1999 986 Left Radiator Fan Not Working - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Vidyashankara · 07-15-2018, 06:25 AM

Hi All,
My left radiator fan isn't working. Here are the things I have done so far in chronological order,

1. Checked the relays if they clicked while turning on the A/C, and moved them around to ensure all four are working.
2. Replaced the fan and the resistor.
3. Checked the fuse and saw the left fuse (c10, 30amp) was blown and replaced the fuse.

The left fan doesn't turn on at any time, no low speed or high speed. Drove the car until the coolant temp was at close to 200 F.

Any idea what else I can do?
Please help,
Thanks,
Vidhu

Vidyashankara · 07-15-2018, 08:53 AM

I have an update. I took a wire and directly connected the top and bottom connectors in each of relay connections. The low speed and the high speed for the right fan works, and only the high speed of the left fan works. I already replaced the fan and the resistor on the left side... any idea what else could go wrong?

Vidyashankara · 07-15-2018, 12:18 PM

When I try jumping the relay on low speed, I don’t even have any spark. I get a spark on the relay in high speed. Can there be an electrical malfunction? Would I expect a spark if the ballast was faulty? I replaced it, don’t know if the brand new one came faulty... I ordered it from pelican parts

particlewave · 07-15-2018, 12:50 PM

Do you have a test meter or light? If yes, test connector 30 on the relay socket for 12V+.
My guess is bad low speed resistor (0.55 ohms).

Vidyashankara · 07-15-2018, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

Do you have a test meter or light? If yes, test connector 30 on the relay socket for 12V+.
My guess is bad low speed resistor (0.55 ohms).

I have a multi meter. I test 12volt between 30 and 57? So connect the red one to 30 and black probe to 57? Sorry don’t want to short out anything and not familiar with this.

The resistor is what came with the fan rt? I replaced the fan and resistor or ballast yesterday with a new one that I ordered from pelican parts

particlewave · 07-15-2018, 02:52 PM

I missed that you replaced the fan/resistor.

With your meter, attach the black probe to a ground (-) source. Touch the red probe to pin 30 on the left side fan low speed relay socket.

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

I missed that you replaced the fan/resistor.

With your meter, attach the black probe to a ground (-) source. Touch the red probe to pin 30 on the left side fan low speed relay socket.

I did this and can confirm that I read 12v on the 30 pin. For the ground, I just touched the black probe to a screw on the car

particlewave · 07-16-2018, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vidyashankara

I did this and can confirm that I read 12v on the 30 pin. For the ground, I just touched the black probe to a screw on the car

That's good.
If you get nothing from the fan with a jumper between pin 30 and 87, then you have a wiring issue or the low speed resistor is bad.

(Different relay panel in this picture, just showing which pins to jump)

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 06:30 AM

Also my blower motor went out abruptly this morning. I get no air from my vents. Fuses are good. How do I troubleshoot this?

particlewave · 07-16-2018, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vidyashankara

Also my blower motor went out abruptly this morning. I get no air from my vents. Fuses are good. How do I troubleshoot this?

The heater/AC relay is number 18. The fan relays are 19, 20, 21 and 22.
You probably moved a bad relay into socket 18 or are confused about which relay is which and have #18 pulled.

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

The heater/AC relay is number 18. The fan relays are 19, 20, 21 and 22.
You probably moved a bad relay into socket 18 or are confused about which relay is which and have #18 pulled.

That’s weird. I don’t have any relay at 18. Never did... I have 19,20,21 and 22

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vidyashankara

That’s weird. I don’t have any relay at 18. Never did... I have 19,20,21 and 22

This is so weird. I moved one of the relays from 19 to 18 and the blower motor works now. I moved one from 20 to 19, and the low speed fan still doesn’t work.

I need to buy an extra relay for 18. I don’t know how the AC worked all these months without a relay in 18 🤷🏽****♂️ i took a pic of the relays many weeks ago and it isn’t there on 18 then too...

How do I troubleshoot whether I have a resistor problem or a wiring issue?

