The car is a 2018 Nissan Rogue Sport with 45K miles.
The problem is that the AC works well when driving but not so well at idle.
The car was in a different states and driven by my kid while in college, problem started a few months ago. A local shop checked “everything” and said it is the compressor, but they also said they don’t work on Nissans which is kinda odd.
So, the kid is done and car is back in CA. Freon level on the low port is fine
When I turn the AC on, the radiator fan does not turn on. I let the car warm up and the radiator fan would still not come on. There are two connectors in the radiator. When I turn the AC on, the lower connector does get 12 volts but when I plug it in the fan would not turn. I am not sure what the upper connector does. Did not unplug it-yet.
What baffles me is that the car does not overheat and the kid states the the temp has not gone up either. There are no codes, oil and oil cap and coolant look fine, so I don’t think we have a blown head gasket/overheating/etc and the car drives fine.
Looking online, the radiator fan on these cars are a real weak point. What I don’t understand is the absence of overheating.
I would rather not take it to a shop as the fan replacement is well within my scope.
I was going to do that first but access is very limited and I could not get my connectors down there. The only way is to get the fan out and test it, which if am in that deep, might as well buy a new fan for $100.
As far as overheating goes, and depending some on ambient air temps, if it doesn’t sit at idle for very long then it might not overheat. Once moving you’ve got air cooling the condenser and radiator.
I tried powering the fan while in the car again today and the connections are too deep.
On the youtube videos, the DIY folks take the connector off after removing the fan, so I am one step ahead but not there yet.
I have been eying a bidirectional scan tool, mostly for my Hybrid Toyota’s as bleeding the brakes/etc is a but of pita and came across this;
It is within my budget but the new fan is also the same price
Anyone has any experience with the above scan tool?
I looked at the fuse boxes. It has 4 in the engine bay. Two major one but seems like one of the ones that has the relay for the fan is behind the driver headlight and have to remove the bumper to get to it.
This is where I think Renault has “helped” Nissan design the electronics. I had a Le Car at some point in my life
So, I bought a no name fan from Amazon. Came in last night. Tested it and it worked.
Took the old fan out of the car and it was not working Installed the new fan and as you turn the AC on at idle, the fan comes on. Drove around and all seems fine.
For anyone who wants to tackle this (maybe myself again as I am not sure how long this no name fan will last), there is a bolt that attaches the coolant lines to the upper radiator support. Removing it is a pain but putting it back in is much worse. I dropped it twice and had to go fishing for it. This itself added 1.5 hours to the job. Not sure what the mechanics do with this-skip it altogether?!
One shop had quoted $2K+ for a new compressor; recommended by a friend to my daughter as an honest shop. They actually did not charge her for “diagnosis” as they themselves said they are not very sure either.
Another shop wanted $470 for just diagnosis.
Apparently, shops are charging $1300 for parts and labor for the fan.
I got the fan for less than $100.
When you have many times reached over the top of an intake manifold to get to a bolt under it and have to feel for it while putting a socket and ratchet on it and then reinstall it when done or something stupid like that, you get pretty good at not dropping things and when you do you find ways to tape or what ever the bolt to the socket to keep it from falling out, or use a magnet to help hold it while starting it… another words, we have tricks up our sleaves or think of new ones to get the job done and move on, having more money in tools than your average new car helps also…
Glad you got it going though, and just think, next time it will go much faster…
