Clutch Fan Won't Disengage

Has anybody had this issue with their 6.4? Seems to be stuck on. What mechanical piece engages/disengages this fan? Funny, was just talking about how loud it is in another thread. Clutch fan just howls in all gears, lower the gear, the louder it is. Engine temps are in normal operating ranges. Even does it when its not warmed up to normal temps. Scheduling an appointment at the RAM service center.

there was a post a while ago.. and all though they did not do a recal, I thing the fan clutch itself or the fan blades were bad" a bad batch got made" ask the dealer to look into replacing the blades as well as the fan clutch. if memory servese right it was something along the lines of the pitch on the blades was wrong and it was wearing out or breaking the fan clutch. I can't quite remember.

Reviving this thread. I've had my truck in several times to the dealership now and they cannot find anything wrong. They couldn't tell me there was a recall. Last time they had the truck for 2 days, let the RAM engineers take a look at diagnostics and couldn't find anything wrong. Its an intermittent problem. It seems to always do this after I have let the truck sit for a few days. I start it up and it has that loud roar. Let it idle for a couple minutes and take it down the road. The higher the rpm, the louder the truck roars, just like a loud fan. When it shifts it gets quieter, but as rpms increase, so does the loud roar. I can get it to stop roaring when I force the rpms to rev at 4000 rpm for a minute or two and then all of a sudden the roaring slowly subsides and I can hear just that nice Hemi revving sound at 4000 rpm. Unfortunately the dealer hasn't been able to replicate this. Last time it did it I drove 40 miles unloaded at 65 mph down the hwy. I finally got tired of hearing it, revved it to 4000 for a minute and the loud roar went away. Anybody every experience this since I last posted? Don't know if this is the clutch fan staying engaged but that's my best guess right now.

Mine does the same exact thing. some mornings it comes on and some mornings it doesn't. when it does come on, sometimes it's on for a little as a few seconds. other times can be on for miles. seems to come on after the trucks been off for a minimum of 10 hours. a week after i bought it, even driving on the freeway (12miles) it didn't turn off. The roar on the freeway was unacceptable. plan ridiculous. I did the same thing as you. ^^^^^^ Got tired and started revving the engine. That didn't turn it off. It turned off after a another few miles. I'm really worried I bought a POS.

I took it to the dealer two weeks ago and they said it's normal operation and that clutch is suppose to come on. I told them not when it's cold outside and when the trucks been sitting for x amount of time. Driving down the street sounding like a 747 getting ready to take off isn't normal operation. I haven't heard any other truck do that.

Sometimes, i'm embarrassed to drive the thing because the roar is so loud.

After my first visit to the service center I was a little miffed. Said normal operation and that the digital gauge in the EVIC is not accurate. If the analog gauges are fine then I'm within normal operating ranges. Said the clutch fan could kick on as low as 190 on the coolant. The second time it did it I drove right over there and said this is what it is doing right now. Tried explaining to the guys, why is this thing roaring on when my oil temps are only 150. Anyways, they took it up the mountain several times that week and RAM told them everything was working normal. I don't get it. Does your coolant temps climb up to 200 on the digital before the oil temps get there? Then, when the oil is finally up around 180-190, the coolant is always at least 10-20 degrees cooler. The temps just flop in a matter of seconds. The only thing I can think of is the these early coolant temps are high enough to kick the fan on, but its not disengaging at normal operating temps. They've told me that since I reported a possible problem with it and they've said everything is fine that they'll fix it even when its out of the 3yr/36000. Sure would like to get it corrected before then.

mine stays on from time to time- ****** me off- I'll take it in before the 3 year 36k

my 2015 power wagon does it also i find it a pain in the ass. if i kick it in neutral and rev it a few times it goes away . i was told by dealer that it is fine.. bs.

snuffy72952 said:

my 2015 power wagon does it also i find it a pain in the ass. if i kick it in neutral and rev it a few times it goes away . i was told by dealer that it is fine.. bs.

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Mine was on for about 9 miles after cold start this last sunday. I popped her in neutral severals time and revved the engine. didn't go off. after the second start, it stopped. that 9 miles of driving was in 100+ degree weather. I noticed that the coolant level never went past 200degrees with the clutch fan on. it's only load when it's in first and second gear. after that, it's quiet.

my deal told me the same, it's normal.

I fan clutch comes on when I pull my trailer up the mountain pass on a specific grade and stays on all the way to the camp site. Last time it stayed on for 2 days! And I fired the truck up leaving the lake in the afternoon and it had disengaged. I was ready to take it to the dealer at the end of our trip. Never comes on unless pulling my trailer up the twain hart grade on HWY 108 here in California.

Do any of you guys have a tuner or have access to a tuner like SCT or Diablo that you can use to data log? I can run you through how to data log with the SCT, but not the Diablo since I am not familiar with it although it should be all that different. It might give you some insight as to what triggers it to stay on and why will turn it off.

