Chrysler Repair: 96 van radiator fan always on; temp sensor?, radiator fan, radiator hose

Question
My 96 T&C minivan:  cold start, the electric radiator fan is running. Should not be running yet.  Guess that there is some kind of temp sensor?

Answer
Hi Jay,
Yes there is such a sensor but it might also be the radiator fan relay which is bad. You didn't mention which engine you have, but the sensor is usually located near the manifold where the thermostat is located (connected to the top radiator hose. It has two wires, one tan/black, the other black/light blue. It should read 9,000 to 14,000 ohms when cold and drops to 700 to 1,000 ohm at full warm temp. If that is the case then the problem is not the sensor. Of course the fan will always be on if you ask for AC, regardless of temp of the engine.
The relay is located on the left side frame rail, just behind the left lower corner of the radiator assembly. That relay was a weak link and in fact was the subject of a factory recall in the later half of the '90's. So you might check that to see if it is stuck "on" (conducts between pin 3 and pin 4 (gray wire, dark green wire) when it is disconnected from its plug.
What I described above is from the '98 manual. It is possible that the '96 has two conventional fan relays in the power distribution center under the hood. If so, then of course those would need to be checked, rather than the solid state relay on the frame rail. I'm not certain whether the '96 is set up like the '95 or the '98, which are the two manuals I have for the van of that time frame. Please let me know.
Roland