cooling fan

After letting car idle for over 30 mins. the fan comes on every 3 to 4 mins.
and only runs about 20 secs. doesn't seem to be overheating. I think my wife
is more atuned to the gauge than the actual mechanics.
Thanks to all.

 

first,top posting destoys the thread continuity;that is why Usenet
convention is to post at the bottom,the way people normally read.

second,if you wife has noticed the temp gauge changing as she drives the
car(temp rises at stops,drops when driving),you probably need a new
thermostat.

Use a -real-,OEM Honda TS,the aftermarket ones may not fail in the 'open'
position and cause real damage to your engine,and the selection chart may
steer you to the wrong TS temp rating for your engine.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

That's about normal behavior.

The gauge is actually usually pretty accurate.

I think you've got nothing to worry about. Enjoy your Honda.

 

After reading Jim Yanik's post... I stand by my reply--so long as the temp
gauge _never_ climbs above about the 40% mark.

If the gauge DOES move above the 40% mark, more investigation is needed,
starting with an infrared thermometer reading of the upper rad hose inlet
out of the head.

And if an aftermarket thermostat is present in this engine, GET RID OF IT
IMMEDIATELY in favor of OEM (as per Yanik). That alone solves many Honda
cooling system problems.

 

It has been suggested to me here, by different people, that having the
fan run after engine shutdown is both helpful and useless.

Since most cars do not do this, it is obviously not a big deal either
way. If it were, modifying the car to run the fan after shutdown would
be a common modification.

In any case, I will leave it alone on both the Honda and the turbo Mazda.

Thanks!

 

Huh? AFAIK, the cooling fan has only one function - cooling. That's why
it continues after you've shut the engine off, more cooling.

 

Bingo, I had a '79 Rabbit as well.

 

Yeah, I know that the cooling fan is for cooling. I was not asking what
a cooling fan does.

My question, specifically, was why all cars with electric fans do not do
this, if it is indeed helpful to have additional cooling after the car
has been turned off.

Beam already answered my question with what I had suspected was the
correct answer.

"because it's not necessary. it also depends on the coolant flow
design. if you notice, the radiator coolant flow on a honda is still
top-to-bottom. this gives a component of thermosiphon just like tegger
says. no need for a fan after shutdown."

 

All Hondas have top/bottom rad tanks. All Hondas do not have after-shutdown
fan cooling; it seems to be installed only on Accords/Preludes

After-shutdown fan operation may be due to larger engines having more
massive blocks that retain heat better, and need more help shedding post-
shotdown heat-soak than Hondas with less-massive blocks. This is a guess on
my part.

 

One day, I swear, I will learn to type.

Of course, this should read, "post-SHUTdown"...

 

I don't remember the S2000 having after-shutdown fan cooling, and it has
the same size engine as the 1995 Accord.

The newer Accords do not do this either. My best guess is that there
were enough customer complaints and that was weighed against no real
benefit so the decision was made to drop the after-shutdown fan operation.

I might disable this on my 1995 Accord after all. If there are any
problems resulting from doing this, I will post them here.

 

Other possibilities exist, of course, e.g., crummy design, company too
cheap to implement something like this, even if it's indicated, etc.

Sorry if I came across a little snarky, not intended.

 

Funny, I read what you meant.

 

Same here, my text often comes across wrong. No offense taken at all.

Thanks,

Pat

 

All my Hondas have cross flow radiators, (pre plastic era).

JT

 

So they have a tank on the left and a tank on the right, like my daddy's
1970 Ford?

 

cooling is one thing honda have dead right. if you look, they have a
very sophisticated system - the thermostat is on the "cool" side of the
radiator, but the thermostat wax unit sits in its own direct circuit so
it's responding to actual circulation temps, not blocked convection
temps like so many other cars.

 

I did not know this. Thanks for the information. I know a lot about most
things Mazda Miata/MX-5, but my Honda information is very spotty so I
have a lot to learn.

 

Yep... The first cross flow I remember was on my old 1963 Avanti.

JT

 

Well, by 1986 they were top/bottom across-the-board.