and plug in both relays and both times the fan turned on BUT both times the 40 amp and also the 30 amp fuse got hot. I pulled both fuses out before they had the change to burn or cause trouble. Another thing, when the car was shut off and the key in the on position with the A/C on the fan didn't run. DISREGARD THE WARPED FAN BLADES. apparently they are like that.
 
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