Hey guys I have a 1991 EF. I just changed my radiator because the old one had a leak. (no it wasn't the water pump)

Well before I changed it the car wouldn't overheat as long as I have it full with water.(I'm not gonna keep refilling it with coolent if it leaks)

Now with the new OE radiator the car overheats, I noticed that the fans DO NOT spin. Kinda pisses me off. I found out bout a toggle switch and I think I have one installed in my car. But when I switch it up and down the fans still don't turn on.

Are they suppose to just start spinning once I flick it on? Or does that just switch it on to where it spins when the car gets hot?

So if you guys know what I'm talkin about please help me. I appreciate your time to read it and help me out. Thank you

 

The way it works is by running a wire from the battery to a spot on the switch and then another wirE to the fans. I would look into your fan switch before attatchibg a toggle to your fans

 

do it the right way and go over your wiring so that the fans come on normally...!!!

 

?? The toggle switches were already installed. I got the car that way. The thread was to ask HOW the toggle switch works.

Let me rewrite it in better words.

Imma go through the motions so you guys know exactly what I'm talkin about. Kay I just turned on the car and turn the toggle switch on. So basically the car isn't warmed up yet. I switch the toggle switch on and the fans don't move. Is it suppose to work WHEN the car starts gettin hot or does it just work right when you turn it on.

HELP ME OUUUUTTT


Also, I didn't install anything. It was already there.

 

let me rephrase it better so that you can understand...!!!

ELIMINATE THE TOGGLE SWITCH TO CONTROL YOUR RADIATOR FANS BECAUSE IT IS USELESS...I PROVIDED YOU A DIAGRAM TO GO OVER YOUR ORIGINAL WIRING SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT USING A TOGGLE SWITCH...WHEN YOUR CAR REACHES NORMAL OPERATING TEMP, YOUR AUTOMATIC FANS WILL TRIGGER ON NORMALLY...IF YOU THINK YOUR FANS DONT WORK THEN TEST THEM OUT USING A BATTERY TO VERIFY...IF YOU INSIST ON USING A TOGGLE SWITCH THEN THERE IS A WRITE-UP IN THE FAQ 2.0 SECTION BUT IT WOULD BE WISE TO FIX YOUR EXISTING WIRING FOR IN CASE ONE DAY YOU FORGET TO TOGGLE AND BLOW OUT YOUR HEADGASKET.

CAPS LOCK...its whats for breakfast...!!!

 

I know you tryin to help me. I'm not tryin to be a jackass. I got the car the way it was, I don't know much about cars.

Anyways I realized that the fan does not work and that it was probably not a toggle switch or it was probably just not a working toggle switch

Do you know how much the estimated price is for fixing the fans so that it can automatically trigger normally?

 

Free...Just follow the diagram above and you can diagnose the problem yourself...I did mine with the diagram after a shop wanted to charge me $120 and it has worked great ever since...!!!

 

Yeah I don't know how to read the diagram like I'm clueless when I see that stuff. I just really need help.

 

I think what everyone is saying and i agree is you shouldnt ghetto rig your car....... The diagram is fairly easy to read, how about this, i will help you read the diagram so you can hook it up right, sound good? Look at it, what dont you understand about it?

 

I agree to do it right. If you need to do it temp then just tap into a 12V switched line. I had to do this when mine went out on vacation one time and didn't have any tools or facility to track it down.

 

I went to some mechanic guy earlier he says that if there isn't enough coolent that the fans wouldn't work? I can honestly say I don't have alot of coolent in it. But is that true?

Also to answer ed4 civic: I know its a diagram for wires, But diagrams and the actual thing look different and It's hard for me to convert the images from paper and real life. Thats just me. People may say how is it that hard? Are you retarded? But ya know what it's hard for me. When it comes to electrical.. I ****in hate it. That's how I failed my Intro Electro for cars.

 

I understand exactly what your saying..... I wasnt very good at reading diagrams either until i had to do my own repairs, its a finacial problem for me so i had to learn to read the diagram or face 100 or more in charges to have it repaired or face buying a new motor when you forget the switch and blow the motor..... Theres nothing worse than a hackjob honda. Do it right the first time, basically your saying i cant do it right cause i cant read a diagram, well your other option is to go to a repair shop and have it fixed, thats really the only two real options, me personally im not going to over advice on how to half *** anything sorry. Oh and also it always should have the proper amount of coolant in it to operate properly.

 

Thank you though for trying to help.

 

Well first off why don't you have it full of coolant?

 

To NACvicSi:

No I don't but I mean I knwo it's suppose to have full coolant. So befoer you say anything about that.

Is the fan effected by the coolant? Like do you need a certain coolant level for the fans to turn on? because that's what the mechanic told me... sounds kinda stupid... is it true?

 

Hi, this may help you figure out the switch bypass...
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/how-can-i-hardwire-my-fan-always-run-2530498/

 

I don't want the switch at all I just want a normal running fan whenever my car starts to overheat.

 

If you have a look at the diagram at the top of the page, it looks like the fans are triggered by a coolant temperature switch.

So if there's no coolant, the switch isn't going to know what temperature it is.

The diagram really isn't that difficult if you take your time with it. The lines on there are wires. So if you start with the radiator fan, follow the wires one way and it'll lead you to a radiator fan relay by the looks of it, if you follow it the other way, it'll lead to the dash's fuse box.

By the sounds of things, if you have a toggle switch on your car, i doubt that your fans are going to be triggered by the coolant temp sensor. I would assume that the previous owner would have just made their own dodgy circuit.

In closing, if your switch is on, and your fans are still not coming on, i would think that the shitty circuit the previous owner had put into the car has probably disconnected itself somewhere. (Check for continuity!)

 

just fill the car up with antifreeze then bleed the air out of the line and then see if the fan comes on when it warms up.

 

No you don't need coolant for the fan to come on because you say you got water in there right? That's OK

Is westminster in BC? Is it snowing now? or is it like warm and stiuff lol? Because straight water will freeze in the cold...then you got bigger problem.

The car will run really cool with straight water the anti-freeze is just that so it doesn't freeze. You should run like 50/50 water/antfreeze



Look at the switch and see if the wires go to a fuse....maybe he put a fuse with the switch and it has blown....(its only like 2 wires coming at the back of the switch)

Or look for your fan fuse.....maybe it has blown and it has nothing to do with a toggle switch

 

is your temp gauge working?? do you get heat out of the dash?
chances are your switch and fans are NOT wired up right. possible your fans are bad too. look around and read up on 12 volt systems...they are not hard to work on. and you should be adding coolant/water if it leaks or goes low! if it's low, the fans aren't going to save you.
lastly, you can have a toggle if you insist...but connect it to the stock relay so the fans work normally. i did that on another car, and i could switch them on if i wanted to, and they also worked on their own

 

low coolant level wont cause your fans not to come on...coolant itself doesnt control it. however it will overheat with low coolant especially if your fans dont work! ok..we have no idea how someone has rigged your fans to work with a toggle..the wires could be ran anywhere. you need to check and see if the fans actually work, jump them with a wire to the battery and see if they come on. check the wiring to the plug and see if it has juice. you need to start doin some troubleshooting my friend

 

Hmm, i just assumed he was running air. IE: nothing in there/low coolant or water level.

So the coolant temperature switch is just for show? I don't think the air pockets would transmit enough heat to be able to trigger the coolant switch.

 

I understand but i read It says in the first post he has it full of water

 

thermostat?