So my Accord started overheating a while back and I parked it. I tried quite a few things to fix it. I can't even remember all the little things I tried last year. Recently I need it running so I set out to get it going. My fans weren't coming on. That was issue number one. I jumpered the switch and they worked. I swapped the relays. Those were fine. So I replaced the fan timing box behind the glove box. I should note, I got one off another honda at a you-pull-it place and the numbers were the same except for the last number (37740-pda-a01 on the original and 37740-pda-a00 on the new one.) That didn't work. So I replaced the thermostat and thermal switch. Neither of those worked. But I did notice that the fans weren't running while the motor was hot. I had assumed that I just couldn't get the motor hot enough while parked and that they were coming on while I was driving because they would be running when I shut the motor off. So I bled it with the bleeder valve hoping it was an air pocket by the switch. Nothing. The fans come on faithfully when the key is off only after the motor heats up. But as soon as i turn the key they go off. It's like something is wired backwards or something. Any thoughts?

 

 

When you say "overheating," do you mean your dash gauge for coolant temperature shoots way up into the danger zone?

By the way, that fan system is designed to run the fan after ignition is off if the conditions call for it. It cools down the aluminum block to keep it from being damaged by accumulated heat that has not dissipated by the time the key is turned off. Let it run when it wants to run. Very important.

 

 

My Accord is older than yours, but I think I had this problem a long time ago and discussed it in the post linked below.

If your car has the same thermoswitches as mine, focus in on Thermoswitch A which should be the one that makes the fan run while the engine is running. The other switch makes it run (when needed) when the engine is off. On my car, that switch will run the fan a while after I turn the key off after driving. Sometimes it will even turn the fan on and off several times until it is happy with the block temperature.

If you get your switch from Honda, make sure to get the correct one. They sold me the wrong one at first.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...ating-1023853/

 

 

 

On my 1993, there are two switches on the thermostat housing. One is for the fan as I mentioned, and the other is for the temp gauge on the dashboard. You might need to try to dig up a service manual or other book for your 1994 to identify the switches, but either you have replaced the one that should signal that fan while the engine is running, or your hand is very close to it. Look down in there and see if you see another switch. I think I recall mine was kind of located inconspicuously.

 

Again, your Honda has a different engine than mine, but your switch might look like this stubby one in this ebay post:

https://www.ebay.com/p/1994-2002-Hon...6336228&chn=ps

 

All indications are that your thermoswitch for the cooling fan sits vertically right up top with a green plug. If you have replaced that one, and checked the fuses, maybe there is a bad relay. Again, not sure where the one for that fan might be, but the fuse box under the hood might hold it and have a chart telling you what each one does. With these Accords, it's almost always going to be something simple, but not necessarily simple to find.

 

 

 

One thing I forgot about, that you should keep in the back of your mind as a possible solution, is that those Thermoswitches are parts you should get from Honda. There are aftermarket ones, but they can be hit or miss. They have been known to be out-of-spec, or nonfunctional, right out of the box. To send the signal to the rela,y at the right coolant temperature, to kick the fan in, the switch must be in spec with the resistance required. Good luck.

 

If you want to test the fan relay and the connections between the thermoswitch and the cooling fan, you could pull the plug off of that connector on the thermoswitch and put a jump wire on the plug. The fan should run when the the engine is on, since there is no switch that is controlling it. That might also isolate the thermoswitch as the cause of the fan not coming on when it should.

I'm sure you've seen this on other posts, but low coolant can also cause that switch to not work like it should.