I have been getting the orange wrench light on the dash of my 2008 FEH (105k miles) intermittently since January. Since it would seem to go away just when I was anywhere near a dealership or auto parts store to check the diagnostics, I've let it go. Coincidentally or not, I've seen about an overall decrease of 5 MPG over the last 6 months or so.

I finally went to the dealership this morning to have them check it out (no wrench light at the time). They said the most recent diagnostic trouble code was P0A81, P0A96: trouble with both the cooling fans / control circuits.

They have to order the parts from a dealership in MD (I'm in MA) and estimate the job with cost $900-$1000. This seems high given the prices mentioned for the part(s) in this thread, and the difficulty level of the job.

I would think I need the fans replaced even if the wrench light is intermittent?

Thoughts/opinions?

 

I would say so. Since the fans come on intermittently as needed, so will the error be intermittent. Buy the parts and "pay" yourself $600 for an afternoon's work.

 

The fans are very expensive. About $400 for me. Given that the official procedure calls for removing the entire battery, $1000 sounds about right. I'd suggest printing off the battery cover removal procedure and asking them to do that if you can't do it yourself or don't have time (like I didn't). It wound up being about $200 in labor for me, which was reasonable.

 

Thanks, Rex and Nick!

 

The dealership is probably quoting the flat rate for the battery removal, but I'll bet the tech knows he can beat that by just removing the cover. That's a windfall for the tech. Definitely call them on it.

 

I did that yesterday - replaced the blend door actuator and the fans for the battery. It seems to have done the trick! I had four screws left over. I'm not sure where they go but they aren't important screws. There are six nuts holding down each of the fans. I put those back. And made sure the ground wires and straps were secured. Who cares? The car already has 205,000 miles on it. I'm not going to drive it forever.

Unfortunately, the only time I had was yesterday afternoon. It was the hottest day of the year - 105 degrees. It took me from noon to 3:30.
And, yes, that fan cover took some real coercing to get under the battery cover lip.

 

Would a defective blend door prevent the fans from running? I just did a fan replacement, but they still don't come on. My hunch is that I've got a partially fried TBCM. I've smelled burning electronics smell back there, and I know the TBCM has two electrolytic capacitors that are the kind that can pop.http://www.eaa-phev.org/images/7/7a/...oller_open.jpg

 

nice thread,i had the same problem

 

Ok. For anyone out there that replaces their fans and they still don't work, maybe my experience will provide some insight. Battery compartment (a.k.a. under the hood) fuse #15 (50 amp) is listed as TBCM (The control module inside the battery pack). This fuse wasn't blown in my case, but the wire running from it (White with a red stripe on a 2008 FEH) was corroded and there was about an inch of wire that was just gone from within the insulation with just the teal corrosion in it's place (same stuff you see on battery cables). I think my vehicle had hit a deer in a previous life, and this wire was probably nicked, allowing road salt and grime to get in there, and I also suspect this is why the vehicle was for sale in the first place. Anyhow, I replaced my entire battery pack thinking the problem was in the controller, and my fans still didn't work. What this means, is that the TBCM can work even when fuse #15 blows. The 12v side of the TBCM appears to only control the fans? Whatever the case, now I have an extra battery pack and an extra set of fans

 

After quite a bit of time looking, is there anywhere I can order these fans online? I have a 2011 FEH and I am in need of new cooling fans for the Battery