So I was getting ready to change my AC compressor, expansion valve, and drier myself, then take it to Honda for a AC flush and recharge.

However, I noticed that neither of the two fans in the front of the car are spinning...ever.

Could this be a fuse problem or what?

I tried with AC on and off, heat on and off, car idling, AC off but vent air on (recirculation).

These fans have to do something, sometime. I just cant get them to turn on.

No I don't have an ammeter to check if they are getting power or not.

Any ideas of how I can try to get them to turn on?

 

What kind of TSX do you drive?

 

Fans should come on as soon as A/C is engage. Start by checking fuses/relays. With the A/C off, one of the fan should come on when engine reaches operating temperature.

 

not entirely true, some cars turn on the fans, when the A/C system reaches a certain high side pressure (and not just "on" )



as far as OP, can you at least make a jumper wire, to bypass the fan relays temporary, just to see if they work manually?

 

If you could give me a little guidance as to how to do it then yea, hell I'll make a video for others as well. I'm just not very used to messing with too many electrical things on a vehicle.

Sorry, 2004 SSM 5AT (Non-nav)



On a side note, I was thinking of just replacing all the AC related fuses and or relays just to make sure I'm not missing something stupid.

 

My only comment would be to not include the AC as a factor in any part of this discussion. The fans work completely independently of the climate control and if they're not working, I'd be pretty confidant that it's got nothing to do with the AC. The fans in my 05 go on fairly soon after the car if started (within minutes) and run for about a minute or so regardless of the outside ambient temperature (doesn't matter if it's 20 degrees or 80 degrees). They continue to cycle on and off as long as the car is running and stationary. I have no idea if the fans run when the car is in motion, though I'm guessing probably not since the cooling system in these cars seems pretty efficient. I'm sure the cycling of the fans is controlled by a sending unit that may or may not be the same one that send a signal to the temperature gauge (but I doubt it, since it needs only to send a signal to the fans to cycle on and off at set coolant temperatures). All that said, I'd guess it's a fuse or a relay (or a sending unit). Pretty unlikely both fans would sh*t the bed at the same time.

 

#9 in the image below is the fan temperature switch. It is on the driver's side of the radiator and has a two-wire connector that plugs into it (the wire colors are green and black).

With the key turned off inside the car, unplug that connector. Take a piece of wire or bend a thin paperclip into a U shape. Stick an end of the wire into each of the sockets of that connector. Turn the car on, see if the fans run immediately.

 

PaHonda, thanks for that.

I've located the problem, bad relays per the tsx manual I downloaded. changed them out and now the fans start and stop as needed.

Now I just need to sift through this 177 page document to find out how to change the expansion valve on the evaporator (in the dash nightmare).

 

Yes, but in regards to the TSX the fans come on as soon as A/C is on. When the A/C button is pressed on with the car off and key in start position, you should hear fans coming on and off when the button is pressed again to turn off. Just my to help anyone out in the future.

OP: Glad you found out what it was and caught it before causing any other damage. Good luck with the expansion valve.

 

I stand corrected on this. I guess it didn't occur to me that the fans could be integral with the AC. I leave the climate control in the auto position pretty much 24/365, so I've always assumed that the fans have a mind of their own.

 

The fans run to keep the internal AC pressures controlled - it's a heat transfer thing. When a small amount of cabin cooling is required, my fans cycle on and off. When it's really hot outside, they run mostly continuously.

AND, with the AC off, I've never heard the fans run - I've parked the nose against the garage and waited ... temp gauge never budged and the fans did not come on. Pretty efficient cooling system indeed. 06 with MT.

 

Sounds like what my TL is doing now, but it's only doing that because the thermostat is stuck open. Have to change that when I get a chance.

 

temp gauge is not suppose to move, with normal cycling of the cooling system, unlike alot of domestics that do

and if the fans NEVER come on without the A/C, i actually be kinda worried some, cause they should eventually come on (especially if the hood is shut), BUT they will not immediately come on though, they may take 5-10 minutes or slightly more to come on, after stopping, and everything starts to heat soak

and as far as the cooling system being efficient, more like it is large enough, and not just marginal like most domestics (basically when you have to refill a honda cooling system, you can leave the radiator cap off, and are able to top the system off, even after the engine has fully warmed up, and the fans start to cycle occasionally [hood open obviously though], but on alot of domestics [ones with electric fans especially], yeah it boils over, normally before the fans even come on, so yeah the cap has to stay on, even to just warm up)