'99 TL. I failed emissions and had my cat replaced and the mechanic said he could get a used compressor to fix my ac which has been broken for about 4 years. I went ahead and did it. The acura dealer recommended changing the dryer too, but this guy said while that would be nice, it wasn't really needed.

Anyway, AC runs great now but when the AC is on, every now and then, the temperature gauge rises over 50% and sometimes gets as high as 80% and then dips back down slowly. Also, the "outside temperature" shows over 100-112 degrees when the temp gauge rises like that. After a moderate drive (over 20 mins) I notice the (radiator) fan in the front stays on after I park my vehicle - sometimes as long as 30 to 45 mins.

I've owned the TL for almost 9 years and never has the temp gauge risen over 40-45%. Should I be worried? Could a faulty dryer be the problem?

Thx.

 

I read a couple other posts and checked my coolant levels and the fans. They replaced my compressor fan and both fans work, however they turn in opposite directions EVEN though the blades are angled in the same direction. I took a pic and drew arrows to explain it a bit better. The red arrows indicate which direction the fan is turning and the blue indicates which way the air blows. Is this the correct way air should be flowing?

 

No, they both are designed to pull air across the condenser and radiator. Take it back and have them reverse the wires, even if the colors don't match. I've only seen this happen once before; it was an aftermarket fan. [not that there's anything wrong with that] Nice catch, by the way!

 

TL, thanks for the reply. I saw some other posts that say the fan on the right is the radiator fan. Just to be clear, the fan on the right (the one that was replaced) which is blowing towards the engine, needs to be fixed? Because, technically, it is pulling air through the radiator, whereas the left one is pushing air through the radiator. Sorry for nit-picking the language, I just wanted to make sure.

 

Hi DaHadster :

I think the fans should complement (as opposed to fight) the natural air flow as the car moves forward. So, the fans should pull air and not push.

smartypants

 

Yes, this is correct. I didn't notice that it was the new shiny fan that sucks correctly, and the old dirty one that blows. The solution is the same; reverse the wiring on the old dirty fan.

 

It's curious that the old one seems to be backwards and the new one is correct. I wonder if cross-connecting fan connectors would cause this. One would assume that the physical location of the plugs would prevent this.

smartypants.

 

Yeah, does seem odd. The connectors at each fan are indexed so they can't be reversed, but i don't know if they interchange between fans. I'd guess the old fan was replaced previously, but wasn't a problem without the added heat load from the condenser, now that the ac works.

 

Thanks so much guys. I'm gonna have him take another look. After both of your posts, I went back out and double checked the old fan. It seems to be blowing air equally behind and in front of it - even though the blades are angled exactly the same as the new fan and it is spinning in the opposite direction.

After a long drive, I will start the car up while it is still hot and the temperature reading on the dash will say 112 and slowly and steadily drop to about 85-90 (roughly the outside temperature) once I start driving. This was never the case before, and my fan never stayed on after I parked it. Is it normal for fans to blow for 30+ minutes after a 30 min drive in 95 degree weather with the ac going? I really don't know since I haven't had AC for so long. I have a 4hr drive next week and I'm a little nervous about driving her like this.

 

no!!!!!!!!!!!!! dont drive it if temp goes above its normal `2 lines below halfway`

the driver side fan should only run 45 seconds to 2 minutes after shutoff- to compensate for spike in temp with stopping engine
UNLESS
you have a failing fan temp sensor- very common problem-- then it runs for 20 minutes or until battery dead~
the part is located at bottem passenger corner of rad, or at thermostat housing depending on year (99s?)

bad thermostat may also be the problem as it should open and close to prevent any visable change in temp reading

How is the radiator- coolant is how old? more than 5 years and its ready for fresh!
water pump is ok? replaced at 105? ckd for leak under car from its drip hole?
Coolant level is good in res bottle and rad? rad cap is good? tested good? bad seal will cause temp problems

BOTH of the fans PULL air thru the radiator- not try to expel it forward
Driver side temp controlled- pass side AC controlled , compressor engaged - pass fan ON.
the ac has a mini radiator in front of the engine rad- but its been there all this time and is not the primary source of your problem,

for your outside temp reading- its sensor is in front of the radiator- always reads hotter right after being parked due to increase of temp when stopped, but in a few minutes driving it reads actual outside air temp
Its reading can be adjusted as needed to correct

Theories:
Either its knocked out of its holder OR its picking up a serious rise in rad temp-
makes me think rad is dirty, plugged, not flowing enough at idle ..water pump weak and or thermostat operation
Ck rad hoses for soft spots or easy to squeeze closed- thats a bad sign for hose

Depending if your ac system was OPEN to atmosphere- as in broken hose, then you should have a new rec/dryer- it absorbs moisture in the system thats deadly to its parts

take it back,, or to a better tech who hooks stuff up right and double checks their work

 

Wow, thanks for the reply 01tl. It's a '99 TL with 90k miles. Coolant levels are good, no leaks. However, last oil change i was told the radiator was dirty and coolant was old (has to be at least 5 years old now) but up until now, hasn't been a problem temperature-wise.

