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OBD-II Code

P0696

Severity

Not yet reviewed

Nobody on our side has assessed this code yet, so we are not going to guess at how serious it is.

Can you drive it

We cannot say

Treat it as unknown until a shop reads it with live data. If the check-engine light is FLASHING, stop driving as soon as it is safe to — that means an active misfire, whatever the code.

Indicative cost (USD)

$30–$400

From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.

P0696 is Fan 3 control circuit high - open or short-to-power on the high-speed/tertiary fan control wire.

How a shop works this

Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.

  1. Note every code that is set, not just this one.

    Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.

  2. Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.

    Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.

  3. Confirm the fault is current rather than history.

    Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.

  4. Then follow the diagnostic notes further down this page, in the order they are written.

    They are written in the order a shop works this code, cheapest checks first. Where they name a component, inspect its wiring and connector before replacing it.

If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.

Common symptoms

  • Check engine light
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0696 is Fan 3 control circuit high - open or short-to-power on the high-speed/tertiary fan control wire.

P0696 is Fan 3 control circuit high - open or short-to-power on the high-speed/tertiary fan control wire.

Cheapest-first ladder

  1. key-on engine-off, measure the fan 3 control wire at the relay connector; it should sit at battery voltage uncommanded and drop to 0 V when the scan tool commands fan-on.
  2. If it stays at battery voltage when commanded, the PCM driver is open, the wire is broken, or the relay coil is open.
  3. Measure relay coil resistance (50 to 90 ohms typical); infinite reading confirms open coil.
  4. On 3-relay Ford Panther applications, the high-speed relay coil sees the most thermal cycling because it engages only at peak load (A/C max + ambient over 95 F + traffic), so its coil fails open earlier than the primary or secondary.
  5. With a scan tool commanding fan-on, current draw at the high-speed configuration should ramp 5 to 30 A momentary inrush to 8 to 20 A steady; less than 2 A measured at command points to a failed fan motor or open between relay and motor.
  6. PWM-monitored fan 3 outputs should show clean duty cycle 0 to 100% on the FCM input drive line.
  7. Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: fan resistor packs are the common consumable on multi-speed fan systems.
  8. Ford, GM, and Toyota all use 3-step fan resistor packs that burn open at the high-current stage; the P0696 failure mode is most often the high-stage of the pack burned completely open such that no return path exists, which the PCM interprets as a circuit-high fault on the fan 3 output even though the wiring and relays test fine in isolation.
  9. Pull the pack, ohm each stage, replace if any stage reads infinite.
  10. Pack is $40 to $120; the whole fan module is $250 to $600.
Vehicle-specific patterns2003-2010 Ford Crown Victoria/Town Car/Marauder Panther-platform 3-relay setup throws P0696 from the high-speed relay coil open after about 100k mile…
  • 2003-2010Ford Crown Victoria/Town Car/Marauder Panther-platform 3-relay setup throws P0696 from the high-speed relay coil open after about 100k miles of thermal cycling, $30 to $60 relay.
  • 2007-2014GM Silverado/Tahoe/Yukon trailer-tow third-fan setups throw P0696 from auxiliary fan motor open winding (brush failure) or from the auxiliary relay coil open, $35 to $400 depending on root cause.
  • 2007-2017Toyota Sequoia/Tundra 3UR-FE V8 with high-speed bypass relay plus 3-step resistor pack throws P0696 most commonly from the pack high-stage open ($50 to $90 pack) or less commonly from the bypass relay open coil ($40 to $80).
  • 2008-2015Honda Odyssey/Pilot J35 V6 dual-fan setups don't use a fan 3 output and P0696 on these platforms points to PCM calibration mismatch after a battery disconnect; reflash and retest.

Estimated repair$30 to $400.

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