Table of Contents
What are the symptoms of a bad fan clutch?
How to Tell If Your Fan Clutch Is Going Bad? Vehicle overheating. An overheating engine is often the first symptom that is commonly associated with a bad or failing fan clutch. Loose and Wobbling Fan. Excessively loud cooling fans. A decrease in acceleration, power & fuel efficiency.
How do you test a fan clutch?
To confirm the diagnosis, start with this simple test: Spin the fan as hard as you can on an engine that has not been started that day. If the fan rotates more than five times, you can bet the clutch is bad. You should feel some resistance and the fan may spin up to three times, depending on the ambient temperature.
Should a fan clutch spin freely when cold?
A fan clutch is a thermostatic motor conditioning fan that may freewheel at low temp when cooling isn’t required, enabling the engine to heat up quicker and reducing engine load.
How does a fan clutch work on a vehicle?
A fan clutch is a thermostatic engine cooling fan that can freewheel at low temperatures when cooling is not needed, allowing the engine to warm up faster, relieving unnecessary load on the engine. As temperatures increase, the clutch engages so that the fan is driven by engine power and moves air to cool the engine.
What temperature does a fan clutch engage?
At what temperatures do fan clutches engage? Answer: Most fan clutches engage at about 170°F air temperature (about 180-190°F engine temperature). They reduce the temperature about 20°F before disengaging.
What tells a clutch fan to engage?
To engage the fan, internal valves open and allow the fluid to fill the working area of the clutch. This creates friction between the drive plate and the housing, causing the fan to spin.
Does a clutch fan pull or push air?
Neither. The fan on your car pulls outside air through your radiator to remove the heat from the engine coolant flowing through it. The fan increases air flow when it is necessary due to slow speed driving which does not move enough air through the radiator to maintain coolant temperature or on very hot days.
How does an air operated fan clutch work?
A Fan Clutch engages the fan and makes it turn when the valve opens; it pushes the PFD (Piston Friction Disc) against the friction material and also sends air pressure to overcome a spring. It disengages when the valve is closed, which allows the solenoid to exhaust air and let the spring return.
Should a fan clutch spin all the time?
Spin the fan. Electronic types might freewheel, but most fan clutches should spin with a little effort. If the fan spins more than three times, you may have a bad fan clutch. If the fan doesn’t spin at all, the bearing may be seized.
How tight should a fan clutch be?
Snugged up is Good Enough. For “The Jesus Nut” to the Threaded outer portion of the Water Pump Snugged Tight is Fine.
Does fan clutch make whining?
A whistling or whining noise coming from the engine bay can be pretty serious. There’s a number of possible causes for the whistling noise, but one of the most common causes is a loose serpentine belt. When this happens, the fan clutch is not engaged properly.
Why is fan clutch engaged cold?
A thermal fan clutch is engaged on a cold startup because the fluid drains into the working area when the engine is shut off. The fan clutch will slow down shortly after startup as result of a pumping action produced by a difference in speed between the shaft and the body of a clutch.
What’s the difference between thermal and non thermal fan clutch?
A non-thermal fan clutch is nothing more than a thermal fan clutch always partly engaged. It provides adequate cooling when needed, however, it does not save you money by disengaging (operating at a lower RPM) when additional cooling is not needed.
Is an electric fan better than a clutch fan?
When compared to an electric fan, fan clutches are quite inefficient. The benefits of a Thermatic Fan lay in its ability to provide constant air flow, improved fuel economy, better air-conditioning performance, cooler engine running and increased engine power.
Which way does a radiator fan spin?
Yes. If you are in the vehicle looking at the motor, standard rotation would appear as counter-clockwise. Or if standing at the front of the vehicle the fan would be moving clockwise.
What does a fan clutch solenoid do?
A Horton fan clutch’s prime function is to engage and disengage the engine fan with a clutch controlled by an air-actuated solenoid valve. On modern vehicles, the solenoid receives signals to turn on and off from the engine’s ECU.
What is a solenoid controlled fan clutch controlled by?
The solenoid controls whether the fan gets air supply or not. The solenoid is controlled by the ECU. The ECU gets inputs from the coolant temp sensor and the manual fan override switch. It works by air pressure acting internally on a diaphragm closing the gap so the friction material contacts and drives the fan.
How much does it cost to replace a fan clutch?
The average for Clutch Fan is $310 Repair Type Zip Cost Clutch Fan 98027 $179 Clutch Fan 7767 $352 Clutch Fan 75097 $391 Clutch Fan 11593 $331.
Will a fan clutch tighten itself?
it will tighten itself down just fine.
