[chuzz]

Hey Guys, my wife and kids took my dog to the vet this afternoon and on the way home, my 99 GC with the 3.3 engine over heated and tripped the temp gauge up to high and the warning chime came on. The wife called me and asked me what to do and as luck would have it, they were near the Advance Auto Parts store. I told them to pull into the parking lot and shut it down. They did and I arrived about 20 minutes later and sent them home. Neither one of my cooling fans is operating, so I thought it might be a relay or fuse. I pulled every frigging relay and fuse and checked the fuses (none were shot) and swapped the relays all around and still the cooling fans won't come on. I tried tapping on them with a ratchet (didn't have a hammer with me), and even rotating the blades by hand. They still won't come on. Tomorrow I will try direct wiring them to see if they in fact work, but if they're shot, does anyone have any tips for an easy removal for them? This van has almost 200,000 miles on it and as the 4th owner, I don't know if they've ever been replaced. I can't find any relay under the hood labeld for them and only one 40 amp fuse. Any of you guys know which relay may be for them? I'm hot, sweaty and very frustrated right now. I got it home after letting it cool for an hour by loosening the radiator cap and turning the heat on full blast. Luckily it was only 12 miles to the house and free flowing traffic. Any help or suggetions will be greatly appreciated. If the fans are dead, I guess I'll be making a trip to Pull-A-Part this weekend.

 

[valiant67]

I believe there is a seperate relay for the fans located down on the framerail away form the other relays.

 

[ImperialCrown]

The fan relay is a 4-wire solid state device screwed to the frame rail slightly below and behind the air cleaner box. This was a common failure. I think that if you jump the 2 heavier wires (Gy and Dk.Gn?), the fans should come on.
It may not overheat if you keep the van moving and the A/C off. The fans are really only needed when the van is sitting in traffic for longer than a couple of minutes.

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[peterjon1]

I once had the same issue, replaced the solid state relay, and all was well. Access the relay from underneath.
Mine would maintain normal temps while moving, but temps would rise quickly idling.

 

[chuzz]

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. I'll look for that sucker in the morning. Peterjon1, that is exactly what's going on with mine. It was running about 1/2 way on the gauge and then they stopped at McDonalds and while sitting in line at the drive thru, it got hot. Serves them right for stopping at McDonalds and not getting me a strawberry shake, right? Anyway, thanks again to you guys. I'll try to check that out in the morning. If it's that relay, is that a part that's available at a parts store, like NAPA hopefully? I don't want to have to shop at Advance or Autozone unless I have no other choice.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Diagnose this first. From NAPA online:
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=MPEAR473SB_0132133443

 

[chuzz]

Man, that's a pricey little sucker! $48.49 plux tax at my local NAPA. And of course they don't have it and will have to order one from the warehouse. MAYBE they can have it here tomorrow, but most likely Monday. I have to run to Pull-A-Part tomorrow and swap a defective radio, so will just grab a couple of these while I'm there, just in case. I have to get out and test the plug for power and corrosion. I'm headed out the door now. I'll be back in a little while.

 

[chuzz]

Okay, I'm convinced that that relay does not exist on this van. I have removed the air box, battery tray, fuse box and lower valance on the van and can't find anything that looks like that. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I did direct wire both fans, and they do work. I've gotten very peeved and just need to walk away from it right now. I also managed to break one of my vaccum lines to my cruise control but managed to fix that thanks to a piece of windshield washer hose. I also spotted a loose clamp on one of my transmission lines at the radiator and tightened that, so not a total waste of time. I do have it up on the ramps, so I should have been able to spot that sucker. Is it possible that it runs through the PCM instead?

 

[chuzz]

Okay, I went back out after cooling off a bit and started looking again. I watched a video on youtube and it clearly shows that relay on the frame rail. I found the place where that relay should be, but there isn't one there! There are two holes in the frame rail and one is threaded where I'm guessing the sheet metal screw would go and the other hole is smooth where I'm guessing a tab on the relay to hold it in place. This thing has a plug that's attached to the radiator fan assmbly with a small plastic slide that it slips into. Then the plug that it plugs into disappears into a bundle in the wiring harness under the battery. The manufacture date on the door sticker is 2-99, so I'm pretty sure that it's a 99 model. At least that's how it's titled. I guess I'll have to try to ohm out the green wire from the plug back to the 40 amp fuse in the fuse/relay box. If that proves to be a bust, anyone know which pin on the PCM I need to look at?

