2014 Ram 2500 fan clutch problems

The engine driven cooling fan on my Hemi powered RAM will be on and stay on for 5 or so minutes after the truck has been parked for a few days. The longer the truck sits, the longer the fan takes to disengage. High RPM help it disengage in a shorter amount of time. It has done that since new. I have about 6500 miles now.

Just so you know, the Hemis actually have two fans, one is electric, one is pulley driven. My buddy's 1500 with the 5.7L looks the same as mine in behind the shroud.

I believe the fans will also come on if in the defrost mode with recirculate on. The fan is used to keep pressures at bay in the A/C system. You could have an A/C problem also. Just a thought.

No the fan clutch is not acting normal. Below 30 degrees air temp, coolant temp below 200 and fan clutch is on is not normal. Fan clutch shouldn't engage until coolant temp hits around 220 degrees.

Maybe the gas engines are different but on my diesel it comes on just past the mid point on the gauge, perhaps 210 or even a little less. My gauge normally runs about one needle width cooler than mid point on the gauge and about one needle width over the 200 mid point it comes on. It is always before 220. In 130,000 miles it has never stayed on more than a minute or two towing, almost never not towing in summer and almost never in the winter. And when it comes on it is obvious. Mine needed to be replaced at 100,000 miles because it would not come on. On the TDR site they recommend only going OEM on the clutches as they seem to work better.

jmtandem wrote:

I'm pulling around 10,000 loaded with quads so pulling up a grade in the summer I would expect it to come on but not while running flats in below 30 degrees air temps. I have been watching my temps closely, the 2014 Ram has a nice dash display which shows trans, coolant, and oil temps on the same page.

Maybe it is not the fan. Maybe it is a temperature sensor or the ECM. Try a different dealer's service department. If the fan clutch has been replaced twice it is likely not the fan clutch.

I am beginning to think you are right. I guess They are having some problems with the clutches and I have a couple other Rams in the fleet I manage that needed to have there's replaced but these rigs run fine now.

No the fan clutch is not acting normal. Below 30 degrees air temp, coolant temp below 200 and fan clutch is on is not normal. Fan clutch shouldn't engage until coolant temp hits around 220 degrees.

I'm pulling around 10,000 loaded with quads so pulling up a grade in the summer I would expect it to come on but not while running flats in below 30 degrees air temps. I have been watching my temps closely, the 2014 Ram has a nice dash display which shows trans, coolant, and oil temps on the same page.

Maybe it is not the fan. Maybe it is a temperature sensor or the ECM. Try a different dealer's service department. If the fan clutch has been replaced twice it is likely not the fan clutch.

Are you sure the clutch is not working as intended? There is not much to a fan clutch and they have worked the same way for decades. Normally a very robust part and rare to fail this early or at all, and especially rare to have two of them fail. Sounds to me that your engine temperature is rising above the clutch's engagement temperature setting and fully engaging the fan which is completely normal.

The first couple times it did it if I could keep the coolant temp over 208 the clutch would stay off but once I hit 220 where it should kick on to keep the temp in check it would bring the temp below 200 and not kick off. On colder days it was hard to get the temp over 208 with the clutch running the hole time. This last time I was coming down a steep gravel grade on snow so I had the rig in 4 low and 2nd gear so compression would hold me about 10 mph, when I hit the bottom the fan clutch was on and stayed on until I climbed the first sister just East of Evanston WY. What really brought this to my attention was a couple months ago coming over the sisters in Wy, I struggled over the first hill then half way up the second hill the fan clutch kicked off, my world became quiet, I could hear the engine working and geez the rig had power imagine that.

I'm pulling around 10,000 loaded with quads so pulling up a grade in the summer I would expect it to come on but not while running flats in below 30 degrees air temps. I have been watching my temps closely, the 2014 Ram has a nice dash display which shows trans, coolant, and oil temps on the same page.

Mine was replaced at 100,000 miles. You will hear it when it comes on. Yours might have been working as it should as bucking a head wind is sort of like climbing a hill especially if you were towing. What did your temp gauge indicate when the fan it was on? On the diesel (I know yours is a gas engine) the fan comes on and then immediately off as soon as the temps drop a little. Rarely does it stay on more than a few minutes.

If you were bucking the same strength of headwind I was in the last time through WY it was a hard pull. My MPG went from a normal of 6 to 3MPG due to the wind. It was like going up a 6% grade for 150 miles.

Mine comes on under a hard pull in my diesel Ram (2013) but goes right back off when the hard pull is over. If yours sounds like mine does there is no way I could live with it for long period of times. How much weight were you pulling and how hard was the motor working?