fan keeps blowing its fuse

[pcmpete]

My front passenger radiator fan keeps blowing its fuse. Currently here in Phoenix the air temp is approx 118 I need all the cooling working.
Would the fan motor or the resistor be at fault? What the best way to track down this fault?

[bell]

first I would simply unplug the fan itself and with the fuse out check the wire for a short with your multimeter, pull the wheel off then the inner liner for easy access.
chances are the fan is bad, a bad resistor usually just keeps the fan from coming on at low speed.
you can look up into the fan area and see the resistor (attatched near the bottom w green - green/white-white writes coming out of it) usually you can test the wires right there by probing, but if the fan is plugged in it will show a short as it'll ground through the motor.
you can also send power directly to the fan at that plug to test it....but be careful if you are not familiar with testing things like that....pm me if not...

[pcmpete]

When I put a replacement fuse in the works as it should high/low speed, but randomly blows the fuse. I will check the wiring first.

[bell]

ok I thought it was blowing as soon as it turns on....
if it's working for a short while then there is most likely not a short but rather the motor is simply pulling too many amps after it's getting hot, do you have an amperage meter? I don't remember off the top of my head what the normal draw is supposed to be....but shouldn't be more than 66% of the fuse size...give or take...
does there seem to be any pattern at all when it blows?

[pcmpete]

no pattern that I have noticed. Just this time of year the A/C is on LO either roof up or down. After I let it cool I got my head down near the wheel well, I could smell like ''electrical burning" smell. I am 99% sure that the fan motor is toast.
Next question(s):

1. can the motor itself be replaced or does fan unit come as motor piece
2. can the motor/fan assembly be removed without draining coolant and removing the radiator?

What are part number I should be looking for?

Thanks

[bell]

you don't need to drain anything, it's fairly easy to change the fan/motor.
when you pull the fender liner, you'll see the brackets the hold the radiator assembly, take note of how the plastic shroud is positioned, remove the large metal bracket, then the shroud, unclip the big square anodized clips which hold the fan to the radiator (the front of the fan assembly has built in tabs so you just remove the 2 clips), remove fan.....there is also a metal rod brace which will need coaxed into popping of the stud i usually just bend it a little, it's held on by 2 10mm nuts., the large bracket is held on by 3 or 4 13mm bolts, 1 high, 2 underneath iirc. just look at it close, it's fairly self explanatory. not sure on the part number, I can pull it tomorrow, don't have pet at home.

[pcmpete]

Thanks for the info, now I need to get shopping