Do you guys all have auto mode A/C? If so, then I have a hunch as to why it is staying on.

Their is a issue with the fan clutches/ blades- my old Neibor has the same truck- same issue.. he took it in and they replaced both and now he doesn't have the issue- it's something to do with the pitch of the blades and the Extra stress they put on the fan clutch. To my knowledge this is a only a 2014 issue.

I highly doubt it only 2014s. Mines 2015 and others with 15s are reporting the issue. This is the only issue i have. It's not like it comes on everytime.

SouthTexan said:

Do any of you guys have a tuner or have access to a tuner like SCT or Diablo that you can use to data log? I can run you through how to data log with the SCT, but not the Diablo since I am not familiar with it although it should be all that different. It might give you some insight as to what triggers it to stay on and why will turn it off.

Do you guys all have auto mode A/C? If so, then I have a hunch as to why it is staying on.

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It does it with and without a/c on. RAM logged all the data from my truck when they were running it. Service tech flogged my truck (yes, I bought the gas) from Town at 7200 feet up to a nearby trailhead at 9400 feet (13 miles) a couple times and logged data, then sent info to the RAM experts to take a look. Said everything was normal...and...there was no loss in power when the clutch fan is on.

The first time the fan ever engaged was when I was pulling a grade with a horse trailer and oil temps hit 242, coolant 225. Ok, it should. Ever since then it seems the son-of-a-***** has a mind of its own. Curious to see as the weather gets cooler if it will come on. Never ever did it last winter and spring. Only during the warmer months. (Our warm months are 75-80 degree temps but mornings are 35 to 45) So....I'll be patient, and when this damn thing is howling and its 25 degrees out, and its only me and my butt in the seat, I'll go and ask the RAM tech's what the hell is up....again.

it will, it's low 40s right now and my fan is on.. it's like they have a mind of their own.. " oh the truck is cold- let me lock up the fan clutch" usually it turns off by its self with in 20 mins.. but good lord it is loud.

Is it the electric fan, mechanical fan, or both that stay on?

I'm assume the electric fan, its right up against the radiator, is on all the time and stays on when the clutch fan is engaged. The clutch fan spins all the time, just not at engine rpms until its engaged. Now, the last time it did this I pulled over, turned off the truck, and I could freely turn the clutch fan...it wasn't locked up. Got back on the road and it immediately was howling again. So at hwy speed, I manually locked it into 2nd gear, it revved above 4000 for a minute and it finally disengaged.

I believe the fluid settles at the bottom of the clutch after the being at rest for x amount of time. When you start the truck, the fluid, thru centrifugal force spreads back out evenly in the clutch unlocking it until the engine temps starting calling for more cooling. That would explain the cold engine lock up condition.

So here is an article on a typical thermal fan clutch.

Learn about how the fan clutch works from howstuffinmycarworks

So...if I'm reading correctly, the clutch shouldn't be engaged when silicone fluid is not filling the grooves of the clutch body and clutch plate. Am I too assume then from this article that silicone fluid is not completely draining (not being allowed?) from the clutch body, therefore, the clutch is always staying engaged. Fluid is not being allowed to drain from the working chamber to the reservoir. Making the clutch spin faster by revving the engine is forcing this fluid arm to close, thus blocking flow between the reservoir and working chamber. So, guess I've got a temperamental fluid arm in my clutch fan....

So here is an article on a typical thermal fan clutch.
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Here's a vid for those who like pics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_GkuTgJr3w

I have no first hand experience with the lack of disengagement (on my 1500) folks are experiencing, but it does appear to be 'abnormal/suspicious/potentially a defect' related to the fan clutch system. Not sure how it could be described as 'normal',,,

wyo2track said:

So here is an article on a typical thermal fan clutch.

Learn about how the fan clutch works from howstuffinmycarworks

So...if I'm reading correctly, the clutch shouldn't be engaged when silicone fluid is not filling the grooves of the clutch body and clutch plate. Am I too assume then from this article that silicone fluid is not completely draining (not being allowed?) from the clutch body, therefore, the clutch is always staying engaged. Fluid is not being allowed to drain from the working chamber to the reservoir. Making the clutch spin faster by revving the engine is forcing this fluid arm to close, thus blocking flow between the reservoir and working chamber. So, guess I've got a temperamental fluid arm in my clutch fan....

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That only applies to the mechanical fan driven by the engine. The electrical fan on your radiator, which is the one you are thinking is causing the issue, does not engage that way. It is controlled by parameters in your ECM which turns the fan on or off and controls the speed as well. This is why I was asking about data logging and the A/C earlier. There are many different parameters in the ECM that can keep that fan on from the A/C being in auto mode and the ECM wanting to get a lot of cool air across that condenser to cool that cabin off quickly to transmission and P/S fluid temps since all of the coolers for those fluids are right there with the radiator and condenser.