2006 Chrysler 300 Overheating – Ticking Noise
July 9, 2009 7:12 am DIY, Tech/Mechanic, What's New?
Chrysler 300 with only 37,000 miles overheated & towed in
What would cause two cooling fan motors to be out at the same time? One possibility is that they didn’t fail at the same time, one failed and the car was still able to be driven until the other failed also. But two fan motors failing on a car that only has 37,000 miles didn’t make sense either. Obviously power and ground supply was first checked with a power probe to verify the motors were getting the correct input to allow them to run. Once the fan motors were replaced, a terrible ticking noise was heard. More pictures below:
Nice AWD 300 with a HEMI, gets up and goes!
The ticking sound was both fan blades with a single split each.
Without replacing the blades at the same time the motors would have failed again.
As seen in the above pictures, the cause of the faulty motors could easily have been the broken fan blades. With the splits in the blades and the tight clearance they have with the fan shroud, lots of rubbing occurred. The interference not only slows down the blades, it could also burn out the motors prematurely. The dealer had these fan blades in stock… the reason they keep these IN STOCK could be for collision shops. But unless we miss our guess there will be a lot more of these weak designed fan blades “coming to a shop near you.”
samuel Odhiambo :
Date: July 26, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
My car was just driving fine and the gauge’s reading was normal. I stopped at a traffic light and suddenly noticed steam coming out from under the hood. I once again checked the temperature gauge and noticed it was not high. I came out of the car having turned off the engine and noticed that the radiator’s automatic release valve opened and the coolant was flowing out onto the road. I waited for the car to cool down, added coolant and decided to continue with my journey. After moving 3 miles, the car started to overheat whereby the gauge showed high temperature reading. What could have been the problem?
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: July 26, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
Samuel, if the car overheats (and there are no leaks) coolant can over-flow from the coolant reservoir if the pressure exceeds the pressure rating on the cap. This is most likely where the coolant is coming from, as long as there are no leaks. There are a few things that could cause this to happen.
1. Cooling fans not working properly.
2. Thermostat stuck closed, not allowing coolant to flow.
3. Low engine oil level.
If the cooling fans are getting power, be sure to check the blades for cracks as mentioned in the repair article.
fscmark :
Date: August 5, 2010 @ 12:45 am
Good post. Apparently this is a nasty little design flaw bug Chrysler has on their hands. I am reading about this same problem over and over again. Both fan blades cracking in the same position and causing both motors to go ou prematurely. Probably why every local autoparts store I called was out of stock on these fan assemblies in not only their stores but in their warehouses.
kevin G. :
Date: October 6, 2010 @ 7:33 pm
I also own a 2006 chrysler 300 an both fans have went out. Very odd…I was hoping that this was a recall item. Does anyone know if it is? Pricing this fan is looking at about 170-240..Is there any place i can find for less….
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: October 6, 2010 @ 8:07 pm
Kevin, sorry to hear about your luck. The best thing to do would be call your local Chrysler dealership with the VIN and see if there’s a recall. If there’s not, they may suggest writing Chrysler Customer Care for re-embursement along with reciept and an explanation of the failure.
Mary :
Date: April 29, 2012 @ 12:59 pm
I am so grateful for people like you that can make sense of situations like this….this is exactly what just happened to my 2006 Chrysler 300 with only 68,000 miles and need to get it repaired before summer hits. I had heard the ticking but thought it was just something my car did…how wrong was I….LOL….So, I went out to my car and was able to find the cracks in the fans and now I can call for quotes for this specifically and not be jacked around!!!
Mary :
Date: April 29, 2012 @ 1:06 pm
P.S. Is this something I could do myself? I just replaced the little pink plastic part AKA the gearshift Interlocking Lever which was a recall piece but of course my car did not fall under the recall. My Dream Car is turning into my Nightmare!!!!
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: April 29, 2012 @ 2:57 pm
Mary, it’s possible to do this yourself. I wouldn’t consider a very difficult job for someone with moderate skills and an an average selection of tools. Good Luck.
