[miracleman]

Honestly, I don't recall EVER hearing my fans running in my 03 Automatic E. Maybe they did and I never noticed, but in the 3 years I've had it I never noticed. Anyways, last Sat I was sitting in traffic waiting to park on the first hot day we've had in FL in a while, and I smell radiator fluid. I then notice my temp gauge is at about 3/4 of the way towards HOT. WTF??? It never goes past 1/2!!! Parked the car, got out, looked under hood, saw NO LEAKS, DRIPS, or anything in engine compartment or on ground. Went to event we parked for, came back 4 hours later, still no leaks under hood or on ground, and water level in radiator is fine. No leaking of anything inside car, so I don't think it's heater core. Just passed 100,000 and had an oil change the week before. I do a lot of driving, sometimes for hours, and never had this happen before. The next day a friend checked the fans at their plugs and said they both have 12/14 volts, and both fans spin freely. He thought the fan motors were dead and suggested I replace them. Old thread search here says $950 to have dealer do it, $750 non-dealer, and both are beyond my 'about-to-purchase-a-house' budget at the moment. My friend said I should be able to buy fans and put them in on my own, so I was wondering if anyone else has done that, and did you use Honda fans or generic same size fans. Or if anyone thinks it could be anything else, please chime in. I don't think it's the temp switch at the point where the radiator hose goes to the engine since the fans were getting power, which I assume means the switch is turning on. Also, I smelled the radiator fluid the next day, but then it went away and temp stayed normal.
Thanks for any help!

 

[Flat Lander]

So the fans ARE getting power but are not running? Just wanted to make sure that's what the end result is. If so, when are they getting power? All the time the engine is running or just when it comes up to temp? They shouldn't be getting power until the temp switch trips. Try disconnecting one of the fans and use jumper wires from the battery to make sure the fan is really dead. It seems odd that both fans would go bad at the same time.

 

[calvin13]

I just replaced both of mine about 3 months ago. Bought them from Advanced Auto Parts. One was just the motor and the other was the whole assembly. I did not find it that hard. Just watch out for the wired at the bottom of the passenger side fan shroud. That was the motor only side.

 

[Honda Tech]

The next day a friend checked the fans at their plugs and said they both have 12/14 volts, and both fans spin freely. He thought the fan motors were dead and suggested I replace them.

Does the A/C work on your vehicle?

What do the fans do when you turn the A/C 'on'?

 

[DCbox]

When my AC fan went down I thought it was the motor also, I tested it by hooking it up directly to the battery and it ran. Ended up changing a relay in the underhood fusebox, works fine now.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

.... It seems odd that both fans would go bad at the same time.

Yes, it does. However, sometimes one goes bad, but the other is enough to keep the car from overheating so it goes unnoticed for a period of time untill the other one quits. Its less likely to squeak by unnoticed during a Florida summer, but very possible if the heat isn't too bad.

Still, I'd double check to see if there is power to the fans w/ the A/C on. A simple test light stuck into the plug where the wires meet the fan should do the trick. Or as already mentioned, try powering the fan right from the battery.

 

[miracleman]

Hey, thanks for the replies. I'm still getting ready to move to a new house and haven't been able to really resolve the problem, but did run jumper wires from battery to fan at work the other day and fan did NOT run, so I'm guessing they are both dead at this point. The temp gauge has NOT gone over halfway since that one time, but sometimes I still smell radiator fluid, but NEVER see a leak anywhere. When I have the time after the move in 2 weeks to fix this I will triple check the fans again before buying new ones. I also have a friend or two who will help when the time comes.

 

[loky1234]

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47507&highlight=radiator+fan

I used this to successfully change the radiator fan.

 

[Flat Lander]

Just for additional clarification, did you run 2 jumpers? One + and one -? I am just curious, because if you have a bad ground it still won't work.

 

[miracleman]

Hey, finally got a chance to work on this. Advance Auto parts only had the radiator fan the other day (for $160+tax), so my friend swapped that in for me. It was a pain, we had to unbolt the top piece of frame and take off radiator hose, then undo bottom trim to get to bolt holding the top 'T' frame in, then we could pull out radiator fan and put new one in. Started the engine and instead of waiting for it to warm up just popped on AC, and the fan ran as it's also supposed to when AC is on. Just ordered AC condenser fan from NAPA (for $125+tax) and will pick up tomorrow to put in soon. So it does appear both fans had a 7 year or so life span.

 

[preston]

Thanks

I was having problems with my AC and the engine started to overheat.. SO i read your post and checked my fans. They did not turn on even when the engine was getting hot or the AC was on. I tapped the radiator fan and it started working but I too will be replacing both fans. Where you able to find a pair for a good price? I will read you post, but were there any major problem s when you replaced your fans?

 

[ramblerdan]

The radiator fan (19030-PZD-A01) retails for $230 from Honda, can be had for $166; the a/c condensor fan motor (38616-P3G-003) is $226/$160.

 

[DCbox]

I bought my AC fan from Autozone, installed it myself and it has worked great.
AC fan $128.99 part #620-247
Radiator fan $159.99 part# 620-232
Store must order it, takes a couple of days.

 

[ramblerdan]

Thanks for the part numbers, DCbox.

 

[mdoneil]

Rock auto has them cheap

I bought my AC fan from Autozone, installed it myself and it has worked great.
AC fan $128.99 part #620-247
Radiator fan $159.99 part# 620-232
Store must order it, takes a couple of days.

I got both the condenser and radiator fan from RockAuto for under $100 each (before tax). Now I just have to put them in.

 

[Legioss]

Me Too

Condenser fan not running. Blades are free to spin. Used multimeter to test, and correct power IS getting to it. Patch cable tested between battery and fan, still won't run fan.

1. Is there any point in replacing the relay, or am I screwed for a new fan/engine?
2. Any opinion on the $50-$100ebay equivalent fans? The $50 ones look the closest.

 

[ramblerdan]

If there's power to the fan, the relay is OK.

 

[Legioss]

If there's power to the fan, the relay is OK.

I need to stop asking more than 1 question at a time. Nobody ever answers both. -haha

 

[Legioss]

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47507&highlight=radiator+fan

I used this to successfully change the radiator fan.

I did as well, and added an update post with more info and pictures. Enjoy:
http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=881839&postcount=5

 

[dwdice]

My mechanic friend was trouble shooting my fans tonight (2003), neither come nor are getting power to them (he used the light pen instead of volt or ohm meter) he found one bad relay and swapped it out with the horn relay (same model number) and that did not help tried to jump fans from the battery and neither would get power but you can spin them freely with your hands. Should we trouble shoot the temp switch just in case before getting new fans?