Help! Auxiliary fan not working
08-03-2006, 10:55 PM
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1997 E320
Help! Auxiliary fan not working
It took me a while to figure out that the auxiliary fan doesn't work in my car. I unplugged the fan and connected it directly to the battery and nothing so I know the fan's dead.
I also checked the wire coming to the fan for any voltage when engine running and A/C on and no voltage was coming to the fan. This leads me to believe either a relay or a fuse is blown, or there is something wrong with engine temperature sensor. I wanna start by checking the relay or fuse but can't find neither. I checked the fuse box under the hood and the one next to the battery and none of those are designated for the auxiliary fan. And I have no clue where the relays are located.
Any suggestions what might be the problem? where can I find the relay or the fuse for the electric auxiliary fan? thanks
I also checked the wire coming to the fan for any voltage when engine running and A/C on and no voltage was coming to the fan. This leads me to believe either a relay or a fuse is blown, or there is something wrong with engine temperature sensor. I wanna start by checking the relay or fuse but can't find neither. I checked the fuse box under the hood and the one next to the battery and none of those are designated for the auxiliary fan. And I have no clue where the relays are located.
Any suggestions what might be the problem? where can I find the relay or the fuse for the electric auxiliary fan? thanks
08-12-2006, 01:49 AM
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1997 E320
Figured it out
So I went to autozone today and got a 16" electric fan and hooked it up where the original aux fans would and it worked with A/C on and engine running above 95 C. The system that feeds the aux fans is a smart system so if there's no load (meaning the fan is dead) then it cuts the power, which is the reason i didn't detect any voltage.
So I'm going to install a 16" and a smaller electric fan from advance auto parts. the fans are made in the USA so I trust they will be good. It will cost me around $120 for two fans compared to the mercedes oem for $200. The 16" fan also is much larger than the factory and the housing does not cover as much of the radiator as the factory did. It also covers more surface area of the radiator which should improve cooling.
I also ordered a 82 degrees C thermostat (as opposed to the 87 degree oem thermostat) from O'Reily to help engine run cooler.
Any suggestions or comments on this project is highly appreciated. I will post the results as soon as this is done.
So I'm going to install a 16" and a smaller electric fan from advance auto parts. the fans are made in the USA so I trust they will be good. It will cost me around $120 for two fans compared to the mercedes oem for $200. The 16" fan also is much larger than the factory and the housing does not cover as much of the radiator as the factory did. It also covers more surface area of the radiator which should improve cooling.
I also ordered a 82 degrees C thermostat (as opposed to the 87 degree oem thermostat) from O'Reily to help engine run cooler.
Any suggestions or comments on this project is highly appreciated. I will post the results as soon as this is done.
08-16-2006, 06:54 PM
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Don't do what I did!!!!
So after installing the fan and being all happy I sat in the car with A/C running and when the fan came on it was sending vibrations louder than ever to the cabin. That is absolutely a no no for me so I went ahead and took it out and ordered the original fan from a place online for $180. if anyone needs link just ask.
So the moral of the story is only install what's intended to be on the car or better and no autozone kind of crap on Mercedes, I am so ashamed of my attempt to ghetto rigging my baby benz
so go ahead and talk as much smack as you want I deserve it. And I ended up throwing away $130 because they won't return the fan now, due to some "modifications" I made to make it fit (basically broke all the fan housing off)
So the moral of the story is only install what's intended to be on the car or better and no autozone kind of crap on Mercedes, I am so ashamed of my attempt to ghetto rigging my baby benz
so go ahead and talk as much smack as you want I deserve it. And I ended up throwing away $130 because they won't return the fan now, due to some "modifications" I made to make it fit (basically broke all the fan housing off)
