1999 Honda Accord EX V6
179,000 great miles

I had the car in the shop recently for a lot of work, and then they told me that the radiator fan wasn't coming on, and for another $230 they could fix that for me too. But I'd like to try this one on my own. But a mechanic I am not.

The driver's side fan does run, but I haven't seen the passenger side fan come on. That lines up with what the shop told me (the "right fan" won't come on). I understand they both won't come on, whether or not the a/c is turned on.

The blades on that bad fan will spin, so it's not frozen or anything.

I understand the relay powers the fan, and there's a temperature sensor somewhere that triggers the relay.

Can you help me figure out what's not working? I wouldn't know a relay if it bit me in the behind, so I'm going to need help locating things to test.

 

Is it the radiator fan or the AC condenser fan? The radiator fan is on the passenger side and condenser fan is on the driver side. (at least that's how it is on my 98 Accord). I assume the 99 Accord is the same. If it is the driver side fan, I think there are only 3 bolts (2 on top and 1 at the bottom) holding the fan assembly to the radiator. Once the fan assembly is removed, there are 3 screws holding the fan motor to the fan housing/shroud. There is a nut holding the fan blade. Separate the fan blade from the motor and replace with new motor. Should be fairly simple. don;t forget to disconnect the fan first before removing the fan assembly.
Note: Assuming that the motor is bad and it's the condenser fan.

 

Is there a way to tell for sure that the motor is dead? That was my thought as well, but I'd like to be able to test for that before buying a new motor if it's really a relay that is broken. (Or is this a stupidly obvious question by a newbie?)

 

unplug the right fan motor. Crank the engine, then turn on the a/c. ground a test light and probe each of the wire harness connector leads for the fan. the test light should light up if power is getting to the fan. If so, the fan motor is bad. Unless the shop already diagnosed the problem, they couldn't have given you an accurate quote. If there's no power to the fan, check your fuses and relay. the relay is in the under hood fuse box. swap the radiator fan relay with the a/c fan relay to see if it makes the fan run. If so, your relay is bad.

 

Thanks for that info! I should have mentioned that the a/c in the car works great...cranks out cold air with no problem, even in this heat wave. If the a/c radiator fan wasn't working, would the a/c in the car continue to work so well?

Just trying to get it to make sense in my head....

 

Just wire the fan to the battery and see if it spins up.

If it spins, the motor is fine and it's a relay or wiring. If it doesn't spin just replace the fan

 

Wiring fan to the battery is sometimes more difficult than testing the leads if the connector points down and you can't see the leads. Makes it tricky to get jumper wires attached on some cars. If you can easily access yours, run it directly off the battery, but be careful, since a shorted motor will pull enough current to melt your test wires. It's safer to test the leads if you don't know whether the fan has shorted (haven't checked the fuse or can't locate it). If you do run it from the battery, use a fused power wire to be safe if you don't have much experience with electrical work.

Yes, your ac will work with one fan, but not as well as it can. It will be most noticeable when stopped since airflow is diminished and the ac pressure will get too high.

 

is there no CEL?

if so, you need to pull the code. it sounds like a coolant temp sensor.

if not, testing the fan should be simple once you can find out which wires are power and ground. once you do, just jump one of each from the battery to the appropriate location on the fan connector, and see if it works. like the guy above said, a fused lead isnt a bad idea for a novice.

say the fan does work with direct power, but not when the car needs it to via computer/sensor. the next thing to test is the leads up to the fan harness. once you've found out what wires are for what (+/-) you'll need to probe the harness-side of the fan connector and check for power. there should be none present until the car warms up enough for the CTS to tell the computer to turn the fans on. on my car, the fans kick on at about 1/3 of the gauge. your car may be different, but on mine, if it got to half, but there was still no voltage at the connector, its a good sign that there is a short in the power or ground between the fan, and where ever the wires trace back to... maybe ecu or fuse box.

 

Assuming you don't have a magical Accord, my 96 was as simple as unplugging it and wiring black to ground just using some spare thick speaker wire (same gauge as fan) and blue to power. Both from the battery. All you have to do is blip it for a second. If it spins up you're fine.

 

Thanks all for the tips! I think I've proved it's the fan motor. I followed sgraham01's advice, and tested the connector. Neg to the battery and pos to the connector jumpers, I got nothing. To be sure I wasn't doing it wrong, I unplugged the running fan (driver's side) and tested that connector and found power.

So I guess I have a choice of replacing the motor or the entire fan assembly. This is a V6 Accord, and it seems to take a special one. I looked at NAPA and they want $204 for the assembly. I can find cheaper ones around for about $80 (1aauto.com). If the motor's pretty obvious to replace that would make the most sense, but I've seen two that appear to be different sizes.

Ya'll got any advice on that front?

 

If u have no voltage at the harness connector, you have other issues. You now need to wire the fan to the battery directly and see if it spins. You haven't yet diagnosed a bad motor, just an activation circuit malfunction. It's possible u have a bad motor and a bad circuit, but that's not likely. Sounds like just a wiring/relay problem. After hotwiring the fan, make sure the fuse is good and swap the fan relay with the ac fan relay to see if that will help.

 

I'm sorry...I'm a dork. I meant to say that I DID have voltage on the harness connector...and that's how I know it's the fan motor.

Duh...

 

it happens. just wanted to make sure you got it figured out. good luck with it.

 

Any advice on purchasing a motor versus the entire fan assembly? I've already read that in order to get the a/c fan assy out, I would have to remove the battery, the radiator fan, and then the a/c fan. Is that the case?

 

Junkyard/ebay?

I'm not sure on the 99 but on a 94-97 it's just three bolts skinny hands/arms can reach.

 

Wow, a new motor will run you about $170 with shipping.
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/south...ntity=0&qty0=1

 

do what you have to do to get the fan out that's not working. Just look at where it attaches to the radiator and go from there, or get a haynes manual. a new aftermarket fan off ebay will be the best deal and will do just fine.

 

You can get a motor at advanced auto or napa for like $45-50 (for my 92 anyway). Call around. It only takes a minute to put the motor on the bracket.

 

Big THANK-YOU to all who offered advice. I have emerged victorious. I got a replacement motor at NAPA (other places didn't have it in stock) and got it installed this afternoon. Overall, about an hour of work to save probably $150.

I decided to get it locally instead of online in case I might need to return it. Plus, I found one place that wanted to sell a replacement fan assy as a direct replacement for the 99 Accord A/C fan assy...except it had 4 screws rather than 3. So that made me leery of ordering online.

I will now pay it forward, and go help somebody with a computer problem.

Thanks again!

 

 

Earlier I saw a post about someone having issues with their A/C and the way they described it, it does EXACTLY how mine used to do before I took it into the Honda Dealership. They fixed the problem and all I can tell you it was a RELAY.

It was the post that said the A/C would cool for awhile (about 15 seconds) then warm, humid air would come out. Then they would press the A/C button on and off! It is the exact same thing I was doing.

I am not sure if you were the one with that original post but if so I was just dying to let you know that it IS a RELAY because my A/C runs beautifully now. Don't know where the relay was though. I could ask the tech and let you know if you like? They might tell me since I have already had them do the work and paid them.

Sincerely,

Judy***

 

Way off, and you're trying to chime in on a 6yr old thread.

 

Oh sorry...just trying to help a brother out...no need to be so rude!

 

OP said his radiator fan wasn't working, not the AC fan.