P0696
Fan 3 Control Circuit High
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The control circuit for cooling fan 3 is reading high - typically shorted to voltage, or a relay that will not release. The fan may run constantly, including after the engine is switched off. That is less dangerous than a fan that will not run, but it drains the battery and wears the motor out.
Possible causes
- CommonFailed relay
- CommonCorroded relay socket or fuse box connections
- CommonWiring fault between the module and the relay
- CommonWater ingress into the fuse box
- PossibleBlown fuse
- RareFailed control module driver
What you might notice
- Cooling fan running constantly
- Fan continuing to run after the ignition is switched off
- Battery flat after standing
- Noisy at idle
- Check engine light on
What to check, in order
- Check whether the high reading persists with the relay removed.
- Swap the relay with an identical one from elsewhere in the box and see whether the fault follows it. It costs nothing and is the fastest test available.
- Inspect the relay socket for corrosion, heat damage and spread terminals - a discoloured socket means the relay has been running hot.
- Check the fuse for the circuit.
- Check the fuse box for water ingress, particularly if it is mounted low or in the engine bay.
- Check the wiring between the module and the relay.
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
Computer output circuits and control module
P0600P0601P0602P0603P0604P0605P0606P0607P0608P0609P0610P0611P0612P0613P0614P0615P0616P0617P0618P0619P0620P0621P0622P0623P0624P0625P0626P0627P0628P0629P0630P0631P0632P0633P0634P0635P0636P0637P0638P0639P0640P0641P0642P0643P0644P0645P0646P0647P0648P0649P0650P0651P0652P0653P0654P0655P0656P0657P0658P0659P0660P0661P0662P0663P0664P0665P0666P0667P0668P0669P0670P0671P0672P0673P0674P0675P0676P0677P0678P0679P0680P0681P0682P0683P0684P0685P0686P0687P0688P0689P0690P0691P0692P0693P0694P0695P0696P0697P0698P0699