Cooling fan issues

[WrenchingWolf]

Hey folks, I got a question. I'm a former Ford mechanic, switched into a career/industry that doesn't suck. Using my past knowledge now to be the fleet maintenance guy at my new work site. Anyways, we have a 2019 Ram 4500 with the 6.7L in it, and the cooling fan never releases. Doesn't matter; hot or cold, putting around a parking lot or doing 80 down the interstate, AC on or off. The mechanical fan is always on full-blast sucking away power and fuel and trying to propel the truck forward like it's an airboat. I just drove it from eastern Wyoming to Utah and back, and the fan never once took a break. I know with Ford's powerstrokes, this is usually caused by a faulty fan clutch since I've replaced plenty of those. So here's where my problem is. We've taken this truck to the local dealer three seperate times now asking them to fix this (Truck is under warranty), and each time they gave us the truck back seemingly without even looking at it, telling us it's normal. Which now leads us to my question. Is that truly normal, or do I need to go and put my boot up somewhere to get these guys to do their job? I can half-believe it's normal being a 4500-series, but the fan clutch has a 6-pin connector on it so I'm expecting it to be controlled by the PCM and shut off when it doesn't need it. Thanks!

 

[Riccochet]

It is not normal. It's a clutch fan. It should not be running all the time.

Find a different dealer, and/or contact corporate and open a case with them.

 

[WrenchingWolf]

I was already planning on taking it to another dealer. Only issue is the next closest dealer is 70 miles away. Perks of living in Wyoming. I'm going to give the local dealer once last chance.

 

[stevenP]

I recently just bought a 2022 2500 with the 6.7 cummins. And this thing has more fan noise than my previous Gen4 truck ever had. It howls when cold, howls when accelerating, howls at idle. Both had, or have some type of clutch fan drive, but this Gen5 truck is the noisiest fan I have ever had on any vehicle. I see there is a wiring harness that goes to the fan clutch hub, to activate it. I dont remember there being any wiring to the hub on the Gen4 truck.

 

[06 Dodge]

My 22 has more fan noise at start up compared to my 06 and again under heavy load other wise normal, I could not hear my fan at 55 MPH in 110 degree heat, but I have read of 1 or 2 who think theirs is very noisy like yours...

 

[JayLeonard]

My 2021 howls when cold (even ona Florida morning) but once I get to a certain rpm/ speed it stops.

 

[crash68]

You have to wonder if why you can hear the cooling fan more on the +'19 Cummins engines is because the engine is quieter and doesn't drown out the fan noise

 

[JayLeonard]

You have to wonder if why you can hear the cooling fan more on the +'19 Cummins engines is because the engine is quieter and doesn't drown out the fan noise

Very possible.

 

[WrenchingWolf]

You have to wonder if why you can hear the cooling fan more on the +'19 Cummins engines is because the engine is quieter and doesn't drown out the fan noise

Trust me, that isn't it. This thing is competing with (and beating) my Jeep and a buddy's D-series with the Mitsubishi diesel, both of which have fixed cooling fans. Good new is I managed to corner the service manager and got him to listen to it, he agrees it isn't working correctly now. Have a clutch on order, but as with everything these days, it backordered.
Unless you just mean in general when they work correctly. In which case, I haven't a clue. Not really a dodge guy when it comes to modern (2000+) vehicles. Then again I pretty much won't buy anything newer than that. Without looking at schematics, it looks like the Rams control their fans the same way Ford does on all the stuper-duties now. So the ECM can demand more cooling if it thinks something is getting too warm. Trans, EGR, A/C, etc. Or maybe it's just in a mood and wants to annoy someone.

 

[crash68]

This thing is competing with (and beating) my Jeep and a buddy's D-series with the Mitsubishi diesel, both of which have fixed cooling fans.

Given the size/capacity of the fan, it very well should.
The CTD cooling fan does seem to be spooled up more, noticed this on my buddies '22 with the HO. Couldn't really hear the fan over the engine in his '14. Cooling for the EGR is a good probability, the fan clutch assembly is commanded by the ECM.

 

[StruggleBus]

So here’s what I’ve learned so far. The fan is god awful loud and I’m about to set this b***h on fire. I ran an experiment the first week of August. I left my house every day around the same time when the outside temp was 91 degrees. I let the truck run for 2 min before I pulled out of the garage and I drove 13 miles on the same exact route at the same speeds with the AC on Low and fan speed on 2. Monitored the systems page on the dash and made sure all temps were +/-5 degrees. 4 of the 7 days the clutch was on the entire time from speeds all the way to 60mph. The other 3 days it never came on at all…not one time. The ONLY way to get it to kick off was to turn the climate system all the way off….blower fan and all. With in 10 seconds of shutting it off the fan quit. Keep in mind I wasn’t just turning the AC off. I had the heat on HIGH one day and the fan was still roaring away. It seems to not be 100% normal. I took my data to the dealer and we decided I was going to buy a fan clutch out of pocket. When he pulled the part number there was a note in Chryslers system to call and engineer if the customer was having issues with the part. The engineer stated it sounded like a command issue and that I should open a STAR report to preform on board diagnostics to determine which of the 6 probes or sensors were commanding the fan on. I’m dropping my truck off Tuesday to see what we can figure out.

