My fan doesn’t turn on by its own but I jumped it with the battery so I know it works. I heard about some people wiring a switch to the fan so that they can turn it on or off whenever they want. I want to know how to do this?
What makes you think that YOU know when the fan needs to go on or off? Honda engineers designed the fan to go on under certain conditions, trying to replicate those conditions manually is near impossible. Instead of adding a switch, relay, and wires, not not just fix your problem?
what makes YOU think that you have me figured out? I’ve had this car for a year and neither my dad nor I have ever heard the fan come on. Anyone?
I’m not saying that you are incorrect about the fan not working properly, I’m wondering why you would want to avoid the cause of your problem and install more stuff which inherently doesn’t work the way the system was designed. If you’re having overheating problems and need a temporary fix, then go for it. But that doesn’t seem like your plan.
Wiring a switch is a piece of cake, and it’s been covered on this site, as well as probably every other online car forum. The search feature works just fine here, and if you would have used it already, or even google, you would have answered your own question and could have already wired your switch.
I just don’t understand why. The fan is supposed to go on when the coolant reaches a certain temperature. Even if you have an accurate temp gauge installed on the car and can visually see when the coolant reaches that temp, you’d have to keep a constant watch on that in order to turn the fan on at the appropriate time, then back off again. The fan is also supposed to go on when the oil temp is a certain level AND the engine is OFF. Again, even if you did have an oil temp gauge to read, do you want to park the car, turn the fan on, then wait for the temp to drop? Or just use the OEM system and let it turn the fan off on it’s own? If you have AC there may be other conditions under which the stock system turns one or more of the fans on - I don’t even know what those conditions may be. The OEM system does all of this automatically - so why not let it do what it was designed for?
The cooling fan system is relatively simple. There aren’t many components, so it shouldn’t be difficult to fix. The problem is going to be:
- faulty wiring (rarely the cause and would be a fluke)
- bad fan motor (you already checked this and know that’s not the case)
- bad fan relay
- bad radiator fan control module
- bad ECT switch and/or oil temp switch
All of these items are easy to troubleshoot with basic tools and a shop manual and will probably take as much time or less than wiring your own switch - assuming you were planning a permanent (and clean looking) install.
[QUOTE=Colin;2159828]I’m not saying that you are incorrect about the fan not working properly, I’m wondering why you would want to avoid the cause of your problem and install more stuff which inherently doesn’t work the way the system was designed. If you’re having overheating problems and need a temporary fix, then go for it. But that doesn’t seem like your plan.
Wiring a switch is a piece of cake, and it’s been covered on this site, as well as probably every other online car forum. The search feature works just fine here, and if you would have used it already, or even google, you would have answered your own question and could have already wired your switch.
I just don’t understand why. The fan is supposed to go on when the coolant reaches a certain temperature. Even if you have an accurate temp gauge installed on the car and can visually see when the coolant reaches that temp, you’d have to keep a constant watch on that in order to turn the fan on at the appropriate time, then back off again. The fan is also supposed to go on when the oil temp is a certain level AND the engine is OFF. Again, even if you did have an oil temp gauge to read, do you want to park the car, turn the fan on, then wait for the temp to drop? Or just use the OEM system and let it turn the fan off on it’s own? If you have AC there may be other conditions under which the stock system turns one or more of the fans on - I don’t even know what those conditions may be. The OEM system does all of this automatically - so why not let it do what it was designed for?
The cooling fan system is relatively simple. There aren’t many components, so it shouldn’t be difficult to fix. The problem is going to be:
- faulty wiring (rarely the cause and would be a fluke)
- bad fan motor (you already checked this and know that’s not the case)
- bad fan relay
- bad radiator fan control module
- bad ECT switch and/or oil temp switch
All of these items are easy to troubleshoot with basic tools and a shop manual and will probably take as much time or less than wiring your own switch - assuming you were planning a permanent (and clean looking) install.[/QUOTE]
ya you forgot one thing, money, and thats one thing not all of us have so a switch is the most cost effective solution for me and my car only overheats at the canadian border when there’s a huge two hour line so I know when to turn on my fan. And i did search and i guess its my fault for not entering the correct keywords word for word to bring up a thread i dont even know exists.
K I’m thinking about wiring it like this but I’m not sure if it’ll work. It’s a 3 prong toggle switch. A wire from the switch, to the white power wire for the rad fan. A wire from the switch to the battery. And then wire the switch to the car frame for ground. Would that work?
Money? What makes you think fixing your problem is expensive? And how much money would you call “expensive”? Do you have junk yards where you live? If so, then fixing your problem is no more expensive than a toggle switch, wire, and relay (if you decide to use one) will cost you, quite possible less, or even free if you just pocket a relay or ECT switch at a pick n pull.
The fan system is a ground switch system, which means the fan should be supplied with power all the time, then it is supplied with ground when it needs to go on. The white wire connected to your fan is power, it should be on anytime your key is in the ignition. The blue wire is ground, it will be continuous with ground whenever the fan system decides the fan needs to be on. So, assuming you have power on that white wire, you need to put the switch on your ground for the fan motor, not the power wire - leave the power wire alone.
I have to agree, fix the problem, it is most likely no more expensive then installing a switch, [depending on what is wrong] you already know it is not the fan itself, and if there is power at the fan then the problem is on the control side, [ground], first thing to do is jump the ECTS, if fan turns on, replace the switch, you can temporaraly wire a switch, [to supply a ground[ to the yellow/green at the ECTS to control the fan untill you can replace the
ECTS switch. 94
dose anyone know if the fan siwtch for the b18a1 is the same as the b18c or b18b? i want to get one of the buddy club low temp ones but idk if it will work
bump
92+ b series use the same ECT switch (for future reference, you should try www.acuraautomotiveparts.org to help you cross check part numbers on stuff like this)
You can use the 92+ style ECT switch on a 90-91 but you’ll need a 92+ thermostat housing and you’ll also need to extend some wires and add a different type of connector.
And if you weren’t aware already, simply using a lower temp switch will not necessarily lower your engine coolant temps, most likely it won’t.
I’m having a rad fan problem as well! I have constant power going to the fan so I must have a problem with the ground, can someone please tell acura part numbers for the fan relay or switch which ever is causing the problem, I need this fixed asap!!! will an aftermarket relay work or what should I try?! THanks!!
The link I provided above will give you part numbers for both the parts you inquired about. Before you order something you need to figure out what the problem is. Follow the troubleshooting procedure outlined in your Helms manual.
Deleted