I have a 1996 Accord EX 4-cylinder w/ a problem that just started a few months ago. After driving the car for some distance (anything longer than just a few minutes), when I stop the car and shut off the engine, some type of fan/motor starts running. I'll hear the noise for a few minutes (usually less than 10) and then it will stop. I've noticed that the noise doesn't happen when I have the engine on, or when I have the key set to the accessory position. It starts right after I turn it off. The one time that I popped the hood, I heard the noise coming from the passenger side of the engine. The radiator fan was not running.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

I was going to suggest that it was either the condensor or radiator fan.... that's normal for it to run after the car is shut off if the car is hot... check your coolant level when the car is cold, open the radiator cap and make sure it's full

 

I didn't see any guage to tell if the coolant level is good or not. When I popped the radiator cap, I didn't see any coolant at the top, so does that mean it's too low?

I also noticed that the radiator fan (driver side) never turns on. I don't recall if it's always suppose to be running, but I know on my mustang, the fan runs whenever the engine is running.

 

Both cooling fans should run at the same time, that problem needs to be checked further, such as check for power to the fan when it should be running.
Those condensor fans die after a few years, and are expensive to replace.
In the area of $200 for the fan motor.
Your original question; there might be a solenoid on the charcoal canister that is not working correctly, it vents fumes from the canister to the intake.
does the ECU have any codes stored? P1457/P1456?

 

I took the car to autozone and the Engine code returned nothing -- no error. The check engine light is *not* on. Should both fans always be running simultaneously? How do I force the fan to run? Do I need to heat up the engine or something? The condensor fan (the fan on the passenger side of the car) does turn on. That's the fan that is making noise *after* I stop the engine. The one on the driver side does not run (at least I haven't seen it run).

Thanks

 

If you can't see coolant in the radiator, fill it up to the top! Drive for a day and check again when the engine is cool. If you are low on coolant, then you have a leak somewhere.

 

lets get a few thing straight ,,\

first of all,, the fan on the pass side is the main cooling fan NOT the condensor fan ,, cond fan is the one on the driver side of the car

Dude was correct, when engine is running and it reaches a certain temp BOTH fan should COME ON ,, as they should when you turn the A/C ON .. if either fan is NOT coming on, try a quick test,, get a big screwdriver and bang on the fan motor while a/c is on,, if either fan comes on,, you got a bad fan motor,,
if neither still come on,, you need to chk to see if you are getting power at the fan motor connector , if you do ,, you got bad fan motor.. if you DO NOT , chk the fuses, relays,
Now if BOTH fan come on with the a/c on but DO NOT come on when the engine is running and at normal operating temp. it could be a bad fan sensor located on the thermostat housing ,, unplug the connector, jump the 2 wires together, if fans come on you found the problem ..
AS for the fan running after you turn the car off,, it is a normal condition for PASS side ( main cooling fan ) to run for about 10-15 minutes

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the AC test tonight. I filled up the radiator w/ coolant this morning and drove it in to work. I'm guessing I poured in at least a quart/liter before it reached the top. For the first time in a long while, I did not hear the fan kick in after turning off the engine, so I'm hoping that's a good sign (in that the engine was able to keep cool enough that it didn't need extra cooling after being turned off).

 

If you didn't do it already I'd bleed the system now that you've added some coolant... and keep an eye on your levels to make sure you're not leaking any or burning it or something...