My damn radiator fan doesnt come on! The temp gauge in the car stays a lil before the middle which is normal. It isnt leaking any coolant anywhere. Thermostat ground is hooked up. Havent change the thermostat yet. How do I jump it so I can see if the coolant fan is bad? DO I run it to the battery? Maybe its my radiator cap, or the radiator itself? Its not burning any coolant. I think it is running hotter than usual though. Any answers???

1996 honda civic hatch
jdm b20b

 

First off, if your temp gauge stays a little below the middle - that's normal operating temp and the fan shouldn't come on - You should get worried when that temp gauge needle is past the halfway mark and THEN your fan still isn't on....

My EG had the same problem about a year ago - Fan just wouldn't come on. Yes, to test the fan motor you can wire directly to the battery to see if it will turn. Thermostats are cheap and easy enough to replace... Might as well change that - Buy the "fail safe" kind - A bit more $$ but when they break, they break in the open position.

It turned out the reason my fan wasn't coming on was the ECT plug/sensor (Engine Coolant Temperature) - Its a cheap little metal plug that sits right next to the thermo housing. When I put the new one in, my cooling fan came right on at the correct temp- Problem solved -

That's just my $0.02 - Hope you don't have too much of a headache with it!

 

well i shorted out the ECT plug, and the fan came on, so i drove it around a bit and the temp gauge still went a little above half-way....i'm gonna try and replace the thermostat