cjohn6383

I have a 1999 Acura Tl 3.2 I love this car but lately it's giving me fits. Engine starts fine, fan comes on at appropriate time drive for 15 - 20 minutes fan turns off. Engine starts to overheat. Pull to side of the road, turn off engine both fans come on until engine cools down. Start engine and cycle repeats itself. If the A/C is on both fans are running they both turn off. Pull to side of road pull the key both fans come on until engine cools. Does anyone have an idea what is going on?

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Your car is overheating, the fan operation is normal for overheating conditions. You need to diagnose your overheating issue which apparently has nothing to do with the fans.

How is your coolant level?
With engine running and radiator cap removed, do you see any bubbles in the radiator?
With engine running and radiator cap removed, increase engine RPM. Do you see your coolant sucking in towards the radiator?
Does the engine only overheat at idle?

cjohn6383

Hi slomofo,
My overheating is because the fans stop. They run for a while but then stop. If the A/C is on both fans run but they stop. If you stop the car and shut it off they start running until the over heating goes back to normal. If you restart the car immediately the fans start running but they will turn off after 15-20 minutes again. I found another person on Honda Tech who also had an Ebay store and I wrote to him directly. He wrote back and said he thought I had a "bad Fan Timer". I haven't attempted to remove it because I wanted to find out what the best way was to test for it. It's located behind the radio so before I go taking the dash apart I want to be sure that will fix the problem. If I could find a way to switch the fans on without having to shut the engine down that might work. Thanks again for writing back. John.

tech8

As previously asked by slomofo:

1. How is your coolant level?
2. With engine running and radiator cap removed, do you see any bubbles in the radiator?
3. With engine running and radiator cap removed, increase engine RPM. Do you see your coolant sucking in towards the radiator?
4. Does the engine only overheat at idle?

His questions are relevant, please answer them to rule out other causes.



This is how the fans operate:

• With the ignition to ON or START, if the coolant temperature is above 199 degrees F at radiator fan Switch A (located on the thermostat housing – connected to the lower radiator hose), then the switch will close, which should turn on both cooling fans (radiator fan and A/C condenser fan).
• With the car running, if the A/C is turned on, both cooling fans should run, regardless of the coolant temperature at the Fan Switch A.
• When you shut off the car and the coolant temperature is above 219 degrees F at the radiator fan Switch B (located on the housing connected to the upper radiator hose ), the radiator fan will run until the temperature drops at Switch B (which opens the switch) or up to ~ 15 minutes.

If you were to disconnect the 2P connector to the radiator fan Switch A, and jump the connector with a piece of wire or small paper clip, then turn ignition to ON (II); both fans should run. If both fans run when you do this and there is no overheating, it can be due to a faulty radiator fan switch A.

cjohn6383

Hi,
I will try all these things today and report my findings. The picture of the radiator fan switch A is very helpful. Thank you, John.

cjohn6383

Hi,
I pulled the connector on Fan Switch A put in a paper clip and turned ignition switch to second position and both fans started running. Next I opened the radiator and checked the coolant level it was up to the top. At 3:17 PM I started the car and let it idle. I watched for bubbles and looked at the temp gauge on the instrument panel, all was good until 3;26PM air bubbles started to come out of the radiator and the coolant started to overflow. Bubbles became more pronounced with greater velocity. I never increased the RPM because I think it would have only increased the volume of coolant exiting the radiator. I ended the testing at 3:39 PM. Through all of this the temp gauge never went up the fans never came on. I did have some difficulty getting the 2P connector back on and it may be that it is not fully connected but for this test the car never got hot enough to overheat and that is when the fans usually start running after the engine is shut down. Thank you, John.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

It would've been more helpful if you had performed the diagnosis with the car cold and the fans left in their original configuration. If you have a sticky thermostat, dirty radiator or condenser fins, an inefficient water pump, or are in the early stages of head gasket failure, it is indeed possible to jump the fan connector to keep the overheating at bay, but the real problem will remain. Your initial description of the fans indicates they are working correctly and there is an external force causing the overheating, but it seems you've got a preconceived notion that the fans are the culprit, so I have nothing further to add.

cjohn6383

Hi,
I don't think you would have found a colder engine since the car has been in the garage for 2 days just sitting before starting the test. When I performed the Fan Switch A paper clip test the car was not started the fans both came on. I don't have a preconceived idea that the fans are the culprit because the fans work and always have worked but you having me go through the tests makes me believe now that I may have a blown head gasket. The bubbles coming out of the radiator were very pronounced. When the thermostat opened and the water freely circulated to the radiator air bubbles were forcing coolant at a pretty good rate.I'm going to purchase a head gasket test kit and see what it shows. Please do not think me ungrateful for your help because that would never be the case. I value your help and suggestions to a total stranger. I will post my results as soon as I complete the head gasket test. Sincerely, John.

cjohn6383

I wanted to complete this thread with my final comments so that anyone else reading this will perhaps find some value. First I want to thank 'slomofo' for his assistance and pointing me in the right direction. It was determined that my head gasket was blown. My choices were clear spend $1,800.00 on a garage repair or try one of several gasket fix liquids. For a vehicle worth less than $1,000.00 running properly the obvious choice was the liquid. The short of it is it did not work in my case. I used Bar's Leaks Block Seal permanent Head Gasket Fix. As with any vehicle the time comes when your about to spend money that could be put into something newer. I've also discovered that the igniter for my HID headlights is bad (located behind the front bumper), the oil pump needs to be replaced and I'm about 40K from Timing Belt and water pump replacement. I've enjoyed driving this car for the past 10 years but bottom line it's time to say goodbye. Thank you again, Sincerely, John.