I've got an 00' DII 115k on the clock, had the old style upper/return radiator hose bleed nipple blow just yesterday. Needless to say I replaced it, but I noticed that my a/c would only work well while I was on the highway. Granted that living in the Seattle area, during stop and go traffic the a/c runs well. Not here in Austin! At 100F+, I noticed that my a/c wasn't as cold. I drove around town for about 30 mins and popped the hood to see if the Big fan was working right. I gave it some throttle and gobs of hot air were being sucked through the radiator...No problem there. I did however find that the electric cooling fan wasn't turning (with a/c on). I figured the fuse was blown... the fuse was ok. After reading through the forum, I removed the grille and checked the electric fan to see if it was frozen... Nope! the fan turns smoothly with my finger (after disconnecting it) and by hot-wiring it. Unfortunatley, I don't know how to proceed from here. Is there a sensor somewhere that tells the fan to turn on? Or is it a relay thats blown? If so how do I find out? In advance THANK YOU!!!

 

The AC fan only works when required, its not on Automatically when the AC is switched on (like some cars).

The outside temp must be + 28 °c (82 °F) and the vehicle speed 80Km/h or less. The request to turn the fan on is sent by the engine ECU and it then energises the cooling fan relay

 

I think that is only for the TD5 versions Panzer.
Yes there is a relay that controls the fan, it should be on/near the under the hood fuse block.
On the V8 DII the a/c fans come on once the engine is at temp and run as long as the a/c is on, on a DI they come on as soon as you turn the a/c on.
The a/c condenser needs air to move past it for the a/c to get cold, thats why cruising the expressway it will be cold and sitting in traffic it wont be, not enough air moving past the condensor.

 

Panzer is correct. See rave manual, page 73 of the .Pdf. or section 04, page 10 of the rave manual.

fora/c

1. electric fan will come on if driving less than 50MPH, AND ambient air temp is 82 degrees or more.

1a. fan will turn off if speed reaches 62MPH or greater OR air Temp is 77 degrees or less.

for engine cooling

2. Fan will come on when coolant reaches 212 degrees and off when coolant temp is 202 degrees or less.

cooling after turning ignition off

4. fan will come within 10 seconds of turning truck off if air intake is 140 degrees or greater AND coolant temp is 230 degrees or more

4a. fan wil turn off after 10 minutes OR coolant reduces to 212 degrees or less.


here is an interesting fact, per RAVE intial opening of the thermostat is 179 degrees and fully open at 204 degrees. so it looks like most DIIS should be running at least 204 or more in normal warm weather.

mine runs 206-207 at stop lights runs up to 211. my electric fan comes on around 209

Just FYI, becaseu I have read a lot on this sight about this but never saw it in writing.

J

 

Thank you for clarifying jayv.

He did say in his post though that it was over 100*F and sitting in traffic so his fans should have been running.