solveddddd!!! PG.2 FOR RESULTS

Whats up H-T,

About 2-3 days ago I jumped on the freeway but there was bumper to bumper traffic and it was frikin hot. After about 15 mins of moving super slow, my car started to over heat. I knew there was no way in hell I was going to be able to make it through the traffic without my car overheating, so I took the first exit. Once air started flowing, the needle began to go to regular temperature.

My guess was that the fan didnt turn on...when I got back home, I googled to find some results and found a couple but nothing to the point. One thing I read was to give the fan switch 12v of direct power to see if it works...well the fan turned on. So I know the fan isnt the issue.

I also read that only because you dont hear the fan turn on, doesnt mean it does. So last night I left my car running and forced it to begin to overheat, the needle began to go up and the fan NEVER went on...

Can anyone tell me what to check please? I have a multimeter in hand...
Im hoping its not the radiator iself, nor waterpump..

Specs on the car is D16y8 swap. Im assuming stock radiator? I dont think that was changed, but then again my car WAS automatic before and changed to manual (dont know if this matters) if you need any pics of the fan, radiator, etc.. let me know, I'll gladly take them.

Car also has AC, but it doesnt work (dont know if this matters either)

Thanks in advanced guys!

 

Yo it could b very simple if the fan dnt work replace it. Check all connections if they r fine its the fan it could also b a thermostat

 

First of all, is your radiator filled and is your reservoir tank at least at minimum?

 

yes sir.

 

thing is, it DOES work. When I gave it 12v directly to it, it worked perfectly fine.
I'm assuming its something electrical...something isnt sending the signal to the switch for the fan to turn on, or the switch doesnt work..something in that nature.

Just need some guidance as to what I should check for before I start replacing parts.

 

I had a Porsche that did that, turns out it was the temp sensor that tells the fan to kick on. Replaced that(on rad) and all was fine. The one that sends temp to the cluster was fine, that's how I saw the temps climbing.

I'm guessing our civics have a similar setup? Maybe?

 

interesting, might be? hopefully someone else can throw some input on this. Thanks though!

 

Have you checked the thermostat? It could be possible that the t-stat might be sticking and not letting the coolant to flow, which is why the fan is not turning.

 

Aside from me giving 12v directly to the fan to make sure it works, I havent done anything to it. In order to check the thermostat what exactly should I do?

let me google this real quick actually..

 

ok, just found a pretty nice write up.
Looks like a piece of cake, IF thats what the problem is...

I'll check it out tomorrow, thanks!

 

found this on another thread...

"the fan switch is on the t-stat housing if you remove the connector and jump it with a paper clip the fan should come on with the key on, if it does the relay is good and the switch is bad. if it does not come on relay or wiring issue"

by "jumping it with a paper clip" he means putting the end of the paper clip on each entry to the clip right?

 

yes have you tried already???

 

Sames thing happened to me about a month ago, turned out to be a stuck thermostat. I grabbed one from Napa, and replaced the cooling fan as well as the rad because the guy I bought it off of did everything wrong.

 

Check your thermostat. Two bolts on the housing. Follow the upper radiator hose to it. I'd advise to replace it. Your gunna need to bleed your coolant system afterwards tho so be sure to pick up some coolant if you don't have some already. If you have never tampered with the electrical on this car then the sensor should be fine.

 

dude I just went through all this like 2 weeks back. The guy I got the car from just jumped it with a paper clip so it ran all the time. but one day I overheated, noticed my ground wire on the fan switch plug was not connected to the wire that went through my harness and I couldnt find it. So I just cut another ground wire off a plug on my harness that wasnt being used, ran that to my fan switch ground wire, plugged it in my thermo housing, started the car and after warming it it kicked on. That fixed my issue. Good luck!

 

not yet, I'm at work but come out at early today (around 2:30) so I'll check it once I get home

If it's a stuck thermostat, I'll be happy, it's nothing too complicated to fix...and its cheap!

I'll replace my thermostat regardless, who knows how long it's been there. Maybe its the oem one that came with the car and is wayyy over due
I have actually taken off the complete under dash harness because I had all kinds of ****ed up wiring from additions of Alarm, Radio, JDM powerl folding mirrors, Fog lights...so I took all of that extra stuff off and left it OEM. So I pretty much took everything off that WASNT suppose to be there. And little by little, I have been putting everything back on, the RIGHT way...but I've never touched the engine harness, nor anything close to the radiator...

I was complementing connecting a switch that runs into the cabin so that I can control the fan myself, BUT, doesnt the ECU give the fan certain speeds to run at instead of having the same speed with a switch from inside the cabin? I,m pretty sure it does...so I rather just get to the problem and fix it, rather than go an alternate route.


I'll check everything that I was told when I get home (if its not raining) thanks for the input guys!

 

I gotta question that shoulda been ask at the beginning. You said the fan never turned on. Well how do you know if it turned on or not? It often takes 20 mins at idle for a fan to kick in with the engine already at temperature. Did you ever let your car just run for 20 mins? Do something productive in the meantime like bleeding the system. Also I'd advise you check your radiator itself to see if its maintaining pressure and that the coolant is actually flowing. If it doesn't look like it is.... it could be a water pump (if not circulating) and radiator cap if it's not maintaining pressure. Also possible causes of overheating.

 

same thing happened to me, i ended up changing the waterpump,radiator and thermostat and it ended up being the fan switch

 

Yeah it never went on. Somewhere in there I mentioned that I forced my car to over heat while parked in my driveway. This time I actually had the hood open and someone telling me if the fan was turning on AFTER I saw the needle rising....it reached to the point where it was about to hit the red area with the fan not even moving. Thats when I gave direct power to the clip and the fan turned on, smoothly I might add. So I know something isnt sending the signal to the fan to turn on when the car is overheating.

How can I check if the radiator/hoses are maintaining pressure btw?

 

Just got home and its frikin pouring (which I found a new problem today, check out my new thread) so I wont be able to check it out at the moment...no worries when it calms down I'll check whatever you guys said.

 

Well, it could be back to the thermostat reading wrong before suggesting it is necessarily the fan. I'd fix a small thing before getting into a potential mess with the electrical.
You can check if the radiator is maintaing pressure by using a pressure tester gauge which I'd suggest you don't if you don't have on. Check your radiator cap and look at the gasket to make sure nothing seems to be leaking past or the gasket is cracked, torn, etc. If so replace it as well. They are not very expensive.

 

Car is totaled throw it away....










:giggle:

 

the cap is 2 months old, I fill up the radiator occasionally and noticed the old one was ripping so I got a new one.. once the rain stops I'll throw a new thermostat in there...

 

 

No rims for u