P0481: Cooling Fan 2 Control Circuit
What to do
Driveable, but keep an eye on temperature in traffic and when towing. If the air conditioning has also stopped working when stationary, mention it — the two are often the same circuit.
What this code means
A control-circuit fault on the second cooling fan. Vehicles with two fans usually stage them — one runs at moderate temperature or when the air conditioning is on, the second joins at higher temperature — so losing the second fan leaves some cooling capacity but removes the reserve the engine relies on in heavy traffic or when towing.
On many layouts the second fan is also the one the air conditioning depends on, so a system that stops cooling in stationary traffic while the engine temperature stays normal points here.
Likely causes
Start here
- Failed cooling fan relay · easy
- Failed cooling fan motor · moderate
- Broken wire in control circuit · moderate
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
Less common
- Blown cooling fan fuse · easy
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
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Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Community experience
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