P0483
Fan Rationality Check
- Severity
- High
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The module commanded the cooling fan and did not get the result it expected - the temperature did not fall, or the fan did not respond as it should. This is a check on the outcome rather than the circuit, so the fan may be running and simply not moving enough air.
Possible causes
- CommonFailed fan motor
- CommonFailed fan relay or control module
- CommonBlown fuse on the fan circuit
- CommonCorroded connector or damaged wiring
- PossibleDebris jamming the fan
- PossibleCorroded earth at the fan
- RareFailed control module driver
- CommonRadiator blocked externally with leaves, insects or road debris
- PossibleFan shroud damaged or missing, so air bypasses the radiator
- PossibleCoolant level low, so there is little to cool
What you might notice
- Engine running hot in traffic but cool at speed
- Cooling fan not running, or running constantly
- Air conditioning performance poor at low speed
- Temperature gauge climbing when stationary
- Check engine light on
What to check, in order
- Look at the front of the radiator. A radiator packed with leaves or insects stops a perfectly good fan doing anything, and it is visible from the front of the car.
- Check the fan shroud is present and undamaged - without it the fan pulls air around the radiator rather than through it.
- Check the coolant level when the engine is cold.
- Watch the temperature gauge in slow traffic and stop if it climbs. A fan fault shows itself when the car is stationary and clears at speed, because airflow through the radiator does the fan's job - that pattern is the clearest evidence available and costs nothing to observe.
- Check whether the fan runs at all when the engine is hot or the air conditioning is on.
- Check the fuse and swap the relay with an identical one from elsewhere in the box.
- Inspect the connector and the fan earth for corrosion.
- Check for debris in the fan and that it spins freely with the engine off and cool.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx
Auxiliary emission controls
P0400P0401P0402P0403P0404P0405P0406P0407P0408P0409P0410P0411P0412P0413P0414P0415P0416P0417P0418P0419P0420P0421P0422P0423P0424P0425P0426P0427P0428P0429P0430P0431P0432P0433P0434P0435P0436P0437P0438P0439P0440P0441P0442P0443P0444P0445P0446P0447P0448P0449P0450P0451P0452P0453P0454P0455P0456P0457P0458P0459P0460P0461P0462P0463P0464P0465P0466P0467P0468P0469P0470P0471P0472P0473P0474P0475P0476P0477P0478P0479P0480P0481P0482P0483P0484P0485P0486P0487P0488P0489P0490P0491P0492P0493P0494P0495P0496P0497P0498P0499