Both fans don't work

Hi, I am new to this forum and have a question. When  the AC is running and in stop and go traffic the temp goes way up, I opened the hood and noticed that both fans are not running. One of the fans whould run if i toutched the blade (can't remember which one) and then even that wouldn't work. Coolant is full and does not leak, and it only overheats when the AC is on in town or idling. I looked through the forum and couldn't seem to find a similar problem, but I did notice that the people here seem to have good advice and are patient with newbies. 
 
My question is when should these fans run? What is the most likely casue of this problem? Is there a specific procedure for troubleshooting? Thank you in advance.
Kip

Both fans should run when the AC is on.  With the car turned off and cold, reach down and try to wiggle the fan from front to back (towards the firewall and away from the firewall).  If there is any play in it (if it seems loose) your fan motor is likely out.  However there are some more electrical diagnostics you should do before going and replacing the motors.  Try the test I told you and get back to us.  Then we will let you know the electrical tests to perform to verify the problem

Thanks will do.

The fact that the fan ran when you touched the blade is a strong indication that the motor is bad.
 
Try jumpering the battery directly to the fan motor to verify it works or not.  I bet it won't run even when powered directly from the battery.
 

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimBlake

The fact that the fan ran when you touched the blade is a strong indication that the motor is bad.

 
That was my initial thought.  But he said both fans were not working, so i thought it would be a pretty strong coincidence if both fan motors went out at the same time.
 
BTW myrsaccord - if you do find out the fan motor needs replacing, ask on here for a DIY if you need it.  I just replaced one a few months ago.  It's not hard.  The hardest part was getting the stupid splash guard back on the bottom of the car after I was done.

I didn't have to remove the lower splash guard to get the drivers side fan installed.

Another 'caveman' test would be to hit the motor with the handle of a screwdriver.  If the fan turns on, the motor is likely bad.

If you have a volt meter, unplug the connection to each fan, turn on the A/C.  Each plug should have 12V at the connector.  If they do, the fan motors are bad.  If one or both doesn't have power, then there is an electrical problem upstream that you need to diagnose.

Maybe one fan has been out for a while and the other cooled adequately until it wore out.

quote:

ORIGINAL: PAhonda

I didn't have to remove the lower splash guard to get the drivers side fan installed.

 
Did you go in from the top?
 
Of course, I did change mine on my 95 V6.  The easiest course of action was to go in through the bottom.  There was no access to the bottom of the V6 without removing the splash guard. 

I just had to unbolt the two brackets from the top, and the third bolt on the bottom needed to be loosened.  The fan housing has a slotted hole in the bottom, so you don't have to remove the entire bolt.

My V6 had 2 slotted holes in the bottom and a wiring harness that had to be disconnected that was in no way accessible from the top.  Stupid V6 Ahhh!!! My wife's dad should have bought her the 4cyl model all those years ago!!!

.... just remember that when Lucy needs a new 6 turbine flying car ..... get her the 4 and tell her that no woman needs that much power!!! .... yeah right!  By then she'll have you so wrapped around her little finger that you'll be waxing it for her!

So not to derail the thread, let me add something that might be useful.  The AC fan is most likely the motor.  The coolant fan may or may not be.  There are a few other things to test there like the coolant temperature sensor and fan switch.  I think Desert Honda did a DIY writeup on testing for no fan problems, but I may be wrong.

I personally did not do a write up,, but there is a link in our DIY section that has a lot of good infos on the matter ... here you go ,,

http://www.hondaaccordforum.com/OVERHEATING_%3F%3F%3F%3F_Chk_This_Out%25%25/m_20999/tm.htm

Wow, thank you for all the input. Ok, so I checked the fans again with the car running and the ac on and the driver side fan runs with the ac on and turns off when the ac is off. so I am assuming that that is the condenser fan. the other one does not turn on at all, neither have any play in the blades. I am going to try the "screwdriver" method then test the connections with a voltmeter. I'll get back to you.
Kip