So the other day my radiator sprung a leak. I put some Bar's stop leak in there, but it didn't do the trick. So I replaced the radiator. I took it for a test drive around the block then down the freeway a few miles and back. When I got back in the garage and opened the hood I looked around to see if there were any leaks or just something I missed. I let it run for a few minutes while I cleaned the place up. After a few minutes I noticed that the fan wasen't spinning around. So I turned it off an waited for the car to cool down.

I thought that the fan motor could have gone bad. So I took it out and rigged it up to the car battery and sure enough it worked. So then I took the coolant tempature sensor off and got a reading of 2 ohms(think I have the abb. right). I got a pot of boiling water going and using a pair of tongs I dipped the sensor part into the water for a few seconds, took it out and I got a reading of .4 ohms. Now I'm assuming because there was a change in the 2 readings that the sensor is working.

I checked the voltage at the fan plugin and waited for the car to warm up (about 15 minutes). I didn't get any reading from it. So I'm thinking that it's the Cooling Fan Relay? Anyone know where it would be? I took a few picts.




I think it's over by that fuse box, but I'm having a hell of a time tracing the wires back. Am I on the right track here or should I be looking at something else?

 

Sorry about that, forgot to add this site to my hotlink protection script.

 

the relay is beside your passenger headlight, its a little black relay beside the clear one for the headlights.

 

You did plug the fan back in, right?

 

I found the relay and checked the resistance between the plugs. C and D plugs had some resistance but a-b didn't. According to the guide I found here:
http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/C...7.pdf

It says that both should have some resistance. I'm guessing I should assume that it's gone bad.

/Edit: Yes I checked to make sure everything was plugged in.

 

respect your car and it will respect you

clean it

 

i just had this problem on my car also. first make sure your car is off, you got a paper clip, and you have a few extra 15a fuses

-First, check your fuse - its the number 15 fuse under your dashboard. - its a 15A. If your fuse is good, you need to check your fan and the wiring going to it.

-To do this, Unplug the relay and look at the plug u had it in. (as you know the relay is the little black rectangle located behind the passenger side headlight, connected to the sidewall with a 10 bolt.) unplugging it is weird cause theres this little rubber cover you need to pull back first. put your relay aside and look at the "female" plug.

-its a 4 hole plug. connect the 2 left plug opening holes (i believe where a and b would fit in your last diagram) with the paper clip.

___ ___

___ ___

make sure its in there good and it has contact with the metal. turn your key to turn on the intruments etc. Your paper clip is acting as a ghetto relay, so if your fan and wiring are good, the fan will turn on. That means its your thermostat or the relay itself

-its best to work backwards so next you need to test the relay. now, i tested mine and it was supposed to work fine, but i replaced it anyway and it fixed the problem. So, I say **** the test and replace it. though it is $45 at honda.

-if that doesnt work, replace the thermostat. (as you know its where the lower radiator hose leads to.) But it sounds like you already know it works. I think thats just about all the troubleshooting you can do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 143MYDOHCEF &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">respect your car and it will respect you clean it</TD></TR></TABLE>It's a skiing car. There's no way to avoid all that crap in there. We don't salt the road around here so that's what you get

 

Ok I tested the relay using the paper clip. If your looking at it with the clip on top:

-
== ==
== ==

I put the paper clip on the right side and the fan turned on. So after testing it with the paper clip, and using a volt meter to check the resistance and not getting any. I guess it's safe to say that I'm looking for a new relay tomorrow right?

 

Is it overheating?

The new rad may be working thats why the fans not coming on the old one may have been clogged so the fan had to run more often.


Modified by dragline at 10:38 PM 3/13/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Noghri_ViR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok I tested the relay using the paper clip. If your looking at it with the clip on top:

-
== ==
== ==

I put the paper clip on the right side and the fan turned on. So after testing it with the paper clip, and using a volt meter to check the resistance and not getting any. I guess it's safe to say that I'm looking for a new relay tomorrow right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah its the right side because thats where a and b plug in (its backwards from the diagram when the clip faces down.) Sounds like a relay. I hope thats the problem!

youre sure the car is gettin hot enough for the fan to turn on, right? my fan turns on fairly early because i have a 160 degree thermostat. i believe stock is 200, so youd have to be sitting still for a long while in pretty warm weather to see it turn on.

 

ok, stupid question, but heh i've done it.
did your car have a/c before?

the fan plugs are the same shape for the ac and the regular fan, and in my car, on the wiring harness, the ac plug is green and the regular fan plug is white. but on the actual fans, both are green plugs (they were cheap from a junkyard) so when i did my headgasket outside in this weather, i plugged the wrong one in and then couldn't figure out why it wasn't turning on.

 

could u get a DX w/ AC?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MtnCRX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">could u get a DX w/ AC?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You could get a STD with A/C, so yes a DX can come with or without A/C as well as power steering if u desired.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So I replaced the radiator.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did you properly bleed the air out of the system when you did this?

If there is air in the coolant system, then you will get pockets surrounding the temp sensor and it wont allow for the fan to come on. You will get incorrect readings also, and your system will overheat.

 

Sorry about not getting back to you guys, yea it was the relay. I got a new a few days later, put it in, drove the car around and the fan turned on. Thanks for the help

 

well thats great that you figured it out ... now clean your engine bay....

 

I would but it doesn't really make sense to do until after spring skiing is over.


/edit: what stuff do you guys recommend? The last stuff I used (can't remember the name) didn't do that great of a job and I wasen't impressed with it.