I have a 2005 non-S and the engine cooling fan fuse keeps popping! It is fuse FL9, 50amp, in the fuse cluster next to the left (driver side) strut tower. With this fuse popped, the cooling fan will not run and I run the risk of overheating. I've troubleshot it a bit and I can't seem to figure out what is going on and what a solution is (apart from buying a $5 fuse all the freaking time!).

Little backstory: Last year I went to the drag strip for my first time with some new friends I met. While in staging and discussion what I need to do when it is my turn, I had left my engine running (due to all the loud hot rods around, i did not realize this). Probably was going for about 10 minutes while the car was stationary. Once it was my turn I realized that the temp was through the roof! Pulled it off and let it cool, but had no idea what the issue was. For the whole ride home, temps were normal, albeit I was in motion and the air rushing over the radiator was cooling it.

The next night I checked around a bit and found the fuse blown. Ok, replace it. I let the car idle for a bit so it would kick on to make sure it worked and the fan siezed up (lots of smoke from the motor) and the fuse popped again. My buddy came over and I found that a nut from the front grill was lodged in the fan and jamming it. 2 hours later we removed the nut with a assortment of screwdrivers (24 in total). Replaced the cooling fan fuse again and it worked! I periodically checked it over the summer and all was well.

This summer on the way back from a particulary hot autocross day, we got hit with a random rain storm. Windows back up and A/C on. Turns out now the a/c is blowing only hot air. Damn. Check it out when I got home and found the cooling fan fuse blow, again! Replaced it, checked to make sure the it came on at the right temp, and it did. I turned the a/c on and after the compressor made alot of noise (fan turned itself off) and the fuse popped again. Replaced it with another assuming it is a/c related and turned the a/c on (no fan working, no cool air) but it did not blow. With the a/c off the fan kicked back on, so maybe not a/c related? I've made a note not to use it while I figure this out. I've checked the fuse every week or so since and it was fine.

This week I checked it again, and i'm still pretty sure I have not touched the a/c, maybe the defroster, and it was blown. I am at a total loss here....

My assumption is that since the fan kicks on at high speed when the a/c is used, that something relating to that switch is causing the fuse to blow. So, if the car gets hot enough, it will kick onto high speed and blow it, even if the a/c is off. Am I right in this thought process? I can live without a/c. Hell, I'll delete if I have to, but I can't run around with the risk the car will overheat because a $5 fuse keeps blowing.

I'm driving 4 hours to Detroit tuned tomorrow to pick up wifey's mini (which just got a new midlands install, ouch!). If time allows, chad has offered to hook it up to the computer to see what the issue is, but I worry that I can't duplicate the fuse blowing on command we won't find out what is wrong.

Can anyone direct me to something that might be causing this and fix it easily? This is getting really frustrating and I don't want to keep buying $5 fuses. With her car having a over $3000 repair bill, funds are tight and I dont want to have to replace a a/c compressor or something expensive to fix it if it can be done for a few dollars.

If you need additional information on what is happening and what the car is doing let me know...

Thanks in advance for any help

 

Did you find a cause or solution to this? I'm having the exact same symptoms.

 

I have an r53 and went through a similar set of headaches that turned out to be related to the power steering cooling fan that the r50 doesn't have. If I recall correctly my car has two separate fan circuits. Assuming similar systems it would seem that you have a fault in the high speed circuit. I'll see if I can dig up more about it.

 

Got my R56 back from the mechanic yesterday. He said it was the auxiliary fan that kicks on when I turn my AC on. Replaced for $700 parts and labor. Ouch. My car does not have a PS fan either so ruled that out. Replaced my thermostat before this thinking that was the prob. ugh, $500 down the toilet for that. Time for a toyota!