AMBiEN22

So i've searched the internet and i've searched the forum and have found a couple of good sources but none really that describe or show the problem i am having.

Problem: My radiator seems to not be working.

Observed: The valve cover gets extremely hot, as well as the rubber tubing going into my radiator. I can feel the pressure in this rubber tubing [the top hot tube], but the lower tubing which i assume is suppose to be cool and pressurized as well is not [pressurized, its extremely cold]. Also the fan does not turn on, but the wired temp gauge in the car stays at 1/4...

Solution: Hoping that you all could help me trouble shoot this problem to hopefully get everything running.

What i've found & questions:
1) i can wire the fan directly to the battery to check if the motor and fan is good. [cool one test!]
Question though... how do i do this?? get a spare set of wires and just run it from the exposed tabs?
2) What i've read people often check the solenoid [in my car its a black little box, was wondering if i could take this too like auto zone and they could test it?]
3) temperature sensor [thermostat], i know their is two inputs on the engine one that goes to my dash to detect the temp levels, and one that goes to the sorry this is off memory i think the ECU? that would trip the solenoid to engage the fan?
4) Checking the thermostat, people put it in water just so the bottom is in the water heat the water and observer when the thermostat is tripped.

Now being a chemist i know things look a lot easier on paper than actually doing the reaction, experiment, ect... you get what i am saying ... i hope

Thanks ahead of time
The new addicted honda kid!

AMBiEN22

well kind of a bump and a... look what i found! [https://honda-tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992588]. Going to try some of these tests if i can figure it out. input still wanted and appreciated.

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

I'm answering off memory alone so if I'm wrong anyone please feel free to correct me...

1) Yes, you can literally just run a couple of wires from the battery to the plug of the fan to test if it works.

2) Not sure about a solenoid...do you mean relay? If so, you can test this at home. You'll need some wires and a multimeter. You'll need to find which two of the four prongs are the part of the normal circuit and which two are the relay (switch) part of the circuit. If I'm not mistaken, the two prongs that show resistance should be the normal part of the circuit. When you figure out which one is which (via multimeter or wiring diagram), you just run power to the normal circuit and you should feel/hear a distinct click in the relay. That's the relay/switch part activating. If you want definitive confirmation you can use the multimeter to confirm that the circuit is complete on the remaining two prongs.

3) I think you mean the fan switch, its located right on the thermostat housing (one green and one black wire on the plug if I remember correctly). It has nothing to do with the ECU, it just makes a complete circuit when the coolant reaches a certain temperature. If you want to test this, just bypass the sensor with a paper clip or jumper wire. This will simulate the sensor completing the circuit and the fan should turn on (key on of course and the engine doesn't need to be running for this either). You can test the sensor itself too, but you'll need a multimeter. You need to put it in hot water (boiling-ish) and measure resistance. It should go from infinite to 0 ohms.

4) Yes, put it in boiling water and you should see it open up. No need for a flask, a pot will do just fine