Where is the cooling fan relay on 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan?

Answer 1

It sits on the left side chasiss in front of the engine

I thought this answer was a lille vague so I am adding: The cooling fan relay on a 1997 Dodge Caravan is located just in front of the very bottom of the arbox and can be reached most easily from the bottom of the car with a 1/4 inch drive ratchet with an 8mm deep socket. You must squeeze the clip to remove the wiring pigtail (4wire) from the relay which faces down at about a 45 degree angle towards the rear of the car.

For those who don't have a lift and don't want to crawl. Remove the air cleaner assembly (2 10mm bolts through air plenuum on the radiator support 2 hose clamps, (one on intake boot and one between air intake plenum and air box) one air filter, one 10mm bolt on the top of the airbox and tilt the airbox towards the center of the vehicle to remove it from the rubber supports on the bottom) and you will be able to see the cooling fan relay at the bottom of the car on the Driver's side at the inner firewall.

I looked the part up on Rock Auto's website and Airtex manufacturing's website and the part is the same from 1995 - 2000 for the Dodge caravan. I would look carefully to see that the wiring harness connector, (pigtail as it is commonly referred as) is not burned as this is a common problem on the 1997 Dodge Caravan radiator fan motor wiring system. The relay is activated by the ECM, (Fuel injection computer called Electronic Control Module) based on inputs from the a/c relay, (high a/c pressure), temperature switch, (high coolant temperature), and speed sensor, (most modern cars will not allow the fan to run when the vehicle is over 30mph as the fan is of no use but to slow the air down and cause electrical strain unnecesarily which is why the ECM took over the job).

Checking the cooling fan system before and after repairs

Start the car and turn on the a/c. After about 15 seconds the high side a/c hose should be hot to the touch if the a.c is working. If the fan does not come on with this high pressure shut the a/c off till the vehicle is moving or you WILL blow something as the a/c high side pressure may reach over 375 psi with no fan to cool the condensor. Next shut the a/c off and allow the engine to reach 205 degrees, (about 7-10 minutes from a cold start on a warm day and idicated by the temp guage reading just above the halfway mark) and the fan should come on from engine temperature when the computers gets a reading from the temp sensor that the coolant is hot enough to need the fan and the vehicle speed sensor is indicating that the vehicle is not moving fast enough to cool itself.

One more note is that anytime the fan is supposed to be running from the aforemetioned conditions and it is not. Tap the fan motor LIGHTLY with a screwdriver hadle because these fan motors do die occasioanally but Dodge fan motors are pretty reliable and not usually the problem. Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Suzuki fan motors do go out regularly after a few years of service.

This system works very well to keep the engine at a stable warm temperature to promote good power and fuel economy/ air quality while using very little resources. I hope this helps clear things up a bit.