Honda Car Forum

This is a 96 Accord 4cyl. I am trying to give as much detail as
possible so hopefully someone can help me. I let my car run about 20
min or so with the hood up looking for the fans to come on. They never
did! My temp gauge usually sits about 1/3 of the way up. I let it rise
a little past the half way mark before I turned the car off. After I
turned the car off, the left fan (facing the engine) immediately came
on. Both fans run when the A/C is turned on. I guess that's why I
never noticed this problem before because I usually always have the
A/C going. This car has an amp, subs, and an alarm system in it. Also,
something minor I noticed is that the seatbeat light never comes on
(might not be related but trying to be thorough). How can I test the
cooling fan relay to see if it is bad? What else would keep my fans
from coming on?

TIA

On 5 Sep 2003 10:30:11 -0700, bird_222@my-deja.com (Jack) wrote:

>This is a 96 Accord 4cyl. I am trying to give as much detail as
>possible so hopefully someone can help me. I let my car run about 20
>min or so with the hood up looking for the fans to come on. They never
>did! My temp gauge usually sits about 1/3 of the way up. I let it rise
>a little past the half way mark before I turned the car off. After I
>turned the car off, the left fan (facing the engine) immediately came
>on. Both fans run when the A/C is turned on. I guess that's why I
>never noticed this problem before because I usually always have the
>A/C going. This car has an amp, subs, and an alarm system in it. Also,
>something minor I noticed is that the seatbeat light never comes on
>(might not be related but trying to be thorough). How can I test the
>cooling fan relay to see if it is bad? What else would keep my fans
>from coming on?

It's likely the main thermoswitch which is bad. Make sure you get the
right one because there's two, the 2nd (higher switch temp) one is what
turns the fan on under timer control when you turn the ignition off. You
want the main one which controls the fans while the engine is running.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Is the main switch the one on the thermostat housing? Where is the
higher temp switch?

Thanks

fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com (George Macdonald) wrote in message news:<3f59fd11.1628634@news.tellurian.com>...
> On 5 Sep 2003 10:30:11 -0700, bird_222@my-deja.com (Jack) wrote:
>
> >This is a 96 Accord 4cyl. I am trying to give as much detail as
> >possible so hopefully someone can help me. I let my car run about 20
> >min or so with the hood up looking for the fans to come on. They never
> >did! My temp gauge usually sits about 1/3 of the way up. I let it rise
> >a little past the half way mark before I turned the car off. After I
> >turned the car off, the left fan (facing the engine) immediately came
> >on. Both fans run when the A/C is turned on. I guess that's why I
> >never noticed this problem before because I usually always have the
> >A/C going. This car has an amp, subs, and an alarm system in it. Also,
> >something minor I noticed is that the seatbeat light never comes on
> >(might not be related but trying to be thorough). How can I test the
> >cooling fan relay to see if it is bad? What else would keep my fans
> >from coming on?
>
> It's likely the main thermoswitch which is bad. Make sure you get the
> right one because there's two, the 2nd (higher switch temp) one is what
> turns the fan on under timer control when you turn the ignition off. You
> want the main one which controls the fans while the engine is running.
>
> Rgds, George Macdonald
>
> "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

On 6 Sep 2003 18:46:33 -0700, bird_222@my-deja.com (Jack) wrote:

>Is the main switch the one on the thermostat housing? Where is the
>higher temp switch?

I've never owned that model but from what I see here:
<http://catalog.thepartsbin.com/?year=1996&make=HO&imageField.x=26&imageField.y=15 >
the main switch closes at 93C and is in the thermostat housing - the
secondary switch closes at 106C and is in the engine water outlet which
connects to the uppper hose. Of course you'd want to check the wiring
before replacing.

>fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com (George Macdonald) wrote in message news:<3f59fd11.1628634@news.tellurian.com>...
>> On 5 Sep 2003 10:30:11 -0700, bird_222@my-deja.com (Jack) wrote:
>>
>> >This is a 96 Accord 4cyl. I am trying to give as much detail as
>> >possible so hopefully someone can help me. I let my car run about 20
>> >min or so with the hood up looking for the fans to come on. They never
>> >did! My temp gauge usually sits about 1/3 of the way up. I let it rise
>> >a little past the half way mark before I turned the car off. After I
>> >turned the car off, the left fan (facing the engine) immediately came
>> >on. Both fans run when the A/C is turned on. I guess that's why I
>> >never noticed this problem before because I usually always have the
>> >A/C going. This car has an amp, subs, and an alarm system in it. Also,
>> >something minor I noticed is that the seatbeat light never comes on
>> >(might not be related but trying to be thorough). How can I test the
>> >cooling fan relay to see if it is bad? What else would keep my fans
>> >from coming on?
>>
>> It's likely the main thermoswitch which is bad. Make sure you get the
>> right one because there's two, the 2nd (higher switch temp) one is what
>> turns the fan on under timer control when you turn the ignition off. You
>> want the main one which controls the fans while the engine is running.
>>

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??