 

[ImperialCrown]

The RS minivans (2001-2007) had the radiator fan module mounted to the top of the front bumper crash rail next to the left headlamp. I don't think that it was used on the later NS minivans, but it might be worth a look.
You may see it by removing the left headlamp and looking down inside there on top of the bumper bar?

 

[chuzz]

I'll give that a try, IC. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I may try to get my old digital camera in there and see if I can snap a few pics and show you what I've found.

 

[chuzz]

You are the man, Imperial Crown. I pulled the driver side headlight, the little plastic air intake cover and POW!! , there that sucker is. Now, the question is why in the world did they rivet it in there? I'm going to pop the heads off the rivets and pull it out. Tomorrow morning, I'll be headed to Nashville to the Pull-A-Part and grab several more of them. I have to take back a defective radio I got last week anyway and this way I can kill two birds with one stone, right? Anyway, I sure do apprectate the suggestion of looking behind the headlight. I don't understand how this could be on a 99 model GC, but, it is what it is. Everything I could find or that you guys shared, pointed to the frame rail. Maybe someone on the assembly line knew what was coming and jumped the gun a little. Doesn't really matter, does it? I'm going to get the DVM out first and make sure I have power to it and then I'll go from there. Thanks again, man. I certainly appreciate the fact you took the time to reply to my delima. I'll let you guys know tomorrow afternoon or evening if that works out.

 

[peterjon1]

You don't have to mount it back in the same spot, just anywhere the connector will reach. It should be attached to a flat metal area, since the relay needs to use the mounting point as a a heat sink.I think there is a heat transfer paste or grease you can put on it to aid that. IIRC, I attached mine to the radiator support.
I think mine was about $35 from Rockauto.

 

[ImperialCrown]

They must have started using this style earlier than I thought.
They usually use rivets or glue on components that go bad a lot. :lol:

 

[chuzz]

Those were some tough rivets, man. I had to use a ball peen hammer and a sharp chisel to get the heads cut off on them. I think I'll just remount it where it was. I'm thinking of getting some self-tapping sheet metal screws. And I need to find some thermal grease too while I'm at it.

 

[chuzz]

Woo Hoo! Got that sucker fixed today and now I'm a happy camper. I also scored a nice am/fm/cd/cassette player out of a 97 Intrepid and it fit in my GC and everything on it works. How awesome is that? I picked up five of the relays, so if anyone needs one, let me know. I'll let them for for ten bucks plus shipping to your address. A couple had different numbers from the one that came off my van, so I used one with a matching number. I don't know if that would make any difference, but I dont want to do this again anytime soon. Thanks to all of you that offered advice and a special thanks to Imperial Crown. You know your stuff, man!

 

[ImperialCrown]

Glad you got it fixed... and got some bonus parts too.

 

[chuzz]

Well, I went to move it out of the back yard and now I have a Service Engine Soon light on. I grabbed my code scanner and got a P1491. It's not in my Actron book, so I have no idea what the heck it's for. My scanner says "manufacture specific code". I'm going to guess it's related to the radiator cooling fans. They're working properly now when I turn on the a/c, so I guess I'll go to Autozone or Advance and see if they can tell me, if you guys don't know. Maybe I should go out and try one of the other relays I put in and see if that clears it?

 

[peterjon1]

P1491 is for the radiator fan relay circuit, so since that is where your problem has been, try a battery or IOD disconnect and see if it returns.
From Here: http://www.allpar.com/fix/computer-codes.html

 

[chuzz]

Thanks, Peterjon1. I did the battery disconnect and the SES light is no longer on. Took it on a test drive and turned on some tunes and the a/c. I now know that I have one dead speaker in the rear of the van and the left front one rattles. Project for another day and another paycheck. I'm tapped out now. I put new quick struts in last weekend and the passenger side one was squeaking like crazy. I shot that sucker full of white lithium grease and now it's quiet. I just hope that lasts. Anyway, thanks again for all the help to the skillful and knowledgeable folks here that helped. I love this forum. Would a mod or admin please mark this one answered?