bdmlilburn

been having trouble with my 90 accord 5speed overheating. just replaced the intake manifold studs due to the old ones not being long enough and allowing coolant to leak at the im gasket. finished bleeding today. while bleeding i noticed the car began to overheat and the radiator fan would not come on. decided to check the fan relay(underhood relay) but i have been unable to find my voltmeter.

i removed the ac last year and i heard the condenser relay is the same so i removed the condenser relay and tried replacing the fan relay with it. there was an electrical sound followed by smoke and that infamous smell of burning electric parts. guessing it juts fried the condenser relay instantly. what would cause this to happen?

may be having to replace the thermostat and fan switch too. but dont wanna replace still working parts

Lost Again

Short in the motor(s)? Have you tried putting 12v directly to them and or check the resistance across the pins at the motor to see if it is shorted out.

Some other info that might help?

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/questions-regarding-radiator-fans-2989671/

bdmlilburn

im going to try jumping the connector that goes to the radiator fan switch with the key in the on position and see if that helps. somehow my battery fuse is blown so gotta go pick up another one here in a few minutes.

was searching through some old parts earlier and was lucky enough to find an extra thermostat housing with a thermostat and fan switch attached. lucky me. pretty sure its from the long block a got from tiger so should have low mileage. if jumping the connector that goes to the fan switch turns the fan on ill replace the switch with the other one i have. probably gonna replace the thermostat also since i will be in the area and im tired of this overheating issue. i always remove the condenser fan when removing the ac on my other two hondas but thinking about picking another one up at a pullapart to possibly help combat the overheating issue. my temp gauge is bouncy when turning also. been having trouble getting all the air out of the block

where should the cooling fan timing unit be located at?

hoping its not the head gasket. need to get a leak down test done.

btw lost great job explaining everything in the thread you posted very clear and knowledgeable

Lost Again

Sounds like you are on your way. Yes if you jump the wires and it runs then it is either the switch (thermo a) or some how the switch isn't "seeing" the temp...air.

Unless you are really worried about weight (racing), then I would keep BOTH fans....the weight savings for one that drives on the road everyday, again I'd want the added (second fan) help....so if you can get the fan for not too much $, I would.

The timer is under the dash on the drivers side....yes I have seen some where this unit goes out and cause issues. See if this helps in finding it.
http://techauto.awardspace.com/overh....html#Fantimer

Note the "timer" is really tied to the one fan, see the wire diagram in that post......find your volt meter, it will help...or at least a test light.

Yes I hope ift is not the head gasket as well

THANKS

bdmlilburn

weight wasnt a concern. i just like a clean looking engine bay. neither of my other cars ever had an overheating problem with one fan either and i did pizza delivery in the middle of the summer all day.

got the fan to come on. still overheating though. im beginning to think something is wrong with the temp gauge or the ets. the gauge goes up and down between 3/4 and 1/2. i blast the heat when it gets up to 3/4 and it jumps back down to 1/2 and stays there. im figuring it has to be air in the lines but i have bled the coolant soo much. i still get a burp every now and then.

before i did the engine swap the coolant system was nasty. looked like there was mud in it nasty...ya. when i did the f22a swap i changed both radiator hoses, both heater hoses, and the radiator but did not change the heater core, heater switch or the hose from the heater switch to heater core. my heat works great but im beginning to think maybe that mud stuff is stuck u,p in the switch and heater core trapping air. both radiator hoses are hot when the engine is hot.

i still have a roaming idle. a little when its cold. idles from 1500-1900 but stays around 1500 most of the time. then when hot it bounces from 1000-1250 faster then a regular bouncing idle would be. i cant get her to idle below 1000 steady.

Lost Again

Hey, don't take the fan question the wrong way. We all have or opinions and mine is having two is better than one. If one goes, you have a back up.

Anyway, I understand the "not wanting to replace working parts" but t-stats are kind of cheap....if it is sticking, this could answer almost all of the issues.

If you go there. Once you have the stat back in and everything else sealed up (don't forget the ground on the t-stat housing). Open the bleeder, set the heat to max heat. Add coolant slowly until a good stream is coming out of the bleeder. Close it off. Top of rad and overflow. Replace cap, start engine let it run until fans come on, keeping an eye on the gauge. Turn it off, let it cool and recheck coolant level....should be good to go.

bdmlilburn

oh no your input is greatly appreciated. i was just providing my past experience. im gonna go ahead and replace the thermostat and the red fan switch since im still using the old ones from the nasty coolant system. maybe thermostat is just getting stuck randomly. worth a try. thanks for the input.

Lost Again

Understood and thank you. Again just wanted to be sure my comment(s) were not taken the wrong way.......good luck and let us know how it goes.

bdmlilburn

ordered a lisle spill free funnel. when it gets here im gonna be removing the throttle body, resetting the base idle, cleaning and screwing in fitv, cleaning iacv, replacing fan switch and thermostat, and then bleeding with the spill free funnel since the regular bleeding procedure has not been working.

thanks for all the help

bdmlilburn

well finally got my fan to come on today. guess the car was just not getting up to temp. afterwards the temp kept rising without the radiator fan so i think my worst fears have come to life. my spill free funnel finally came in so i installed it let the fan cycle once and then she began to overheat. one light push of the throttle and the temp goes back down to normal so the water pump is good. i noticed that large amounts of small bubbles were coming out the funnel after the small amount of throttle and then kept coming out. so the head gasket has to be leaking.

typically how much should a shop charge for the head gasket change? dont wanna go to the stealership but are there any other name shops i should stay away from. there is a small honda specialist in the area that i may end up going to. dealership but any would do it myself but my apartment complex would not be happy.

Lost Again

I'd do one more test before going for the head gasket. There is a "kit" (block check or something like that) you can get. Last time the "kit" was like $25 and the test fluid was ~$7. This checks for combustion gases in the coolant. If this confirms the HG is blown.....well now you know.

Cost for "someone" to do it, can't say. I do my own work so labor is me.

bdmlilburn

ill look into this. i would much rather do it myself but no able to in my parking lot and dont know anyone around here who wants a head changed in their driveway though im on the search

im almost positive its the head gasket though. ive checked everything for leaks and i do have a very small amount of white smoke out the tail pipe in the morning. not noticeable when hot. coolant level stays the same. roaming idle will not go away and overheats without heat on.