Ok well I just bought a 91 Accord EX manual trans. Well it has 2 cooling fans and they dont come on when the car is running even if I turn on the AC which should at least switch on the AC fan. However the fans do come on sometimes when I turn off the car and run for maybe 5 min. which Ive read is normal. Also My temperature gauge inside the car is stuck on 40-50% all the time. I haven't turned on my car in a full 24 hours and dead cold the gauge is still at 40-50%. What are the steps I should take to diagnose these 2 issues?
I know the car is not overheating, but after being ran for a while sometimes when I turn it off a little bit of steam will start coming from the overflow tank, not a lot like its overheating just a little and theres no gurgling or coolant being pushed back into the overflow. I know I dont have a bad head gasket because I block tested it after I bought it with the radiator full and the test was good ( fluid stayed blue didnt turn yellow).

Also on a side note the guy I bought the car from made a joke about how you can disconnect something and it will always make the temperature gauge read normal, which is what I think the guy did but I dont know why as its not overheating, motor sounds great, and head gasket is fine. I checked after the guy had been driving it all day, thn I bought it and drove 45 min home and block tested it after that, so HG is good. Sorry its a little long winded but I think I gave you all the info I can think youll need of the top of my head. This is my first time with a Honda Im more experienced with Chevys

 

Both fans should turn on when you turn on the a/c. See if either of the electrical connectors going to the fan have 12V when you have the car running and turn on the a/c.

You should also short the connector going to the temperature sensor A (on thermostat housing). See if both fans turn on.

As for the temperature gauge in the car, there is a temperature sending unit (only one wire goes to that sensor) on the cylinder head that can be the problem or the temperature gauge in the car itself. There could be a wiring problem as well.

If you unplug the wire, and turn the key to the II position, the temperature gauge should start rising even with a cold engine. Don't let the gauge get to H, or you can damage the needle. Just turn the key off it the gauge starts rising.

 

I think you have to short the wire to ground - THEN the gauge will start rising.

 

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There's a couple of 2-wire sensors. The ones shown here (#14, 15) are for switching the radiator fans. #14 in the T-stat housing is responsible for switching both fans while the engine is running. #15 at the upper radiator hose is responsible for running 1 fan after you turn off the engine.


There's 2 more in the end of the head. One (1-wire) is for the dashboard temperature gauge. The other (2-wire) is a temperature measurement for the ECU.

With all the bad splicing, it seems like you should fix that first. Otherwise further troubleshooting will get confusing.

Multi-meters don't cost too much at WalMart or KMart, it's a real good tool to own.

 

Ok well I went to the junkyard this morning and scored big with all the connectors and things I need in good condition. I gotta go to work right now so Ill start fixing the splices tomorrow.

Oh and to ground the connecto to the temp sensor on the thermostat housing since Im gonna be replacing the connector Im just gonna cut the wires right after the connector. Do I ground both of them or just 1?? Im gonna connect both of them to longer wires and wrap them around a metal screw. Is this the way to do it???

 

you need to jump both wires together that go to ( # 14 ) on Jim's schematic , have the key on ,, both fans should come on

 

ok well ill give that a shot. so i just take a wire and jumper the two prongs inside the connector together right (no need to ground it to bare metal) and the fans should come on right?

 

Short #14 connector with the engine running and the fan(s) should turn on.

Short #15 connector with the car turned off and the fan(s) should turn on.

I just can't remember if one or both fans turn on.

 

Here's a procedure to test all the circuits and control logic. Do it all in this exact order, & do this test after the car has been turned off for at least 1/2-hour or so.

The wires going to #14 - connect the 2 wires to each other with the key OFF. Nothing should happen.

The wires going to #15 - connect the 2 wires to each other with the key OFF. Nothing should happen. (If you didn't wait long enough, one fan might start running, so watch your fingers in the fan blades.)

Now with all those wires still connected, turn the key ON (no need to actually start the enigne). Both fans should run.

With the key still ON, disconnect the wires for #14. Both fans should turn OFF.

Turn the key OFF. Now one fan should start running (can't remember which).

Disconnect the wires for #15 and that fan should turn off.

Optional test:
After a half-hour or more, re-connect the wires to #15, the fan should NOT start running again. There's a timer that should turn off the fan after awhile (15 or 20 minutes??) even if that switch (#15) is stuck.