Cliff

Hey everybody... so here is the story. I was out wheeling my 1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic about a month or so ago and I blew up my radiator. The jeep was running fine and all of a sudden it started running hot at boom the radiator blows a crack right in the side just below the filler cap. So I tow the jeep home and go get a new radiator and change it out. I know how hard it can be in Cherokees to bleed out all the air in the system after that so I really took my time and made sure everything was bled out good. After I do that the jeep is still overheating. I would start it and it would warm up normally but then it would just keep getting hotter and hotter until it overheated. So I though that maybe the thermostat was bad so I changed that out. It still did the same thing. You could tell the new thermostat was opening so that eliminated that. I fixed my busted fan shroud thinking that could be part of it. Then I notice that my Aux fan is not turning on at all no matter how hot the jeep gets. I know that the fan only turns on when the jeep gets to a certain temp and when the AC is running but its not turning on at all. So I start trying to figure out why its not working. I changed the Relay that's in the fuse box on the passenger side of the motor that is for the Aux fan thinking that was it but no luck. I checked the fuse inside the jeep but that was fine as well. I then changed the temp sensor just above the thermostat thinking that was it also no luck. I have hot wired the Aux fan to the battery and it runs so I know the motor is good. My question is what else could possibly go to make the fan not kick on ever. I am guessing it is something in the wiring? The only other thing I notice is right before all this started my dash gauges had been flickering on and off from time to time. Every now and then all the gauges would stop working. If you tapped on the cluster they would kick back on. Then finally they went out and stayed out. I changed out the cluster thinking that was bad and had no luck. I also checked the plugs in the back to make sure they were OK. So I find the fuse for the gauges and its blown. If I put a new fuse in it blows it out immediately so I ran a jumper wire from one side of the fuse slot to the other to get the gauges to work. I am wondering if this is tied into the issue of the fan not working? And if so what could be causing it all to happen? I am not very good at electrical problems so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

tmac

1

CCKen

Somewhere in your giant never ending paragraph post I think I see a problem or two.

#1: Never jumper a fuse with a chunk of wire unless you want to cook something in your Heep.....Fuses are rated to protect the wiring....keep the wire from emitting smoke. The fuse you are talking about is the IOD fuse. THere's several circuits on that fuse that could cause it to blow.

#2: Did you check the 40 Amp Aux Fan fuse in the PDC? It's a Maxi-Fuse on the left bank of fuses, as you look at the PDC from the grill. I think the PDC cover identifies the fuse. Check it.

#3: Quit spending $ shotgunning parts. Troubleshoot first.

Cliff

Sorry I was just trying to be complete with my explanation of the problem. I hate when people say something like my jeep is overheating and my fan wont work and I don't know why and leave out half of what happened and what they already did and it takes 15 posts to get that established.
If I knew how to troubleshoot then I would. I said I am not very good with electrical. I was just trying to do the best with the abilities I have.
Yes I did... its fine.

Sheff

I went through the same thing with the aux fan and finally went and bought a switch for a couple bucks and wired it in. I used this site to try and help troubleshooting http://www.lunghd.com/On_Site_Tech.htm

CCKen

Does the fan run when using AC?

Try this.

Engine off. Remove connector from the Engine Coolant Temp sensor. Start engine. See if the fan works. If it does, the fan, the relay, fuses, and related wiring are inact. If not, the fan itself may be inop.

Reconnect the ECT sensor, remove the battery negative cable for five minutes to clear the CEL (P0118).