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vidyashankara

This is so weird. I moved one of the relays from 19 to 18 and the blower motor works now. I moved one from 20 to 19, and the low speed fan still doesn’t work.

I need to buy an extra relay for 18. I don’t know how the AC worked all these months without a relay in 18 🤷🏽****♂️ i took a pic of the relays many weeks ago and it isn’t there on 18 then too...

How do I troubleshoot whether I have a resistor problem or a wiring issue?

Sorry, no idea what I was smoking last weekend. There were 5 relays and i lost one when i moving the relays around...

The low speed fan still isn't running. Shorting 30 and 87 did not do get the fans running and the resistor and the fan is brand new. How would I troubleshoot a wiring problem? Attached pics of the resistor.

When I had the stereo system and rear view camera installed, they have the camera wiring a bit weird and the wires were pulled apart when i used the convertible top. they fixed it when I took back. I wonder if something happened then.

particlewave · 07-16-2018, 12:04 PM

Unplug the fan connector, jump the relay as shown above, then test for voltage on the low speed pin on the fan connector.

Touch negative probe of multimeter to the brown wire for ground, and the positive probe to the wire that is yellow with green stripe. Should read around 12V+.

A) If power is good there, the problem lies in the fan assembly (either bad resistor or solder connection). Set multimeter to ohms and check resistor (should be around 0.5 ohms).
If resistor is good, reconnect the fan assembly power connector and jump the relay again. Test for + voltage on both sides of the resistor and report results.

B) If you found no power at the fan connector, you have a wiring issue.

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

Unplug the fan connector, jump the relay as shown above, then test for voltage on the low speed pin on the fan connector.

Touch negative probe of multimeter to the brown wire for ground, and the positive probe to the wire that is yellow with green stripe. Should read around 12V+.

A) If power is good there, the problem lies in the fan assembly (either bad resistor or solder connection). Set multimeter to ohms and check resistor (should be around 0.5 ohms).
If resistor is good, reconnect the fan assembly power connector and jump the relay again. Test for + voltage on both sides of the resistor and report results.

B) If you found no power at the fan connector, you have a wiring issue.

Awesome thanks! I will test this soon as report back.

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

Unplug the fan connector, jump the relay as shown above, then test for voltage on the low speed pin on the fan connector.

Touch negative probe of multimeter to the brown wire for ground, and the positive probe to the wire that is yellow with green stripe. Should read around 12V+.

A) If power is good there, the problem lies in the fan assembly (either bad resistor or solder connection). Set multimeter to ohms and check resistor (should be around 0.5 ohms).
If resistor is good, reconnect the fan assembly power connector and jump the relay again. Test for + voltage on both sides of the resistor and report results.

B) If you found no power at the fan connector, you have a wiring issue.

Hey, So I just check the power connector. I am getting 12V on the yellow wire with the green stripe. So the problem is with the fan assembly. I bought this brand new from pelican parts. Some QA there...

How do I test the resistor? What wires do I touch with ohmmeter?

Thanks,
Vidhu

particlewave · 07-16-2018, 01:04 PM

You might try reconnecting it first. Could have been a poor connection.

I'm not sure about the resistor. One of its wires goes to the yellow/green pin and the other will go to the fan. I might need some pictures from you.

Vidyashankara · 07-16-2018, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

You might try reconnecting it first. Could have been a poor connection.

I'm not sure about the resistor. One of its wires goes to the yellow/green pin and the other will go to the fan. I might need some pictures from you.

oops, I wish I had waited to see your messages. I just put the tire back on as it started drizzling. I also called Pelican to get a replacement fan and additional relays. Do you want to still try figuring this out? we can do it on wednesday as there are gonna be thunderstorms all day tomorrow.. (No garage)

Vidyashankara · 07-21-2018, 04:08 AM

Update: I got a replacement fan from Pelican parts. I installed it and both the low and high fans are working now. Thanks Charles for all the help

particlewave · 07-16-2018, 01:09 PM

I sent you an email. If you have an iPhone, we could do a FaceTime call to sort this out faster.