I have a 97 Honda Accord LX that I am having what I believe to be a small problem but it is a bit hard to track down. I had a shop check the freon levels and they were ok. When I push in the button on the dash to turn on the AC, the engine rpm's go a bit lower like you would expect but the clutch for the compressor isn't engaging and the condenser fan (located on passenger's side) isn't coming on. If I jump 12v directly from the positive side of the battery to the wire going to the compressor, the compressor engages. I found two relays that are mounted to a small metal bracket that were hanging (someone had hit a deer with the car and everything was replaced but some things, like the bracket are laying inside the engine and need to be zip tied back down) down and one is the main fan relay, that is, the fan on the passenger's side and the other seems to be the compressor relay. If I unplug what I believe to be the compressor relay and jumper it, I can get the compressor to engage. I am just not sure what controls the condenser fan on the passenger's side. I believe that the compressor relay is bad for sure and I will replace that this weekend. I still need to test the condenser fan by putting 12v directly to it and determine if the fan is bad or not. I was just wondering if anyone had ever experienced this issue before? I have been lurking on the forums but not finding any answers to my particular problem.

 

The condenser fan has a relay in the engine bay fuse box. I think that the power window relay is the same, so you can switch them to find out if the power windows do not work and the compressor turns on.

You can also check for 12V to the condenser plug using a volt meter when the engine is running with the a/c turned on. Also use to the volt meter to find out if the compressor is getting 12V when the engine is running.

The two relays by the a/c compressor are the compressor relay and the a/c compressor fan relay. That bracket bolts into where the compressor fan metal casing bolts to the radiator.

 

if it is a v6 then the pass side fan is the a/c condenser fan,,, but if it is a 4 cyl then the pass side fan is not the a/c condenser fan ,,it is the radiator fan

let us know which it is ..

 

Ok, I am confused. True or false - The fan on the passenger's side of a 1997 Honda Accord LX is the condenser fan?

You mention, "The condenser fan has a relay in the engine bay fuse box." and then state, "The two relays by the a/c compressor are the compressor relay and the a/c compressor fan relay.". So am I to understand there are two relays for the condenser fan?

 

I guess the LX was not available with the V-6 in 1997 ??? If that's true, then look at what Desert said about 4-cyl Accord.

It's a lot more clear when someone says V-6 or 4-cyl. The LX, EX, DX, & other trim levels don't always tell the whole story about the engine. Especially for the 1995-2002 range, the 4-cyl and V-6 may as well have been COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CARS. Some years there was an Accord LX-V-6, so when you just say "LX" that's not enough information.

 

I do apologize. I forget that there are 3 possible engines for my car. Mine is the "1997 Honda Accord 4 cylinders 2.2L MFI"

 

Ok, so this leads me to believe something might be reversed in the wiring. The drivers side fan (what I believe to be a radiator fan) is the one that comes on when the car is cranked and the AC is off. It is also the fan that comes on after the car is turned off and the engine is hot and eventually goes off by itself.

However, I have the 1997 Honda Accord 4 Cylinders 2.2L MFI.

I got to second guessing about the engine size. I can confirm though that there are 4 spark plugs

 

Yeah, the 2 different 4-cylinder engines are both 2.2L in USA, & they're pretty much the same for radiator fan control stuff. It's the V-6 that's a completely different animal.

Sounds like a few things are creatively re-wired? Try checking the fans operation without A/C just for a baseline...

Follow the lower radiator hose back to the thermostat housing. There you'll find a fan-switch with a plastic 2-wire plug. Unplug that & jumper the connector with a paperclip. Key on, AC off, that should make BOTH fans run.

Follow the upper radiator hose to the head. There you'll find another fan-switch with a 2-wire plug. With the engine running, unplug that & jumper the connector with a paperclip. Shouldn't do anything. Then turn the engine off. Now the radiator fan (only) should run. Let us know which side...?

 

The good news -
Ok, so the fans were not wired backwards. There were two problems. 1 - The radiator fan motor was dead. We replaced it and now the radiator fan (passenger's side fan) is working. 2 - We had a bad compressor relay. We replaced that and the compressor is now cycling properly.
The bad news -
No fans are coming on UNLESS I have the AC on. If the AC is on, both the fans are cycling on and off with the compressor! So basically, if I want to keep my engine from overheating, I have to keep the AC turned on so the radiator fan will at least cycle on and off.
Could it be that one of the coolant switches are bad?

 

Find the switch in the thermostat housing & jumper the wire like I said. Key on, does that make both fans run?? If so, then EVERYTHING except that thermo-switch is working correctly.

Now in my experience it's not always easy to make the fans run just by warming up the engine. If it's not hot summer, you might have to block air flowing through the radiator. Also realize that the fan won't run at normal temperature. It has to get hotter, usually near 50% or a bit higher on the gauge.