Cooling fan keeps running drain the battery! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Cooling fan keeps running drain the battery!

alexxfender

New Member
Joined
June 5, 2014
Messages
7
Reaction score
7
Location
Eastern North Carolina
Year, Model & Trim Level
2016 Explorer XLT 3.5
2016 XLT 3.5 :: Cooling fan keeps running high after engine was switched off, completely drained the battery. Was OK after jump start. Most of the time the fan stops when the engine is Off. Intermittently the fan keeps running On for a couple of times. (I didn't have any problem today!) Temperature indicator shows normal level. No fault/Check engine lights.
Anyway i went to Ford dealer and they told me it would cost me $2075.00 to fix it. They said they found P0480 (but there is no check engine light) .. Need to replace Fan Circuit, Grille Shutter Cooling Fan and Grille Shutters which will cost me $2057.00

Can anyone please help me with suggestions... And again this problem is intermittent.

ford2.jpg
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I did a search for the code and no other posts on this forum but plenty of general info via google.

$300 for cooling fan
2011-2019 Ford Fan Assembly DA8Z-8C607-B | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

$435 for shutter system
2016-2019 Ford Explorer Shutter JB5Z-8475-A | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

That's $735 if you can do the swap yourself. Cooling fans are electric and members here have removed and installed them. Not sure how complex.

I'm surprised that both are bad at the same time since they are not connected together.
 






I'm a bit puzzled as to why the shutters have to be replaced. Are they sticking? Did they give a reason?

Peter
 






I have no idea about the shutter.. Seems like they just want to replace all possible problems instead of trying to find the right problem. So where do i start.. how about checking the Cooling fan Relay? Coolant Temperature sensor? any exposed wire? stuff like that.. I have this problem only SOMETIMES
 






Just get rid of the shutters. No difference in the mileage and it cools better.
 






I'm a bit puzzled as to why the shutters have to be replaced. Are they sticking? Did they give a reason?

Peter
I dont see any sticking... they didnt give any proper reason as to why they are going to replace all those.. This is all they told me..

ford1.jpg
 












I have no idea about the shutter.. Seems like they just want to replace all possible problems instead of trying to find the right problem. So where do i start.. how about checking the Cooling fan Relay? Coolant Temperature sensor? any exposed wire? stuff like that.. I have this problem only SOMETIMES
I doubt it would be the temperature sensor since I'm guessing that would have power to it shut off when you turn the engine off. My fans run on for maybe 5 seconds after I turn the ignition off. I would think that the fans themselves just react to signals given to them possibly by the relay. That might be a place to start but remember I'm no mechanic or electrical whiz. Just trying to follow what I think as far as the operating system goes.
Hopefully, others more knowledgable will jump in here and give their opinions.

Peter
 






If the fans have a sensor somewhere that tells them when to shut off and on, then I would start with that first if I was just to throw a couple new parts at it. Fans still have power going to them after the car is shut off so it could be a sensor because they need to know when to shut off, after the car is already off. We're currently in southern Florida with the expedition and I immediately noticed the fans staying on longer after shutting the vehicle off cause its a hot *it7ch down here.
 












This is a highly suspicious estimate, either they are deliberately trying to screw you, or passively by suggesting replacement of multiple components instead of a few minutes labor to determine which one needs replaced.

THEY have the wiring diagram and hands-on to check things. Remotely, I have neither. Anyone have the wiring diagram for this? I just noticed that ebescohost site changed all these wiring diagrams around and is a pain to use now, but I did find one and from what I see, there's just 3 relays (high fan, low fan, and "fan control"), grounded through the PCM. These 3 relays are in the battery junction (aka Power Distribution) box under the hood, should be on a diagram in the owner's manual. For my '14 it's on page 303 of the PDF manual.

Does the fan keep running until the battery is drained or are you possibly just underestimating how long the fan should be running when the engine shuts off and pulling a fuse or relay to stop it? Is this a definite change in its behavior known because you owned it last year when it was warmer out and it didn't run so long after engine off back then?

The circuit diagram I'm looking at does not show where the PCM gets the temperature readings (which makes it incomplete but whatever) so some temperature sensor connected to the PCM is probably involved... one would think it's the coolant sensor which you should be able to get a temp reading from using an OBDII scan tool capable of live data.

There are other sensor triggers too, like the IAT sensor and A/C pressure sensor but AFAIK the IAT is not involved with keeping the fan on when the engine is off, couldn't be really because it's not drawing air in when the engine is off. You should be able to compare the running state temperature and whether it is dropping and where it is when the fan shuts off.

As far as the relays, you can pull the relay, get the pinout for them, and pin #1 on all 3 is the one the PCM grounds to run the fans. If the PCM is activating the relay then there will be 12V on the wire coming from the junction box socket corresponding to pin 1 on each relay. Two of the three relays are smaller and you could try swapping them for another two relays of the same size in the same power distribution box.

If you don't want to DIY this much, I would at least get a second opinion and forever after, avoid that shop. There does not appear to be any "fan control circuit" in a modular way that they could replace it (unless talking about a wiring harness that a mouse chewed up or something and it's grounding the fan to keep it on but this would be a new piece-of-wire $110 repair including labor), and a fan that is running okay just doing so when it shouldn't, is not a sign that fan itself needs replaced. It is obviously PCM controlled not a sensor built into the fan itself.

Now this is for my '14, has this changed on a '16? I don't see any reason it would have, PCM control would be the more evolved, final design for something like this, would make no sense to de-integrate a function already built into something else.
 






