Getting ready to remove/replace radiator in my 90 Accord LX with AT. A couple of questions. Can I disconnect the fans and shroud from the radiator and just remove the radiatior, or do the fans come out with the radiatior as a unit. I realize I need to disconnec the ATF cooling lines, hoses, etc., but not sure about the fans. If anyone has done this task and would like to contribute some heads-ups, please do so. Thanks

 

you can leave fan attached and remove them with radiator make sure to disconnect al the wiring that goes to both fans.... with fans left on it is a bit of a tighter fit to remove radiator but not too bad at all....
you got to remove them afterward to swap in new radiator so either way choise is yours do it now or do it later ..............
personally i leave them on and swap on the bench

 

Thanks; thing that's the way I will procede. Did you attach the lower hose to the radiator on the bench and then "thread" it back down with the radiator/fan unit? That seems like an easier way to do it.

 

trust me, take the fans out first and put them in last. Theyre not difficult to pull anyway. i got two accords . a 90 and 91 and it's nice to have the elbow room.

 

what i do is put rad in with fans .. loosen up bolts at frt beam gives me a bit more room to hook up lower rad hose /// i hook hose up after radiat is in place

 

Mission accomplished--I took the fans out with the radiator, removed them from the old radiator, mounted them to the new one, and then reinstalled. Only problem encountered was with the fittings for the ATF hoses. I had to bend one of them from about 45 degs. to almost 90 to get clearance. Not a job I want to do again soon, especially on a day when the heat index was 105. One finally question, at what water temp does the driver side cooling fan come on?

Thanks to all who responded.

 

depends on which t-stat u have but most likely 180 ..... fans should come on when coolant temp reaches aroung 195-200 ......and both fans should come on

 

I thought the Honda Accord had a split cooling sytem. The passenger side fan comes on when water temp reaches the thermostat's opening temp. The other fan does not come on until some higher temp is reached. I'm trying to find out what that higer temp is.

 

Leave the fans in place; unhook the wires; ; ; Then pull and 'mark' the trans cooler lines loose from the fittings on the trans housing. I usually try to get the customer to replace cooling hoses at the same time. The lower heater hose can come loose from the T-stat housing as easy as taking it loose from the lower radiator fitting.

 

both fans should come on at the same time a little while after t-stat opens ...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deserthonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">both fans should come on at the same time a little while after t-stat opens ...</TD></TR></TABLE>Is that always true? Does '90 have that system with a fan timer & 2 different fan switches?

 

According to the shop manual, the driver's side fan is called the condenser fan. It definitely should be operating when the AC is on. I believe it also comes on when a certain water temp is reached--in situations where the passenger-side fan is unable to provide the necessary airflow/cooling. With the AC off however, and with one fan able to maintain water temp at or near the thermostat rating, I don't believe the "condenser fan" runs.

 

ok people let me say that again and trust me on this................. both fans should come on at the same time ,,,,when you have a/c on both fans should be on,,, when car reaches operating temperature both fans should be on ... if only 1 works u got a problem with the 1 not operating ....bad motor, fuse, wiring , relay etc etc ...

 

IMHO opinion your reply is not completely correct. My reference is the Honda Accord shop manual, Section 23, pages 92-97. Here are the two situations where both fans will be on: (1) Water temp above 194 degs. F (as sensed by the coolant temp switch A, located in the thermosat housing), AND the AC is on; or (2) if the water temp is at least 226 deg. F (as sensed by the coolant temp switch B, located in the water outlet cover where the upper radiator hose connects), both fans should be on, regardless of AC on/off. When the engine is shut down, and the water temp is above 226 degs. F, the condenser fan comes on and runs for 15 minutes, on AC-equipped cars.

Now, if both fans come on at the same time, and the AC is off, something is wrong with the one or both of the two temp switches, or some other part of the cooling fan circuitry. I guess if you restarted a hot engine, both could come on at the same time provided temp switch B was sensing 226 deg. water.

If I had not been so lazy (and tired from doing the radiator change-out yesterday) I would have answered my own question, before posting. This is a good forum; I appreciate hearing from all who responded.

 

if car is running both fans will come on...............if u shot engine off there is a sensor that senses underhood temperature and if it is above a certain temp only 1 fan will come on then and only then only 1 fan will come on and it is controlled by the fan timer and the switch at end of top radiator hose like u said usually runs 15-20 minutes but that is the only time only 1 fan comes on when engine is off..........

when engine is running and engine coolant reaches a certain temp both fans will come on ........if only 1 fan comes on while engine is running there is somethig wrong with the non working the fan ...
when a/c is on both fans will come on ...

 

Well, FWIW, your explanation does not agree with the explanation in the shop manual. It clearly states that unless the AC is on, the compressor fan does not run until water temp sensed by swithc B reaches approx. 226 degrees. Since my compressor fan is not working with the AC on, I know I have a problem.

 

if only 1 fan comes on when a/c is on yes u do have a problem with that particular fan system,,,, could be motor, relay, fuse, wiring .....
and again i will say this for last time and i am going to drop the subject and i dont care what the book says .maybe it is a mis print ....( if engine is running, t-stat opened and engine reaches a normal operating temp both fans will come on ) i have done thousands of accords and on every single 1 of them both fans work when car is running with a/c on and with a/c off,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
just call a dealer to confirm

 

If you're correct, then the only reason for the 226 deg. switch is to activate the compressor fan circuit (and timer) at shut down. Looks like I have mis-intrepreted the wiring diagram. When mine gets repaired on Monday, I'll post how it works, when it comes on, etc. Thanks for hanging in there with this discussion, "Deserthonda".