The AC system as far as I know was not open to the atmosphere - I was told the compressor was holding a charge (plenty of coolant) but it just wasn't working. The temperature gauge is fine when I don't run the AC, just as it has been for the last 4 years, so I think the fan temp sensor might be okay for now. I'll check the hoses and start with a rad flush and coolant replacement and go from there. Next, I'll look into changing the water pump since it is recommended at 105k anyway.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

for sure flush the rad if a shop already told you its dirty- that can reduce flow to nothing at idle- the water pump cant get any coolant from the rad~
fits your symptoms perfect

if you didnt change the coolant 5 years ago- dont expect it to have ever been done!
the book only says with the 105 service- water pump and timing belt,,you have to drain coolant to do that work so it gets new

 

make sure you burp the system per the book- hidden air will mess with the thermostat and fan sensor

if the driver side fan keeps running more than a minute or 2 after shutdown then your next suspect is the temp sensor, which is a common failure,
may as well replace it with rad cleaning if your year has it in rad
It could be fouled from the crud in rad

 

1. Drained the coolant.
2. Filled with water ran engine with climate full blast on heat for 5 mins, drained again - then put the garden hose into the radiator opening and flushed it for a min or two.
3. Repeated step 2 again.
4. Filled with PEAK radiator flush, topped off with water - drove around for a few errands (about 30 miles) with heat on full blast again.
5. Let it sit for 2 hours.
6. Repeated step 2.
7. Filled with 50/50 extended life Prestone coolant with some Redline Water Wetter. Burped the system for a few mins, again heater on. Topped off as necessary.
8. Let the car idle with AC on, heat full blast for about 10 mins.
9. Drove for about 20 mins with the AC on temp set at 65. Engine temp gauge never rose above the magical 48% mark.
10. Topped off coolant after rad was fully cooled.

Although it was about 78 degrees out at this point compared to the 95 degree afternoon, everything seems okay so far. Changed the oil while I was at it. Thanks so much for the advice. If it acts up again, I'll look at changing the water pump and temp sensor. Are both of those something I can do myself with a set of ramps? I'm poor and cheap at the moment . I had thought of doing the water pump since I was already flushing the rad, but I got impatient.

Now what to do with the 3 gallons of old coolant/flush. I know I can take the gallon of motor oil to the dump, but where does one usually take used coolant?

I also had plenty of time to check the fans while this was going on. Both fans are pulling air through the radiator, but the driver side has a substantial amount of air being pushed out near the top of rad which is why I thought it was backwards. Is that normal or maybe just needs replacing? The new fan is perfect - no air coming through the front at all.

 

ck the internet- see if you have a local hazmat collection facility- they take anything bad for free..coolant no prob for them!,,partial cans of old brake fluid etc

the temp sensor is easy DIY depending on location- 99 probably at the thermostat - take a look on top of engine-sides, follow the upper rad hose to it

water pump is not a simple job- its behind the timing belt and they are done together- requires floor jack, jackstands, several special tools and some car smarts- if you can follow a DIY with complete pics- you can do it with a buddy over a weekend but if you do it wrong you blow the engine

If the temp is back to perfect- its fine- enjoy it and be glad it never redline on the temp or we would be talking about head gaskets

 

in the usa- you can take used motor oil to any parts store or quick lube oil place- they are required by law to accept `reasonable quantities`--meaning a few gallons.. as if you had changed your own oil, not 20 gallons at once--

Larger amounts can go to the hazmat for no charge

 

Thanks 01tl4tl! I think I'll just have a shop do both the water pump and timing belt when I hit 105k.

I saw some of your posts in another thread and just dropped some NGK iridium sparks in (wow the old ones were really corroded) and put some sea foam in the gas tank and in the engine oil as per the bottles instructions. I got some of the sea foam trans fluid stuff, but I don't know where I pour it in. Just in the dipstick hole or what?

Transmission has been knocking every now and then when I first shift into drive or reverse, so I'm hoping this stuff does the trick.

 

you ckd the front motor mount already for the thunk problem?
thats broken on many of our cars- then the pass side mount fails from extra load

no one has reported use of the seafoam trans stuff- fearng it will clean away sludge thats holding clutch material to their disc--keeping the trans alive

On the other hand it may clean the selenoids and valves and fix your problem
give Jim a call at seafoam- he can tell you if any reports of probs and offer pro advice

 

save your pennies- that water pump job runs 800-1200+ dollars
gen3 has a new thread with excellent pics of entire job