This is a highly suspicious estimate, either they are deliberately trying to screw you, or passively by suggesting replacement of multiple components instead of a few minutes labor to determine which one needs replaced.

THEY have the wiring diagram and hands-on to check things. Remotely, I have neither. Anyone have the wiring diagram for this? I just noticed that ebescohost site changed all these wiring diagrams around and is a pain to use now, but I did find one and from what I see, there's just 3 relays (high fan, low fan, and "fan control"), grounded through the PCM. These 3 relays are in the battery junction (aka Power Distribution) box under the hood, should be on a diagram in the owner's manual. For my '14 it's on page 303 of the PDF manual.

Does the fan keep running until the battery is drained or are you possibly just underestimating how long the fan should be running when the engine shuts off and pulling a fuse or relay to stop it? Is this a definite change in its behavior known because you owned it last year when it was warmer out and it didn't run so long after engine off back then?

The circuit diagram I'm looking at does not show where the PCM gets the temperature readings (which makes it incomplete but whatever) so some temperature sensor connected to the PCM is probably involved... one would think it's the coolant sensor which you should be able to get a temp reading from using an OBDII scan tool capable of live data.

There are other sensor triggers too, like the IAT sensor and A/C pressure sensor but AFAIK the IAT is not involved with keeping the fan on when the engine is off, couldn't be really because it's not drawing air in when the engine is off. You should be able to compare the running state temperature and whether it is dropping and where it is when the fan shuts off.

As far as the relays, you can pull the relay, get the pinout for them, and pin #1 on all 3 is the one the PCM grounds to run the fans. If the PCM is activating the relay then there will be 12V on the wire coming from the junction box socket corresponding to pin 1 on each relay. Two of the three relays are smaller and you could try swapping them for another two relays of the same size in the same power distribution box.

If you don't want to DIY this much, I would at least get a second opinion and forever after, avoid that shop. There does not appear to be any "fan control circuit" in a modular way that they could replace it (unless talking about a wiring harness that a mouse chewed up or something and it's grounding the fan to keep it on but this would be a new piece-of-wire $110 repair including labor), and a fan that is running okay just doing so when it shouldn't, is not a sign that fan itself needs replaced. It is obviously PCM controlled not a sensor built into the fan itself.

Now this is for my '14, has this changed on a '16? I don't see any reason it would have, PCM control would be the more evolved, final design for something like this, would make no sense to de-integrate a function already built into something else.

16+ have redesigned electrical systems, so it is very likely that there will be a difference between a 14 and a 16.
 






^ Some changes does not necessarily mean everything changed. It would still make sense for them to use relays, even if they switched to solid state relays, controlled by PCM, based on feedback from sensors connected to it.

The wiring diagram for 2016 looks the same (at least the one I saw below) except they show different connectors to the PCM based on which engine it has, and I'm not so sure that is really different because they seem to have just consolidated showing the different connector for the 2.3L EB engine version on the same diagram instead of producing two separate diagrams.

However I do have doubts about the accuracy of this diagram because you can see on it that it states "Hot in Start or Run" for the leads going to all the relays' coils which would mean it couldn't energize those relays to power the fans if not in Start or Run (unless the BCM can but that would make the diagram incomplete again), while I have read elsewhere that the fans can run with the engine off as a normal condition based on (correct) coolant or A/C pressure sensor feedback. Then again it's the internet, the latter info could be wrong instead of the diagram?

2016 cooling fan.gif
 






Cooling fan problems are somewhat common on other fords and there are some tsbs. Fix was to replace cooling fans with updated parts. Some also had pcm reprogram (maybe 2010-12) One would hope a 2016 would have better/updated parts, but who knows.

Some shade tree mechanics have taken to disassembling their fans and cleaning the motors with electronic parts cleaner and/or blowing clean with compressed air with some success. Also inspect/clean any wiring connections.

Could also be a switch or temp sensor. Tech should have done some actual diagnosis. Maybe get a second opinion elsewhere or just throw parts at it if you prefer.

A scan tool would come in handy to help diagnosing the sensor readings and help guide you.
 






Thanks everyone for trying to help me out... again the problem was.. sometimes the fan keeps running until the battery drained out.. last Saturday evening fan keeps running and I had to unplugged the battery.. the next morning when ever I tried to reconnect the battery the fan stated to run (before starting the engine)
I check the handbook again and found out the problem.. it was Relay #11 (when I pull out the #11 relay the fan will not run when I connect the battery) ... I didn’t know we have three cooling fan relays.. #20 and #21 .. I bought new relay from eBay $8.48 .. that fix my problem.. never experience again !! I save $2000+

019C5A0D-3525-4C7A-821C-74CDC3FA51C0.jpeg
 






So the relay was intermittently sticking.

Good find!
 






Good to know you fixed it. To complete the topic what is the part # for that relay?
 






Good to know you fixed it. To complete the topic what is the part # for that relay?
Good question.. my local auto parts dealer did not have the right part.. because two of the pins/prongs are smaller .. what local dealer gave me was same size prongs..
Part # For all those size relays is 8t2t-14b192-ba ....relay #20 is the only different one it has 5 prongs and the part # is
8t2t-14b192-aa
When you buy these relays.. make sure two of the prongs are smaller.. Auto.parts dealer will give you one with same size prongs...

EAB8F745-FBBF-4260-82DB-2F3B024C2F5C.jpeg
 









Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





That's damn infuriating that the dealer would have replaced all that to not even fix the issue to the tune of $2,000+.

I'd be making a phone call and/or visiting that dealer to give them some choice words of what fixed it.
 






Back
Top