I have a problem with my 2002 Durango (4.7 liter) of overheating when I am sitting at an idle for a long time. Once I actually got the "check gauge" light but the rest of the times it gets almost to the 3/4 mark before I can get moving again. As soon as I get down the road a ways it starts cooling down. I suspect the electric cooling fan not going on when it is supposes to or is dead all together). I also noticed that the electric fan is NOT on when the AC is on. I thought it was supposed to come on whenever the A/C is on. I looked at the fuse for the electric fan and it appears okay. I will probablly replace the fuse just in case anyway. I guess it could be the relay and I may just replace this too if it is not too pricey at the dealer. Does anyone have any ideas? Of course if the fan IS supposed to come on when the A/C is on, I guesss that pretty much tells me the fan is dead??

Thanks,
Clay

 

i would check the fuse and relay, pretty sure its one of the two, specially if it doesnt come at all. i had car with the same problem

 

this is a priority to repair......overheating this eng is a no no

PDC underhood fuse#15 40amp- also fuse #10 10amp
relay is also located in PDC- could swap with like relay for testing

you are correct on with A/C selected.....
is the CEL on?

 

Most likely the fan motor is gone. Don't overheat that motor! If the fan fuse is good and the motor is not on in A/C run mode, then check the harness going to the fan for corrosion. If none is found and there is 12 volts going to the motor then replace the fan.

The relays are interchangeable. You can open the PDC and switch a relay to double check it.

 

I replaced the 40amp fuse today-no change. I will find the 10amp and replace it also. I guess the next step is to fork over some dough to the dealer for a new relay.

So the electric fan should come on when the AC is on?

If CEL stands for check engine light, the answer is not always. I actually only got the "check gauges" light once when it got to around 3/4. The other times I have been able to get moving before it got to 3/4 and once I get some air flow it cools down pretty quickly.

 

The fan should have come on when it reaches a high temp to assist cooling. I would also have your fan clutch checked. Normally when idling, the fan clutch usually can handle the heat load at idle. If clutch checks out, I would start inspecting your cooling system. Check the stat, pump, radiator.

 

Yep, the problem was the electric cooling fan. I replaced it and sure enough when I turned on the AC I heard the sweet hum of the electric fan! I have had no overheating problems at idle since the fan has been replaced. I even had the fun of doing it twice since the first fan lasted about 6 days before the retaining clip fell off. It makes quite a racket when a wobbly fan is hitting the radiator! The 2nd fan I got looks like they went to a nut (with loctite I hope) instead of the cheesy retaining clip design-I assume this was an improvement. The work was a lot more involved than the Hanes manual said, but it was really just a bunch of interference removal since the fan assembly itself had only 3 bolts. For anyone that needs to do this, the following is a quick rundown as to what’s involved (not the generic Hanes version!).

You will need to unplug the fan connector underneath (there is a little orange lock thing you need to slide out to unplug the connector). You will also need to unplug 3 connectors from the left side of the upper shroud (window washer reservoir is an integral part of the left side of the shroud). I didn't do this but 2 connectors that are right next to each other could EASILY be accidentally swapped so I would label one of these so they get hooked back up right. You will also need to remove the hose coming off the radiator cap that goes to the overflow tank (overflow tank is an integral part of the right side of the shroud). I left the hoses connected to the windshield washer reservoir and just set the upper shroud on top the engine out of the way enough to work. There is a cross-member directly in front of one of the fan bolts so you will need to remove the one lower driver side bolt and the top 2 center bolts, loosen the lower passenger side bolt (enough to rotate the cross-member) to allow access. In order to get the fan connector through you will also need to remove the lower shroud (there is a cutout but it is only big enough for the harness wires). Now that all this is removed, you can remove the fan assembly. Here is a list of the tools needed:
1) 10 mm socket/ratchet ( a ¼ inch drive is beefy enough for these bolts) with a WIDE selection of extensions. These are for the upper shroud (2), the lower shroud (2), and the fan assy (3). The lower shroud bolts were much easier to get from underneath the truck.
2) 13 mm socket/ratchet (I used a 3/8 inch drive for these). These are for the cross-member piece bolts (3). The lower bolts are also much easier to get from underneath.

It took me about 3 hours for the first time and about 1.5 hours the second time.

 

Thanks for the write up. I'll thorow it in the DIY section.

 

Okay, i'm an idiot apparently... I found the 40 fuse.. where is the fuse #10 10amp? Are you still referring to the PDC location?

 

Sounds like both are in the PDC under the hood. Looks like #10 is a relay that is 10 amp's not a fuse. Try to swap the relay with one that is the same number. THere should be a spare in the PDC you can use.