justkane

Alright, first I'll tell you how I got to where I am...to help with diagnosis. If you're the kind of person to say tl;dr...don't bother going any further since the more info the better for a diagnosis.

A week ago, after exiting the freeway I had noticed at a stop light that there was some steam coming from under the hood. Immediately, I looked at the temperature gauge to see that it was beginning to overheat. I quickly pulled over, turned on the heater (cold air was blowing out) and shut the car off. I checked the reservoir tank and it was empty. After some time, I took off the radiator cap and attempted to put in some fluid but almost as soon as I poured it in, the liquid came pouring out. After changing out the radiator, we were purging the system of the dreaded air bubbles and in the process noticed something incredibly odd, the cooling fan wasn't turning on, even after turning on the A/C.

Steps I've taken to remedy the issue:
1) Check the fuse; it was still good
2) Checked the relay; still good
3) Jumped the fan; turned on
4) Jumped the Coolant sensor plug; fan turned on
5) Replaced the sensor; fan never turned on during air bleed, but temp gauge said it was at operating temp (touching the squiggly line, roughly 3/8ths to 1/2 way up the gauge), still didn't turn on (even after driving)
6) Checked and double checked wiring and power at every relevant wire, all checked out fine.
7) Replaced sensor again & Thermostat for good measure; didn't turn on.
8) Rechecked fuses, relays and wiring.

After replacing the switch and thermostat, in the process of purging those nasty air pockets, it dawned on me that I should check the temperature of the coolant and remembered the car never began to overheat after driving for the 20 mile trip to/from school, even while sitting at a stop light. I put a gauge directly into the radiator and found that after 20 minutes of idling, the temperature hovered around 160 degrees F. After research, I knew that the Thermostat is rated at 170 and the Fan Switch/Sensor was rated at roughly 190-195 degrees, which meant that the engine was running cool.

While this explains why the fan hasn't turned on while driving, I will note that the fan does not turn on when I turn on the A/C. The car runs fine, my heater works great (as I've since been driving with it on...call it paranoia) and the temp gauge barely moves, if at all, after driving it for awhile. I'm baffled.

Outside Temp when going to class: 65 degrees (Bay Area, CA)
Outside Temp after latest fix: Roughly 60+/- a couple

Edit: I've scoured the forum for a solution to no avail, it's why I'm posting this now.

Cjlarson14

I'm confused as to what your asking now? Sounds like you fixed your problem and most honda cooling fans take foreeeeevvvveeeerrrr to kick on and sometimes you wouldn't even noticed it had. Has it overheated since you've changed out everything you listed? If not, then what's the question?? Is it why it overheated in the first place? No coolant would be that result and a leaky radiator would be the further result. To me, it sounds like you've got a normal honda and you have already tested your fan showing that it does work and the wiring itself has power. Something I'm missing here??

justkane

Your response has eased my mind lol. I was more worried that maybe I just didn't think of it. I am merely concerned because the only way I can seem to get the fan to turn on is when I jump the switch. I am accustomed to the fan always running when I turn on the A/C, car running or in the on switch, and since it still isn't, I second guessed my work.

Answer to your question: No, it has not overheated since.

My questions are:
1) Even after the car sat idle for 30 minutes, the fan did not turn on. Is that common or could there be another reason as to why the fan continues to stay off?

2) Is it normal for this motor to have a lower operating temp?

fleabag

Do you have an OBD-II reader? Like a scan gauge or the torque app for the android? The thing about these cars is that they're so efficient that the cooling fans don't really come on too often when everything is working properly. So the way to check to see if your thermostat is working properly is with an OBD-II tool, you monitor the coolant temps and watch how the temps fluctuate around 180-190F. @ Idle, the temps will slowly rise, then when it reaches the thermostat opening temp, then it will quickly drop back down to its closing temp.

FYI the cooling fans don't come on until 205F+ which shouldn't really happen in this mild weather if you're just idling.

justkane

I don't have a reader but from what I can gather from both responses is that everything appears to be in working order. I'll continue to monitor my car like a hawk, being a starving student makes me a tad paranoid about the condition of my car...especially after an overheat. I appreciate both Cjlarson and Fleabag's responses, definitely tempered my concerns. I'll update in a couple of weeks. Thanks again

tony_2018

Did you test to see if the fan comes on, both fans are isolated from each other. They're not like the integras. To test just jump the plug that goes into the fan switch to see if the fan is operating if not than you need to check the relay, than power and ground. relay is in the same fusebox in the engine bay.

Former User

Are you saying that the cluster temp gauge needle stays on cold after a long drive?

justkane

I've tested the relay and the fan, both are good.


@RonJ@HT - "Are you saying that the cluster temp gauge needle stays on cold after a long drive?"

No, it gets to what I assume is operating temp, just below the bottom squiggly line on the gauge.

Former User

At this point, there's no problem evident.

tony_2018

Techincally, when burping the cooland you're suppose to run the heater so it will cycle through the entire system. But everything looks good so you should be in the clear.