Both fans are supposed to turn on with the AC.

Both fans are supposed to run when coolant temperature (fan-switch) is hot enough while engine is running.

Only the fan on the right-side of the car is supposed to run after you turn off the engine (IF coolant is hot enough).

 

Aw man. I pobably have another issue on my hands then. I drove for about 25 mins without the AC, and I could hear a fan kick in. Pulled over to see which fan was running and it was only the AC fan. So from what you are saying, this is an issue then.

Any ideas on where to begin troubleshooting? In the mean time I will search the forum for similar issues and see how it got fixed.

 

I removed those IACV bolts w/ a closed end 12mm wrench. It is a bit awkward but do-able.

You don't have to disconnect the IACV coolant lines. Leave IACV attached and clean in place. Alternatively, you can pinch the lines w/ vise grips and relase the lines to minimize coolant loss.

good luck

 

As said before, both fans should turn on. The driver's side fan is the a/c condenser fan, and the passenger side fan is the radiator fan. These are their names and both turn on to cool the condenser and radiator.

Anyway, start the engine and turn on the a/c. Hit the body of the driver's side fan (the one not working) with the handle of a screwdriver with light/medium force. Does that fan turn on?

Do you have a volt meter? Do you know how to test for voltage and ground?

 

Yesterday I cleaned my IACV, throttle body bore and both sides of the throttle plates (after proper look, I saw that my TB bore and plate were not as clean as I said yesterday). You can see the after pictures. About the base idle - there are two marks between 0 and 1000 RPM, I set the base idle to be a little below the mark before 1000 RPM (is that 550 (+/-50) RPM?). Then I reset the ECU by disconnecting the negative terminal? I left it d/c overnight.

However this morning, when I turned on the car (starts off at about 1500 RPM) and let it warm up. At warmed up, the idle is just a little above the mark before 1000 RPM. So I turn on the A/C and the RPM drops (see pic), the car engages something, it rattles a bit and then settles (although I say it settles, you can still tell the difference from when AC was off)

I know the above scenario is not normal. Any help?

About the A/C - I tapped on the Condenser fan as instructed - nothing. So I checked the fuse (for some reason mine is 20A) and it had power. I even switched it with a 15A and still nothing. I swapped the condenser relay with the power window's - the power windows still worked but the fan didn't come on.

I couldn't check for ground as I don't have a volt meter (going to buy one now). Neither have I checked the condenser switch

I'm also following the troubleshooting steps in this thread. So after checking for ground I'll be doing this "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."

 

The mark you set the idle to was the 750 rpm mark. The first mark past 0 is 500 rpm, and that is what you want to set the idle at. On those accords, there is no 250 rpm mark on the tachometer.

You don't need to jump that connector at the thermostat housing. It certainly will not hurt to try that.

My next step would be to unplug the non-working fan's electrical connector. Start the engine and turn on the a/c. Check for 12V to that electrical connector.

 

I did not reset the base idle. Just to keep you informed - I drove to the store to get a volt meter. I noticed that when I slowed down and stopped at the light, the car would stutter, as though catching its breathe (like it was about to cut off). I saw the RPM go from 750 to 500 and back up. This was happening whenever coming to a stop at a light until I got home. When I got home, another observation was that when I rev and let go, same thing (almost stall) would happen. And also when switching from N to D or vice versa, the RPM would fluctuate (750 to 500 and back up) and like I mentioned before, almost cut off.

So I thought I'd adjust the base idle to 500 (closest mark to 0 RPM mark). While car was running, as soon as I pulled the IACV, it stalled. Re-connected IACV and started car again. Revved the engine and it wouldn't act like it was going to stall anymore. Turned car off, turned it back on, revved the engine again, no stalling. I don't know what happened, but it now seems to just idle where I had set it; 750 when warm. And after I rev it comes back there - no stutter. When I turn the AC on though (and the gear is on D), I see the RPM still drop a little. When on Neutral, and turn on the AC, the RPM drops, sometimes. Sometimes it stable.

Do you still recommend I set it to 500 RPM as base idle?

About the AC troubleshooting -
I have checked the connector on the condenser fan using the volt meter and it read 12.59.
I have jumped both fan switches (see pictures) and both times, the passenger fan came on.

What next?

 

So I found both the Condenser Fan Relay (I'll call this CFR) and Compressor Clutch Relay (I'll call this CCR). I disconnected both relays and found that the CFR connector was busted (see picture). The previous owner removed these relays from their original location and zipped tied CCR to my PS Steering fluid hose while the CFR was just hanging off at the bottom . Took me a while to find CFR.

So I switched the connectors; CFR into the original CCR plugs connector, and CCR into the original CFR plug connector. Turned car on, turned A/C on and both fans worked . However when switched back, condenser fan wouldn't work.

Question now is, how can I fix the busted CFR connector? Any DIYs? And I guess a replacement CFR will be picked up?

 

CFR is replace-able. Check OEM and other sources. I would not try to repair.

good luck

 

Thanks. I will order a replacement.

BTW, I set the base idle to 500 and it didn't almost stall when slowing down like it was doing before. It seems to be fine now. Also the RPM doesn't drop when the A/C comes on.

I really appreciate the help guys. I will move on to the Instrument Cover fix and exterior b-pillar trim now :-D