My Sebring has been overheating intermittently. Suspecting the fan, I pulled the relays one at a time. The relays tested good, but if I jumper past the relays, the high relay activates the fan but the low relay does not. I assume there is a resistor somewhere, probably part of the fan assembly. Do I need to replace the fan or fan motor to get low speed operating again?

Thanks!

Chris

 

The fans are not supposed to work all the time. They are controlled by the engine computer and come on when certain conditions are satisfied. If you bypass all the controls and the fan doesn't come on, then it's probably the motor, but it could be the wiring also.
As far as the overheating is concerned, there are other possibilities besides the fan. The car is now 15 years old and could have radiator issues such as external or internal clogging. You could have a bad water pump or a collapsed radiator hose. You could have a bad thermostat or radiator cap. Your antifreeze could be old, dirty, weak or of the wrong type. You could have a blown head gasket.

Start with the cheapest and easiest solutions first, then tackle the harder and more expensive possibilities.

 

I pulled the fan and connected it to a couple of lantern batteries... It turned on the high speed pins but not the low speed pins. So the low side of the fan is dead. Thermostat was recently replaced and I inspected the hoses, they looked fine. Car has 110000 miles so it is due for a water pump too I think. Thank you!

Chris