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Radiator Ac Fan over speed problem

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Talha Ahmed, Jun 22, 2019.

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  1. Talha Ahmed

    Talha Ahmed Junior Member

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    Hello.
    I have 2010 3rd gen prius. When I turn on ac of car ita fan turn on in full speed. Even when car engine is cold or say first start in the morning....

    There is no error or check light.
    What could be the problem ?
    With AC on it is giving 12-13 km/l and without ac it is giving 18-19 km/l
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the radiator fan under the hood? if so, i think it's normal
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Is this about the 2010 (third gen)? It's in the Prime forum. I'll see if a mod can move it.

    The two fans up front behind the grille should always run when the A/C is on if I'm not mistaken.

    There is both a low-speed and a high-speed mode. They should be running at low speed when the A/C is on, unless the engine is extra hot or the A/C pressure is extra high.

    But my first question, simply, is: you say the fans are running in full speed ... but what observations have convinced you this is the high speed and not the low speed mode?
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and if you're toyota, a/c fan is the cabin fan
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I'm pretty sure if I were Toyota, that would be the "blower".

    blower.png

    In fact, there's a little jargon-y bit that they are using correctly, where the kind of air-moving thingy that looks like an airplane propeller (like in front, behind the radiator) is a "fan", and the kind that looks like a squirrel cage and moves the air outward centrifugally is a "blower", as here (and also the one cooling the traction battery, which they also call a "blower").

    Funny how, for all the weird things that happen in the Japanese-to-English translations, they do seem to consistently honor this rather geeky distinction in English.
     
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i can't say it any better talha
     
  7. Talha Ahmed

    Talha Ahmed Junior Member

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    It took longer to get back online to check what priuschat expert are saying about it. My Appologize.

    1- I own this car since 2014. I have seen the difference
    2- To Confirm it I went to a car workshop who are only dealing with Prius. I have compare my prius with 7 others which are giving 19-20km/l avg.

    I agree that fan will start when the ac will be on but it start with really low speed. My car fan start at its full speed like Engine is really hot (but isn't hot at all) Even when I start my car first time in the morning it start with a high speed fan......

    Than I did another test. I turned off the AC of car (For the first time in its life lol) and drove it. It gave me 18km/l avg which I can clearly see that fan was completely off even after 50km of test drive. (I mean if my engine was getting hot it should turn on without AC too)

    So, this thing is directly related to my AC and because of this fan problem my car battery drain really fast and most of the time don't turn the engine off and shift it to hybrid and that's why it is giving me 12.5 km/l
     
  8. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. I would question your premise that because the radiator fans are running full speed, that results in the reduction in fuel economy from 18 km/liter to 12.5 km/liter. I would say it is more likely that the air conditioner compressor power requirement is the major reason for the fuel economy reduction.

    2. It could be that your air conditioning system is operating less efficiently due to slightly low refrigerant, which causes the compressor to run more than normal, thus worsening your fuel economy.

    3. However, since you want to focus on the radiator fans as the issue, check the Fan #2 relay. That relay switches the two fans to either be in series, in which case the fan speed is reduced; or else they are in parallel for high speed. If that relay is stuck in the closed position, the fans will always be running at high speed whenever the engine ECM signals for the fans to operate.
     
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  9. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    There are two main categories of fans: axial-flow ("propeller") and centrifugal. They're free to call the latter variety blowers if they wish, but that doesn't keep them from being a subset of fans.
     
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  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Among people who mark the distinction, 'blower' will be reserved for centrifugal, and 'fan' for axial. Not everyone marks the distinction, of course, but Toyota didn't invent it.
     
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  11. Talha Ahmed

    Talha Ahmed Junior Member

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    These points really looks logical.... I hope I'll find the problem among the above 3 for sure. I'll confirm after checking it.
     
  12. Zavnet

    Zavnet New Member

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    what was your solution to the problem?