When is the radiator fan supposed to turn on?
 

Hello,

I just got a 1997 Civic dx 5 speed (non vtec) and it runs great aside from needing a little bit of this and that. I drove it home and it did great. It warms up fast, and the temp stays around the 1/2 mark all the time. It idled in the driveway for a long time and did great. I idles with the AC on great, but I noticed that the radiator fan doesn't come on. How often is it supposed to cycle?

I left the car idling for a while with the AC on to see if the radiator fan would come on, and maybe after 8-10 minutes the temperature started to very slowly climb past 1/2. The radiator fan didn't turn on. I then turned the car off. It doesn't seem to do this without the ac on, and the temp stays steady when I'm driving. Does the fan turn on at 3/4 right before the red (like GM designs their cars), or is it supposed to keep temperatures steadily at 1/2?

Thanks,
David

Re: When is the radiator fan supposed to turn on? (SW20FL)
 

sounds like your thermostat...your engine stays cool while your driving so it usualy stays around half way....your fan should kick on after about 5-6 min of idle but if your thermo is broken than it wont come on

Re: When is the radiator fan supposed to turn on? (vtecb18c)
 

if the thermostat was messed up the engine would run cold all the time if it was stuck open bc the coolant will just cycle through, or if it was stuck shut your engine would overheat bc its not allowing coolant to return to the radiatior...the fan turns on around halfway on the temp gauge only for a few mins usually to cool things down. check the fan swich that was my problem a while ago, when my fan never went on

Re: When is the radiator fan supposed to turn on? (H22Ej1)
 

I think he meant fan switch, not thermostat.

Check your coolant level. These cars will turn the fan on late or not at all if you are a little low on coolant. The temp should stay right around the "water marks" on your temp gauge. Not much above or below that.

Re: When is the radiator fan supposed to turn on? (SW20FL)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SW20FL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I left the car idling for a while with the AC on to see if the radiator fan would come on, and maybe after 8-10 minutes the temperature started to very slowly climb past 1/2...

Does the fan turn on at 3/4 right before the red (like GM designs their cars), or is it supposed to keep temperatures steadily at 1/2?</TD></TR></TABLE>


Heh! Let me tell you about Honda CiViC temp gauges...

Basically, they're glorified 'idiot lights' by design.

If you ever see your gauge go past 1/2 way, there's something seriously wrong with your car 'cause it'll take the fires of hell to make it move past that point.

The way it works is - 'C' at cold start up - 1/2 ALL the rest of the time. If it goes past 1/2 you got a cracked head, blown head gasket, exploded radiator hose, tossed belt, et cetera.

Bottom line: if you wanna see what's going on, you'll need to buy a REAL (accessory) temp gauge... https://honda-tech.com/forums/images/smilies/emwink.gif