Help Please

[kamigirl]

Hi...My daughter has a 2005 dodge stratus and when she turns the car off a fan comes on and off and drains her battery...any suggestions...i am a single mom and don't know much about cars...

This ad is not displayed to registered and logged-in members. Register your free account today and become a member on Dodge Forums!

[HammerZ71]

Moved to proper section by your friendly neighborhood admin...

[22dodge]

too hard to fix on the internet, it needs to be diagnosed by someone with the proper tools and training. Unless you have a scanner, shop manual, wiring diagrams and a electical meter (DVOM), it would be nearly impossible to speculate a guess.

IDK where you are located but see if there's an automotive training school in your area. maybe they can help for little to nothing.

[ratsttam]

Originally Posted by kamigirl

Hi...My daughter has a 2005 dodge stratus and when she turns the car off a fan comes on and off and drains her battery...any suggestions...i am a single mom and don't know much about cars...

Does this fan stay on until the battery finally dies? Or are we talking about coming on for a few minutes, and assuming that it's killing the battery?
A 5yr old battery (assuming again that it's never been changed) may die shortly after shutting a car off, and more-so with the temperatures getting colder at night.
For what it's worth, the fan is designed to come on once the car is stopped to cool the engine down, since there is no moving air across the radiator when the car is stopped ;P

I would start by going to a parts store that does free battery and alternator testing. I would be willing to bet that the battery is just old and tired, and the fan (although normal) is too much for what's left of the battery.

Now... If you're seeing the fan running after 15-30min, there is an electrical problem, most likely a stuck relay.

[kamigirl]

Thank you for helping...it comes on and off for a long time...how many fans are on the car???

[kamigirl]

Originally Posted by 22dodge

too hard to fix on the internet, it needs to be diagnosed by someone with the proper tools and training. Unless you have a scanner, shop manual, wiring diagrams and a electical meter (DVOM), it would be nearly impossible to speculate a guess.

IDK where you are located but see if there's an automotive training school in your area. maybe they can help for little to nothing.

Thank you...

[twinkey1]

The fan is shorted internally and will need to be replaced. The only thing you can do in the mean time is to disconnect the plug to the aux fan so it does not kill the battery unil you can get it replaced. Unfortunately that is the only way to fix this problem. I have seen this before a few times in my dealership.changed fan relay, fan switch.it happened to me last month it was the relay and swtich

[kamigirl]

Originally Posted by twinkey1

The fan is shorted internally and will need to be replaced. The only thing you can do in the mean time is to disconnect the plug to the aux fan so it does not kill the battery unil you can get it replaced. Unfortunately that is the only way to fix this problem. I have seen this before a few times in my dealership.changed fan relay, fan switch.it happened to me last month it was the relay and swtich

Thank you so much...I really appreciate the help...everyone has been so helpful...I will check into getting that done...do you know how much an aux fan is???

[kamigirl]

Thank you so much...everyone has been so helpful...do you know how much an aux fan is???