Hi. I have a 2012, 9th generation, Accord, 4 beater, and I started to overheat yesterday in the Phoenix afternoon. I usually take the valley freeways to get where I'm going (I'm a courier) But they were screwed so I took a surface street to where I was going about 20 miles. Close to my destination in HEAVY stop and go traffic near ASU (I'm never taking THAT ****ing way again) I noticed the temp. gauge slowly creeping up. It wasn't a quick to-the-top increase, it took about 5 minutes to get from the middle to 3/4 of the way up. My first inspection when I was able to pull over showed me that the drivers side (radiator) fan will only start spinning if I give a blade a nudge. I also noticed that same fan will intermittently stop, only to start again with another nudge. It doesn't make any squealing noises or anything and the coolant level was still at max, no bubbling.

I gave her a one hour nap and I was able to get it up the mountain to Prescott (100 miles) with no movement from the temp. gauge and let it set the night. In the morning, same issue. I turned the auxiliary on with the A/C off, no fans turning. Turned the A/C on, only the passenger side (condenser) turned, gave the drivers side a nudge and it started. They were both medium speed, then I turned the engine on, they both went to high speed. I checked the #5 fuse and #9 relay ( I took the number 9 out and put the multimeter to it and I got a reading) and they are both good. The 3-5 and 3-6 fuses in that closed fuse bank thingy in the middle of the open fuses I couldn't get off. ( How do you get that damn thing off??) I took that screw off, but it didn't want to budge so I have no idea of the condition of those fuses. I replaced the temp. sensor last summer so that should be good. I use Peak 50/50 antifreeze and it's full. No leakage anywhere. I'm not gonna screw with it much until nightfall, but what do you think the issue is? A loose connection somewhere? A bad switch? (I don't remember ever changing that). She has 468,000 miles on her. I run an average 250 miles, 5days a week so I do more maintenance than average, but this one has me stumped. Or am I overthinking this? This is my moneymaker and I need to get her back on the road.
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Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

If the fan kicks on when nudging the fan blade, then the electric fan motor is likely worn out. Maybe unplug the electrical connector to the non-working fan and see if you have corrosion in the connector. My 95 accord fan motor would kick on when I tapped the motor with a screwdriver. The brushes are likely worn out.

FYI, when driving, enough air flows through the radiator to cool the coolant. At low speeds, you need the fans to push air through for cooling. In a pinch, you can turn on the heat full blast to help cool the engine. Driving in that heat will be miserable, but overheating the engine can cause the cylinder head to warp and you would have a head gasket leak.

 

That's my next project, inspect the motor wires. I put a new sensor in and that fan on the driver side seems to acting right so far.

I'm now wondering, can that fan motor overheat to where it temporarily stops working?