Radiator fan assembly replacement procedure

[08 Edge Limited]

First of all, many thanks for the very detailed cooling fan instructions, whoever first posted them. They were great. I am a retired ASE Master Technician and college instructor with many decades of experience and still do my own repairs. Our 08 Edge decided to overheat one day and I noticed my AC not working as well as it used to. I even noticed the cooling fans were not as noisy as before.

 

The dead giveaway was that once I reached highway speeds, everything worked well. A quick trip under the hood showed the pass side cooling fan wasnt working, and the drivers fan would intermittently. The usual research showed current getting into and out of the cooling fan, and when disconnected and wired directly to the battery, one fan worked, sometimes.

 

Amazon proved the least expensive source for fans, and thanks to Prime, it took a couple of days for one to reach me. Being frugal, I ordered the TYC 622040 fan assembly. The instructions were right on, and 30 minutes later, it was in.

 

Oops, it still doesnt work. Back to square one. I wired the fans directly to the battery and they both work well. I have current to the main connector but when I tried to swap the TYC controller with the Ford controller, the plugs were different. I made some jumper leads and presto, it worked fine with the original Ford part. I cut one of the connectors from the old fan and the plug from the new one and soldered the leads together.

 

A couple of hours later, I have a complete working fan assembly and a junk TYC controller. I going to try and get Amazon to take that part back, but I'm not disappointed with the quality of the TYC fan, yet. Even if I have to junk the TYC controller, I feel I am miles ahead cost wise.

[akirby]

The Dorman replacement worked fine for me.

[Cummins]

Hi, new to the forum. I am having the same issue withmy wife's 2008 edge limited with tow package, the passenger side fan not running and the driver side at full speed all times. I can jump the passenger side to the battery and the fan will run. Could this be the control module? And if so about how much will that cost? Thanks in advance for any help.

[akirby]

The fans and controller come as a unit.

[Cummins]

I guess that makes it simple on what to buy. Thanks.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Cummins

[MoogLe]

Could anybody just confirm for me that the 2011 EDGE SE (non tow package) uses the same dorman assembly that is mentioned in this thread? For some reason everyone in this thread seems to have a 2008.

[autom8r]

MoogLe:

 

You need a Dorman 621-392, non-tow package radiator fan assembly. Matches Ford part CT4Z-8C607-B

 

https://levittownfordsupercenter.com/levittown-parts/#parts

 

http://www.dormanproducts.com/itemdetail.aspx?ProductID=48585&SEName=621-392

 

 

Happy Trails.

[MoogLe]

MoogLe:

 

You need a Dorman 621-392, non-tow package radiator fan assembly. Matches Ford part CT4Z-8C607-B

 

https://levittownfordsupercenter.com/levittown-parts/#parts

 

http://www.dormanproducts.com/itemdetail.aspx?ProductID=48585&SEName=621-392

 

 

Happy Trails.

 

 

awesome. thanks buddy!

[cbynum]

Is this the fix for A/C not blowing cold air? Mechanic said had a good charge on freon and it wasn't leaking. The only thing I can find is to replace the fan assembly. Today, the fan on passenger side was running but the other was not.

[akirby]

Possibly. Was the A/C on at the time? With A/C on both fans should be running.

[omar302]

Is this the fix for A/C not blowing cold air? Mechanic said had a good charge on freon and it wasn't leaking. The only thing I can find is to replace the fan assembly. Today, the fan on passenger side was running but the other was not.

The fans would be the culprit if the A/C blows cold while moving, but cooling reduces when stopped or at low speeds. If the A/C is not cooling at any speed, then it is something else (regardless if the fans are ok or not).

 

Just a reminder as it is often overlooked, did you check/replace the cabin air filter behind the glove box? It will affect the performance of the A/C if it is old or clogged.

[macbwt]

Fan assembly removal and installation

[Ryan McKeon]

I had the same issue with only one radiator fan working full speed for a couple of months until eventually they both went and I had to replace the whole assembly. I have since installed 3 separate fan assemblies with the following results:

 

1). Ordered the Dorman from Amazon and installed using the procedure in this thread (I have the factory tow package). Worked great in the garage and then the next day I noticed the temperature gauge rising again and the fans weren't on. Took it to a mechanic and was told there was a loose connection in the module. They repaired it and it worked for another half day before burning out again. I decided to return it and buy another assembly locally so I could return it easier if needed.

