2000 solara 5S-FE, radiator fan troubleshooting

[fenixus]

hi guys. i noticed both camry and solara 5s-FE (not sure about V6) have 2 fans on radiator. that's why i'm posting here (more people) since solara sub-forum seems ... empty .. only questions over there, not many (if any) answers...


it happened that one of mine is stalled since some time. not sure if that happened right after I drove into deeper puddle and water stroke into ait and splashed on right front of car.
one thing worth to mention is that A/C stopped cooling on passenger side (driver side was working still) ... it fixed itself after i shutdown car for some time.

... but i noticed radiator fan on passenger side not working (don't know when it stopped, was not paying attention). aren't those two fans supposed to come alive both at same time as needed? only driver side fan spins ...

also from now on whenever rainfall gets into ventilation "intake" (below windshield when standing in front of car) on passenger side, A/C stops cooling that side of car... any ideas? how do i start troubleshooting that fan (or maybe something more) ?

will try checking on fuses and relays from what i've read in other threads/forums.

thanks in advance for advice!

[96paseo]

You should check to see if its getting power first. Remove the connector for the non-working fan and put a volt meter on the terminals. Turn on your A/C(both fans should run) and see if you have power(12-14 volts). If your getting power at the connector, the fan is bad. If not, test the relay for that fan.

[fenixus]

thanks! this makes it easy enough. tomorrow will bring voltmeter from work and see what comes up. i wasn't sure if A/C uses same fans as on radiator though, that's why i was so confused in first post.

just out of pure curiosity, if my fan (i hope its the fuse or something) turns out to be bad, which one should i get?
Advance Auto Parts have 2 same looking ones but price differs $109 vs $238 both are named Dorman Radiator Fan Motor and part numbers are Part No. 620-522 vs Part No. 620-544 .

[96paseo]

Originally Posted by fenixus

thanks! this makes it easy enough. tomorrow will bring voltmeter from work and see what comes up. i wasn't sure if A/C uses same fans as on radiator though, that's why i was so confused in first post.

just out of pure curiosity, if my fan (i hope its the fuse or something) turns out to be bad, which one should i get?
Advance Auto Parts have 2 same looking ones but price differs $109 vs $230
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...iator%20fan___

Looks like the higher priced ones are for both fans and housings. If it turns out the fan is the problem, you could just replace the motor. The fans should run constantly when the A/C is on. So long as there's only two fans, then yes those are the ones the A/C uses to cool the condenser core.

[fenixus]

96paseo, thanks so much! appreciate it. i'm new to fixing cars LOL (i fix and build computers & networks on daily basis). heh i didn't even know that i can just replace the motor if it's blown and not the whole assembly...
tomorrow will check on the suspected faulty one. once i know more i will report back.

[fenixus]

ok, i'm back. I set A/C to full blast on idling engine and measured DC voltage on unplugged power connector for suspected fan.
reading was around zero or negative fraction of thousands. so i guess there is minimal chance this is fan itself (still can be though). I plugged it back in.

I started checking up on relays in main Fuse/Relay Box under hood on driver's side.

I found 3 fan relays (no.1, no.2, no.3), on running car as above I tried:
1) pulling out the relay for FAN NO.1 - radiator fan on driver side shut down. OK
2) pulling out the relay for FAN NO.2 - nothing happened.
3) pulling out the relay for FAN NO.3 - not sure if anything happened, because i got no idea where that fan is (if it is...).

I wrote down part numbers of FAN relays:
a) fan no.2
TOYOTA RELAY (brown color)
DENSO
90084-98032
TN156700-1061

b) fan no.3
TOYOTA RELAY (black color)
DENSO
90084-98031
TN156700-1071

I found Santech Relay (MT0225 for fan no.2) at $12.99 in Autozone but it's out of stock (special order only), should I order this one or original Toyota/DENSO part from dealer? curious to see what happens next

should I replace now the relay for FAN no.2? what is no.3 for? thanks!

[fenixus]

also found (in stock this time) this relay in Advance Auto Parts. sounds like i'm gonna pick it up tomorrow from there, i forgot i screw autozone (mostly they have only cheap brands in stock around me, even though they are closest store i no longer like them hehe) ...

AAP:
Factory Air Relay
Part No. 36126
Radiator Fan Motor; Position #2 in relay block
$16.79

does anyone know how much toyota charges for this relay? i guess price would be double or so, maybe i will give them a call tomorrow too.

EDIT:
i found MSRP price for this relay (fan.2) is $39.95 (plus tax), so i guess i will visit AAP and take that cheap $16 instead.

good tool for Toyota part numbers lookup, giving MSRP pricing to compare (their internet prices are cheaper, but charging s/h 10% of value or $9.95 min):
https://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/partscat.html

One more question. are there any fuses for fans I should check too?

[fenixus]

AAP was out stock (all of them in region) and their warehouse was empty of this particular relay type as well (cannot order).

however autozone was able to order one (Santech / Relay - Radiator Cooling Fan Motor / relay no. 2 - p/n MT0225 for $12.99). will pick it up on Saturday and see what happens. in the meantime i will check the fuses as well.

EDIT:
i am so dumb. i tested all ATM fuses with a tester today and all were good. then started visually checking all square (MAXI) fuses and discovered that 30A CDS was blown. replaced it and fan on passenger side started running

canceled order on relay in autozone. "fan no. 2" relay works just fine (org DENSO). it was the fuse all along... just at first glance it looked normal, after closer inspection it came up to be brownish and broken (hardly visible).

After googling for a while I found out that CDS stands for Condenser, so that would explain A/c running poorly with this fuse blown...