Mary :
Date: April 29, 2012 @ 4:11 pm
Thanks! One more question….would you just replace the fans or the whole housing unit? The fans are about 20 bucks each and the whole unit is a little under a hundred (if I do this myself, O’Reilley’s wants to charge $170+, but I can get them on line for the said mentioned prices). The reason I am considering the whole replacement is I would hate to see that the new fans might just do the same thing in the old housing unit….What do you think?
Mary :
Date: April 29, 2012 @ 6:41 pm
Ok…I have a few more questions, if that’s ok??? 🙂 I just went out and started my car, the fans did not come on, but are they suppose to come on as soon as I start the engine? I did not turn the A/C on because I was afraid too. Does it mean the motors are burnt out? Any help would be great. I know I can do this job I just want to buy ALL the parts I need before I break out the tools! 🙂
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: May 1, 2012 @ 9:10 am
Mary, the fans are NOT suppose to come on just because the car has been started. I would check power at the motors if I thought the motor had failed. I would replace the assembly including the fan blades if possible. Like mentioned in the article, if the fan blades are cracked they will cause fan motor burn out and failure. Good Luck.
Mary :
Date: May 2, 2012 @ 3:53 pm
Thanks Dennis…you’re one of the good guys!!! 🙂
Mary :
Date: May 7, 2012 @ 9:25 pm
Hey Dennis,
Go the fans changed out but still no luck…called the dealership and they say change out the 50 amp fuse before buying the motors…what are your thoughts on that???
Mary
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: May 8, 2012 @ 11:04 am
Mary, I would have checked to verify power to the motors to begin with. Good Luck.
Mary :
Date: May 8, 2012 @ 4:54 pm
Funny you should say that Dennis….because I have no power…..talked with Greg at the dealership and he said to replace fuse….if still does not work…..motors are probably bad…..well, how can I check power to motors? 🙂
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: May 8, 2012 @ 5:11 pm
I would use a test light or a multi-meter. If you need more guidance you may want to ask a mechanic on our questions page. They can provide more step by step information. Our article here was mainly to point out that a broken fan blade can cause motor failure. Good Luck.
Lizzy :
Date: August 19, 2012 @ 3:24 pm
Wow I also have a 2006 300 and the same problem just found the cracks.
Does anyone know how much a fuse and motor cost $$.
Thanks, Lizzy
robert :
Date: August 16, 2013 @ 3:02 pm
I have a 2006 Chrysler 300c. It started running hot so I pulled over and killed the car. I got out and checked the fluid level and it was not showing in tank. A week before it was fine. I checked the oil and there was no water in the oil. What do you think it could be?
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: August 16, 2013 @ 3:16 pm
Robert, there could be a leak from many different things. I would fill it with the coolant (careful not to pour water in an overheated engine) and pressure test the cooling system. I would also do a carbon test to make sure it doesn’t have a blown head gasket. Because coolant can leak into the exhaust and the catalytic converters can vaporize it making it hard to detect when it comes out of the tail-pipe (unless it’s dumping a lot quickly). Good Luck.
Nicole :
Date: January 1, 2014 @ 3:46 pm
Hi, I have a Chrysler 300 2006. I went to get a regular oil change and they recommended me to get a new radiator because it was leaking. I took my car to my mechanic and he put blue devil in it. My car started over heating and no heat. I got a new radiator and the next day and now it is over heating. The dealer said I need a flush, will this be the help?
dennisb - Auto Tool Sales :
Date: January 2, 2014 @ 7:39 am
Nicole, allowing the Devil… even the BlueDevil in a can may send your car to the crucible before it’s time. Seriously, I never recommend any stop leak of any kind for any system. Stop leak products for cooling systems are similar to pouring concrete into the radiator. Sure it stops leaks. It circulates throughout the entire system and stops leaks. But it also plugs small tubes in the radiator, the heater core etc. which reduces flow and in some cases blocks certain tubes completely off. Flushing the system makes sense to try, but it may not remove all of the cement like material. Replacing the plugged components (like the radiator and heater core) may be necessary if flushing the Devil out of the system doesn’t work. I know you’ve already replaced the radiator, but if there’s enough of the Blue Devil gunk in the system it could clog that too. Let this be a lesson to others to resist allowing the (Blue) Devil into their lives and cars. Good Luck.