TurboEM1

iTrader: (1)

This is going to be long but I appreciate any help. Thanks

Car: 2008 Honda Element EX AWD 5 Speed Manual Transmission. ~42,000 miles. I am the original owner.

Symptoms: The car has drove fine all the time until last week when it overheated for the first time. I was driving from NJ to NY . I had 4 people in the car and a decent amount of gear. It was extremely hot. The ac was running. I was sitting in a lot of traffic. When stopped at a light about 3 hours into the drive i noticed the temperature gauge was at about 3/4 the way to hot. I shut the a/c and turned on the heater. It immediately drops to normal. I then shut the heat and left the ac off. In traffic it was sitting right above normal and going a little up and down depending on my driving speed and if i put the heat on for a little bit. I was able to keep it right above normal for the rest of the ride home. Since that trip I have driven to work with no problems. I work 30 miles away and drive all highway. I thought it was a fluke thing. Due to the fact it was hot, a lot of people in the car, ac running, etc... Thought it was just too much for the car. Plus it has been fine going to work.

Well yesterday it overheated again. Same trip from NJ to NY. It was hot but maybe like 85º or so. Nothing too crazy. Sat in traffic again. I had the ac on until it started to overheat. Put the heat on and it drops right away. The only catch for this trip is it was just me in the car and no gear or anything. This was just a regular three hour drive so it should definitely not have overheated. So I am sure something is wrong and the other thing wasn't a fluke. Going to work causes no problems because its all highway.

What I checked:

Starting with the most obvious things...
- I checked the oil. It is fine and there is oil in the car.
- With the engine cool and off if you remove the radiator cap the coolant is right up to the top of the cap.
- The overflow bottle has coolant exactly up to the max line when cold.
- The A/C works fine. When you turn on the a/c the fan for that also kicks on (the fan on the passenger side).

Now I have not seen the other fan come on at all. I let the car idle for like 15 minutes and get up to operating temp and it didn't come on at all. I thought maybe just idleing wasn't enough load to make it come on but im not sure. I drove to work and popped the hood when I got there and the fan was not on. The car doesn't overheat when going to work it stays perfectly in the normal spot. I thought maybe because of all the highway driving it didn't need to come on but im not sure. I forgot to check when the car was actually overheating because it should definitely be on then.

Questions:

1. How can I verify the fan does/doesn't work?
2. How do I know if it's the fan, fan switch, or fan relay?
3. What fuses should I check?
4. How can I figure out if its the thermostat?
5. If it is not the fan or the thermostat what else could it be?

decode33

Turn the car on. Let the temperature go up to normal. Open hood. Turn the ac on. When you turn the ac on it automatically turns on both fans. If the fans are not working with the ac on. Then it is the fans. It could also be a clogged radiator. My radiator was 75% clogged. Had it cleaned. If the car takes time to warm up or the temperature stays below normal then its the thermostat. Do not let the temperature go up to the red line. It will damage the engine.

TurboEM1

iTrader: (1)

When I turn the a/c on only the passenger side fan turns on. not the other one. car warms up quick so i dont think its the thermostat. also the car never got up to the red. I caught it about 3/4 the way up.

decode33

Both fans should turn on with ac on

99blackcivicSi

jump the fan relay as a faster test if it dosn't come on and you are getting power to the fan put a new fan in it, its quite a common issue on these elements and crv's and usually result in a headgasket pop so hopefully it didn't get to that problem.

ARMED

to check...find that connector...(fan)
connect it straight to the battery....

basically hot wire the fan and see if it works...

its 12v...connect it straight to the battery...
use some speaker wires or something...

you dont have to take the fan off...

TurboEM1

iTrader: (1)

Ok here is an update. I unplugged the radiator fan and checked that connection with a multimeter to see if its getting power and its not. I also directly jumped the fan to the battery and it runs fine.

so what would cause power not to go the the fan? How do I know if it is a fuse or relay? Anything else it could be? Where are they located? Thanks

TurboEM1

iTrader: (1)

Another update. The 20A fan motor fuse under the hood was blown. Ran down to the autoparts store and replaced it and it works now.

My only concern is hopefully I am good now and it doesn't keep blowing. Not sure why it did in the first place. Normal for a fuse to go once or is there another issue?

ARMED

nice...

decode33

Keep checking for about a week. If it blows again then you have some wire issue. If fine then you are ok. Usually if there is a wire problem the fuse blows immediately or within an hour.

TurboEM1

iTrader: (1)

ok thanks. i drove to and from work today (about 1.5 hours total) but ill keep an eye on it for the next week or so.

HNDA_4SHOOR

Good Find! I hope that holds up! glad that you knew you had to turn off AC and putting on heater help

p10hlm

fuses dont just pop to pop. there is a underlying issue here more than likely with the fan motor or any load that is connected to that fuse. be sure to keep an extra couple of fuses with you because this problem will be coming back

markgoldsmith

anybody have a link to instructions for replacing fan in 03 element?
thx

fcbspain

this is a very useful post as same was happening to my element in the summer thank you . i will check fans etc appreciate the thread and responses