 

2). Bought the VDO (Murray) FA70600 from O'Reilly and the fans were operating with the AC compressor and/or when the engine came up to temperature. The only problem was that when they did come on, they'd wind up to full speed and were extremely noisy and caused a lot of vibration. I ordered another unit (same brand) and waited for it to arrive so I could take it in and do a warranty exchange. I figured the speed problem was something else that I'd have to figure out but I wanted to exchange it for the vibration issues anyway since the fans didn't seem to be properly balanced.

 

3). Installed 3rd unit last night (Murray FA70600) and the fans immediately came on with the AC compressor at a much more reasonable speed. However I was concerned that they seemed to be cycling too often (about 10 seconds on and 20 off). The AC compressor was cycling at a normal rate it seemed...at least not as often as the fans were. I had a 12 minute drive to work this morning with the AC off and when I arrived I made sure I could hear the fans running before shutting off the car. During lunch I went out and tested it again with the AC; cycled 10 on and 20 off which wasn't enough to keep the AC compressor cool so it was blowing warm air the whole time. I still need to test the cycle times without the AC to see if it does the same thing. The engine didn't overheat on the drive to work but I didn't hit that many lights so I'll have to test it out later tonight.

 

What would cause #2 and #3 to behave like this? My initial thought is that I've just gotten unlucky every time in receiving fans with bad modules, but I don't know if I should be looking at or replacing any other sensors that would cause this. I'm just thinking if it were something else causing it, then the most recent fan assembly would have behaved the same way and ran full blast. Any thoughts?

[macbwt]

The answer is FOMOCO. Personally I would spend the money and find a motorcraft fan online or at Rockauto and be done with it. Checking your wiring circuits to verify everything is grounded and good with continuity. OEM fans are cheap when compared to new engines and damaged AC.

[Ryan McKeon]

The answer is FOMOCO. Personally I would spend the money and find a motorcraft fan online or at Rockauto and be done with it. Checking your wiring circuits to verify everything is grounded and good with continuity. OEM fans are cheap when compared to new engines and damaged AC.

 

Good point, the Motorcraft part on RockAuto is the same price as I paid for these at O'Reilly so might as well go that route. When I took it to the mechanic after the first failed replacement they claimed the wiring was good but I'll double check it myself later as well.

 

I tested the fans out last night and they were operating properly when the engine got up to temperature but for some reason as soon as I turn on the A/C it starts cycling constantly. At least I won't overheat the engine in the meantime, just can't run the A/C but luckily it hasn't started getting too hot here in Florida yet.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

You might be facing an AC High Pressure Switch issue, sometimes happens in these cases. Or maybe AC refrigerant level is low.

http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/18985-2008-mkx-heating-up/?do=findComment&comment=139465

[Ryan McKeon]

The answer is FOMOCO. Personally I would spend the money and find a motorcraft fan online or at Rockauto and be done with it. Checking your wiring circuits to verify everything is grounded and good with continuity. OEM fans are cheap when compared to new engines and damaged AC.

 

You were right, FoMoCo was the answer. Installed the part last night and everything worked perfectly. I was trying to be cheap thinking the OEM part was $500+ but didn't even look into it much; $260 on RockAuto wasn't that bad. The $130 I paid initially for the Dorman would have been nice but it definitely wasn't worth the hassle of having to install 4 different fans before one worked. Thanks!

[macbwt]

Glad to see it worked out for you.

 

 

You were right, FoMoCo was the answer. Installed the part last night and everything worked perfectly. I was trying to be cheap thinking the OEM part was $500+ but didn't even look into it much; $260 on RockAuto wasn't that bad. The $130 I paid initially for the Dorman would have been nice but it definitely wasn't worth the hassle of having to install 4 different fans before one worked. Thanks!

[Snoops1586]

So overwhelmingly happy I found this post and forum the simplified instructions were great only took me 20 minutes and later down this feed some one mentioned about the connection not snapping in you're absolutely correct but a simple fix for that is electrical tape around it so it does not vibrate loose

 

Last weekend I replaced my faulty fan assembly. The fan speed control module failed, leaving one of the fans operating at high speed all the time [an annoying tattletale, BTW]. A new module costs as much or more as the entire fan assembly, so I opted to replace the whole thing.