 

[68PowerWagon]

I am experiencing the same issue. Was it your clutch fan itself or one of the sensors?

 

[Ramtravis2018]

Hello Ram enthusiasts - preemptively sorry for the essay. trying to put what's going on into context.
I am frustrated and annoyed with the fans/fan clutches on these trucks and hoping there is a solution.
Fan clutch went out on my truck 3-4 months ago, got it replaced. Mind you, at the time, it was 110°f and over for 4-6 weeks straight at the time so it was hot and rightfully so the fan was running a lot. (never over heats) which is good. never had an issue before this in 65,000 miles before this.
Now, its cooled down a lot, between 60-80°F almost every day.
The fan kicks on IMMEDIATELY once the truck is started. It was in the 50's this morning and the truck was cold. Why is the fan on? usually, after 40mph it kicks off, today it ran all the way to work. (40 min drive) all i could hear was the fan ramping up and down the entire drive. Some days are good where is shuts off after 10-15 mins and definitely after 40mph.
do I need to clean all of the connections to and from the fan clutch? Is there a replacement that remedies this obnoxious airboat sound? What is normal? is the EGR too hot? My truck is FULLY STOCK currently** (cant wait to make it not stock). warranty is almost up.
I regulate temps every time I drive, I am over cautious. truck never overheats or gets anywhere over 207°(Oil Temp). Regular temps at 198°-202°f

Has anyone mounted a small auxiliary fan to the radiator? I'd like to assume that would not only help keep the truck cool but also mitigate the large wind turbine/airboat fan from obnoxiously ramping up and down . .

This is a touchy topic lol I NEVER had an issue with fan noise until the original one went out . . I figured the NEW one would act like the original one did prior to it going out

Any suggestions? any Recommendations? I'll try anything to fix this. . including selling the truck lol
Truck Details - 2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins, Big Horn. leveling kit from Carli, 35x13.5x20 Nitto Recons

 

[nlambert182]

Is it a stock fan? Aftermarket fans don't work well on these trucks. The fan will engage when the truck first starts. Not a big deal but it should disengage once the truck gets going. If it's an aftermarket fan and not an OEM you might consider replacing it.

With the truck off, how easy is it to turn the fan by hand? If it's extremely stiff, that's one sign that it's failing.

 

[Ramtravis2018]

Yes, the current one is a Stock Fan and Fan Clutch.
I'll give it a spin when I leave work today. However, I'd be blown away if the fan and clutch went bad in under 5 months.. it was just replaced under 3k miles ago.
truth be told, there is probably nothing wrong based on what I've read. However, it kicks on and off so randomly and the truck never reaches a temperature, to me personally, that justifies it being on in the first place.

Still curious if anyone on here has a solution to remedy this situation. the fan takes ALL the fun out of driving this truck. Don't need to mention that it takes the already sluggish power out of the pedal and tarnishes all Fuel mileage. . Its so loud you can't focus on music, conversation etc. Its not so loud that you cant hear things inside the truck but it definitly draws your attention. very very annoying. GM's don't have that problem, same with ford and all gassers I've ever owned haven't had this issue.

 

[nlambert182]

If it's running that much there's definitely something wrong with it. I've seen brand new fan clutches go bad.. so don't rule it out. None of mine have ran any more or less than any other I've ever owned (except for the one that failed). You might want to get this new one checked. I drove mine all weekend in 80 degree temps and rarely ever heard the fan engage. You should see coolant temps in the 190-200 range. My fan doesn't engage (except at start up) until I hit around the 200 degree mark.

 

[Ramtravis2018]

Coolant temps in my truck are about 190-200 as well. Definitely thinking the fan / fan clutch is going bad. I'll give it the spin test after work then go from there.
@nlambert182 - Appreciate your feedback. I'll let you know if something seems off when I spin the fan

 

[Ramtravis2018]

So just went to the truck and spun the radiator fan. It spins freely but has a stiff spot. It’s not hard to move it in the stuff spot but if I spin it in the free section the stiff spot stops it.

 

[Ramtravis2018]

Another update. Just drove home and it was on at some capacity from low tones (hard to hear but definitely present). Less than a handful of times I did notice not hearing it. It’s only 78*F here in Phoenix currently. . Current temps: coolant:192 , trans temp: between 165-170, oil temp 199-201, oil pressure:32PSI
Im beginning to hate this fan/fan clutch design in its entirety lol there’s no upgrade I’ve seen with proof and data behind it other than the mishimoto system that but that’ll run me a few grand

 

[06 Dodge]

Does your truck have the Active Grill Shutters? If so are they working properly?