00' cooling problem fan module &/or relay

[flcmc]

2000 JGC 4x4 4.0L inline 6
Last summer (04') the fan stopped working and the engine started to overheat. Had the fan tested and fan still ran when bypassed. Took to dealership and they said it was a fan module ($350) and a Fan Relay ($75) Had them both replaced by someone, to save on labor and it ran fine up until today (04/05). The temp gauge went up and fan will not turn on even when A/C button is pressed to turn on the A/C. If I drive it at a constant speed the radiator cools the engine so i can travel on the interstate but not through town.

First Question....Is this a common problem with this year?? its expensive to fix! I have never heard of sensors going that fast. Not even a full year.

Just looking for ANY Info about this problem! Please help! It is at the dealership now, just want other insights to this mess.

Thanks!!!

[Bob D.]

1. Never take your Jeep to the stealership unless you have to. This job can be done by any competent mechanic.
2. It is not uncommon for fan relays to break on late model Jeep Grands.
Not sure what you mean by "fan module." If you mean the fan motor, they sold you a whole motor when all you needed was a fan relay.
As far as your current problem, maybe another bad fan. Bypass the relay, test etc.

[flcmc]

Originally Posted by Bob D.

Moral of the story
1. Never take your Jeep to the stealership unless you have to.
2. It is not uncommon for fan relays to break on late model Jeep Grands.

They sold you a whole fan module when all you needed was a fan relay.
As far as your current problem, maybe another bad fan. Bypass the relay, test etc.

Well, I got off the phone with the dealership, they said I don't need a relay, just the module. They said it was just the module that needed to be replaced. Of course it was the more expensive of the two. Problems like this will make me reconsider buying a Jeep again. I like them, but I have had to put roughly $3500 in to it in the past year and a half in parts and labor, not including oil changes or tires. I am only the second owner of the vehicle. Maybe jeep should cancel the contract with whatever country makes there module and relays and switches, and if its the usa, which I am almost certain it is not....find a better company to produce them, this is an expensive problem to be a COMMON problem.

[Bob D.]

Originally Posted by flcmc

Well, I got off the phone with the dealership, they said I don't need a relay, just the module. They said it was just the module that needed to be replaced. Of course it was the more expensive of the two. Problems like this will make me reconsider buying a Jeep again. I like them, but I have had to put roughly $3500 in to it in the past year and a half in parts and labor, not including oil changes or tires. I am only the second owner of the vehicle. Maybe jeep should cancel the contract with whatever country makes there module and relays and switches, and if its the usa, which I am almost certain it is not....find a better company to produce them, this is an expensive problem to be a COMMON problem.

I said its not uncommon for the RELAY... still don't know what you mean by "module"
May want to get a second opinion.
You just had the "module" replaced in '04. I would check the warranty of the part before anything.

[Bob D.]

They made that diagnoses by phone? Not good.
Do yourself a favor and take it to a good independent mechanic.
You will save money.

[myjeepsux420]

If you had to work done less than a year ago, it should be under warranty for parts and maybe labor. Did you allow the garage that did the work to diagnose the problem, or did you just have them perform the repair? Either way if the module or relay are bad, they should be under warranty

[Crescent Band]

So I took my Grand Cherokee (2000) to the Stealership and he told me that it would cost over 600 bills to fix the fan. I was told that they diagnosed down to the fan. Now Im reading in the forums here that the relay may actually be the culprit. I plan on testing that the first day it doesn't rain here.
Outside of that...It looks like I need to remove the radiator to get the shroud and fan out. Anyone had any experience with that? Any easier ways than draining my rad system and all that jazz. Thanks.

[Crescent Band]

I was able to get the shroud off without too much trouble. The last bolt on the bottom drivers side was a bit of a bittie. But patience paid off. No one got back to this thread to help me... However I will assist any 2000 owners in any way I can regarding removal of the shroud. Drop me a line at [email protected] for more info.

[messingabout]

I had this problem last year on my 00 GC. Turns out there are two relays? one on the passenger side, behind the headlight. My mechanic replaced that after replacing a few other parts, and it seemed to do the trick. Hope this helps

[DONIVAN]

Originally Posted by messingabout

I had this problem last year on my 00 GC. Turns out there are two relays? one on the passenger side, behind the headlight. My mechanic replaced that after replacing a few other parts, and it seemed to do the trick. Hope this helps

2 RELAYS......WHERE IS THE OTHER ONE

[number1fordman]

This has been an ongoing problem with my wife's '01 JGC. I'm sick of fooling with it. That is a variable speed fan. Therefore, the relay technically isn't a relay. It's some sort of piezio electric varistor. From what I can learn about it, they actually regulate the ground rather than the +12V. It apparently receives an analog signal from the ECU which in turn supplies the correct amount of grounding. You'd better be careful trying to troubleshoot it because this is transistor-like stuff and won't tolerate arcs and reverse polarities.

To date, I have replaced or had replaced (4) "relays", (1) fan motor and (2) ECU's because of this frigging fan problem and it's not working now. I'd like to know if anyone knows of an aftermarket electric fan kit to replace all this garbage. I realize that the existing sending unit must stay in-tact because it feeds back to the ECU and affects the fuel mixture relative to the engine temp. Somebody please help. It's getting cold weather here and she can't let her car warm up in the mornings. She's going to have my head.