 

The service manual instructs you to disconnect the upper radiator hose. That would've qualified this job as a messy PITA. A message to thirdgenlxi was quickly returned with a set of abbreviated instructions, which made the job much cleaner and easier.

 

And so attached for your use is the 'simplified' fan assembly replacement procedure. The entire job took about 0:30 minutes. Scale of difficulty, 1 to 2, about the same as rotating your tires.

 

A hearty thanks to thirdgenlxi for his advice.

[twitch]

Thanks a ton for the instructions.

 

Here's something to look out for when doing this:

 

When doing this be cautious of the oil dipstick handle. By moving the radiator hose behind the engine pull mount it puts stress on the dipstick handle. Mine broke off so I have to see about a replacement and removal of the old one.

 

If I were to do this again I would remove the dipstick and cover the hole with something before moving the hose.

 

Thanks.

Scott

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Painter's tape or frog tape works well for covering exposed parts. Hopefully you can get a used dipstick locally or on EBay ... Don't know if MY is significant for this part.

[macbwt]

Thanks a ton for the instructions.

 

Here's something to look out for when doing this:

 

When doing this be cautious of the oil dipstick handle. By moving the radiator hose behind the engine pull mount it puts stress on the dipstick handle. Mine broke off so I have to see about a replacement and removal of the old one.

 

If I were to do this again I would remove the dipstick and cover the hole with something before moving the hose.

 

Thanks.

Scott

Not really sure how you broke the dip stick tube, but hey I break stuff also so welcome to the club!!

[dm7]

 

Good point, the Motorcraft part on RockAuto is the same price as I paid for these at O'Reilly so might as well go that route. When I took it to the mechanic after the first failed replacement they claimed the wiring was good but I'll double check it myself later as well.

 

I tested the fans out last night and they were operating properly when the engine got up to temperature but for some reason as soon as I turn on the A/C it starts cycling constantly. At least I won't overheat the engine in the meantime, just can't run the A/C but luckily it hasn't started getting too hot here in Florida yet.

 

Reading this thread has been very helpful, but I have a question about my specific problem and maybe someone can help. My old fan assembly clearly had 1 fan that was burned out. I replaced it with an O'Reilly fan assembly, but the engine is still overheating at idle, and the A/C blows warm air. So the same symptoms as most others in this thread, and maybe exactly the same problem as Ryan (quoted).

 

Both of the fans spin, but obviously something is wrong. Is there any way that I can easily highlight a problem with the O'Reilly fan and order a new one from RockAuto (I had never heard of them, and the Motorcraft fan is the same price as the O'Reilly fan was)?

 

 

Of course, I'm hesitant to drop 260 on the Motorcraft fan if there could be another problem elsewhere. I can do some engine work but not great with electric. I am piecing together some OBD today, but I'm not sure there's anything in there that will pinpoint the problem.

[macbwt]

As mentioned previously certain parts can be substituted, but as far as the fan goes it always seems to go back to the OEM motorcraft fan if you want it to work correctly.

[TurboFlush]

I replaced my fans just over a year ago after one of them decided to lock up. I bought a Dorman from what I can tell. Not sure as to why I did this, since everything I read.. is bad about the Dormans. lol

Anyway, just over a year and my a/c starts blowing hot and car overheating. I am in florida so a/c and cooling are important.

Behold the darn fans are not spinning. seems to time out after 10 or 20 min and not come back on. Went to autozoo and ordered a replacement module ($175), just to find out is completely different than the unit I installed in the car. :-(

 

I am going to get a used fomoco unit on monday.

If I can find my reciept for the dorman... I am contacting them.

p.s. had no problems with it until now.

 

AS far as the A/C.. the fans (no tow) or fan (tow/high ambient) should stay on and be Pulse width controlled by the PCM.

 

Funny part about that diagram is that I dont remember there being a third wire for the PCM to the FCM. just power and ground.

I would guess that the programming in the PCM is different for tow package, and possibly even the transmission.

The Harnesses are different, and very expensive, about 6 versions (edge and mkx) that I can tell.

I would like to see Ford answer this question we all seem to have.

being in Florida, and towing a small boat once in awhile, I want to keep the rad cooler.

 

Note: the module I got from Autozoo was a Duralast but the item in the box is labeled FoMoCo. :-)

Edited June 26, 2016 by TurboFlush