igator210

Ok, lets start this thread again, without some of the things said in the other thread.

My observation is this: My radiator fan runs a LOT. From day one, right off the lot. (I have a little ove 2000 miles on it right now)

My temp gauge seems to be ok, not to hot and not to cold. But every time I pull up to a red light, my fan kicks on. Only for a few seconds, but it's still noticable. Even as a sit at a red light, the fan cycles on and off. On 5 seconds, off 10, on 5, off 10 (or about.) This continues until I drive off. I can't tell at highway speeds if the fan kicks on. I even had it kick on right at start up once.

Now, after this happened a couple of times, I popped the hood and surprise I have two fans. A black one on the passenger side and a white one on the drivers side. And it's the white one that runs. I called the dealer and he said it was normal.

My question to the masses: Is this normal? The engine bay doesn't seem to be overly hot when I pop the hood. I don't race or drive that hard. I haven't changed my driving habits since getting a new car, and my old car rarely had the fan run.

My second question is why are there two fans? My neighbor remarked that the radiator seemed awfuly large for a 4 cylinder engine.

Sir Nuke

LARGE? our radiator large? not in my book...in fact its TINY....compared to larger engines...look how THIN it is....its average...and designed for our engines...but its anything but LARGE.

as for why two fans? well if one is good...two is better....no really....your guess is as good as ours probably.....it was DESIGNED that way..may have something to do with load on the electrical system....two smaller motors IF you even get to where both fans are running......

I do believe its normal, what you are seeing....I once had a car that didn't have electric fans...and it was a four banger too, and if you sat in traffic very long during the summer you would have to shut off the A/C and open the windows.....cause if you left it running the extra load on the car would cause it to overheat...

so if your fans are cycling on and off...its because they are being told to by the thremal switches that control them.

IF you don't like hearing the fans.......CRANK UP THE VOLUME! :{D

tradr

LOL, Hondas, now, those cars have some REALLY tiny radiators (92-95 at least!), about 1/3 the size of ours.

LooseCannon

fan is coming on because your a/c is on
2nd fan is for your a/c
a/c is on anytime you are in a defrost position

silver_p5_owner

A/C is on if you are in any of the 3 heat positions.. floor, floor/defrost and defrost. If you have your heater on any of these 3 positions your fans will run more often because the compressor is engaged.

kosmicride

One of the reasons for the fans is one is for the radiator and the other is for AC, to cool them both effecently you will notice that dependant on the weather being hot or cold your ac fan will cycle with the ac. The radiator fan will follow the temp cycle.

ProtegeMaster

It was correctly noted that the fans will run when the A/C is on. In addition to that, if you happen to be using your front defroster or bi-level (floor and front defrost), the A/C compressor will be running in order to dehumidify the incoming air-- Even if you have the temperature setting to maximum heat. Hence, your fans will be running.

On another side note related to that, everyone, in the winter when you don't need to defrost remember to switch your air setting OUT of defrost! Otherwise you're running your A/C unit and needlessly cutting into fuel efficiency!

MackDaddy

This is a true fact. The first vehicle in my 40 years of existence that uses the AC compressor on "floor vent" heat mode. Why did they do this?? It's kind of annoying, as I like to use this mode often (it's winter time again for me.) I can see the logic when you specify either full / partial defrost mode, but not floor vent only mode. Whatever.....

Jim

silver_p5_owner

I think it's because too many ignorant people drive around in freezing temps with their systems set to recirculate. You can tell who these folks are by all the frost on the insides of all the windows. I've seen so many co-workers and friends drive around looking like that and when I've told them to set it up for fresh air they always commented the next day "wow that helped a lot"! Since people have less common sense these days than ever, we have auto companies designing cars to overcome the average stupidity of the populace. Too bad those who know better have to suffer through having the A/C active, leading to poorer performance and fuel economy.

silver_p5_owner

See, the problem is even when you are set to floor only the A/C is still engaged. This is the one thing about the set-up of this car that bugs me the most. I've driven through 26 Michigan winters and have always defrosted the windows first and then set the control to floor. Every car I've owned always let a little air up to the the windshield in this setting keeping it reletively frost free. Now I can't do that without the A/C engaging. And if you set the control to floor/dash (bi-level) it closes down the defrost vents completely so no warm air goes up there. If you've never driven in below freezing temps with clothes, boots, floormats etc. loaded up with wet snow you don't know how important it is to have warm airflow up there. Arrrgh!

leungwingkei

Canadian Pros do not have their AC engaged, when in the defrost position or the floor/defrost position, well at least mine doesn't. In my mom's Toyota Camry, the AC light goes on when you select defrost.
This doesn't happen in the Pro, and I don't feel AC either.

kosmicride

I found this info if anyone wants to take a look


AutoTips Defrosting Tips
Does the defroster on your Japanese car not seem to be doing as well as it should? There may be several reasons.

If you have an imported car::
Check the air control lever in the heater controls that selects Fresh or Recirculate. The indicator plate around this lever normally has two positions indicated by arrows showing air entering the car, or going in a circle. For defrosting it should be in the position to bring in fresh air. This is probably the most common reason people's Japanese defrosters do not work well, they have the air position lever set to re-circulate. Recirculated air holds moisture we breathe out, and it condenses on the windows.
For best defrosting on an import: select Fresh Air, and turn on the Air Conditioning, with the temperature lever to your desired comfort level. The air-conditioner de-humidifies the air before heating it. Air Conditioning can help remove humidity from the air. On many import cars there is a separate button to turn on the Air Conditioning. With the control set to defrost, you can turn on the A/C on days above freezing to remove humidity from air and help remove frost of the windows. The air can still be heated by adjusting the temperature lever to warm. The Air Conditioner switch is separate on some imports, built in to the heat / ac / defrost lever on most domestic cars.




U.S. model cars: Most U.S. cars bring in fresh air and turn on the air conditioning when defrost is selected.

Other Possibilities: One other possibility for defrost problems is a leaking heater core. You might also notice the smell of anti-freeze if this is the case. Replacing a heater core in some cars is a major job, and beyond the scope of AutoTips. Also check for low engine temperature, an air-conditioner not working, and proper operation of the air doors that select the air. If your heater is not working well, there are other possibilities on the AutoTips Heater Tips page.
Site reference page (PseudoRealityX) just for you.
http://www.inct.net/~autotips/defrost.htm

silver_p5_owner

The light does not go on in the US spec cars, even in full defost mode. It would be interesting to know for certain if the Canadian cars are different. If you have access to a garage or nice quiet place, try going from bi-level to floor, listen for a click of the A/C solenoid. You can do this with the lights on and watch for slight flicker. Also the RPMs will change up or down momentarily until it settles to an idle speed determined by the ECU. Or if you have a warm day soon (I know they are hard to come by this time of year) set it to floor and turn the temp down all the way. See if you're getting refrigerated air down there. I do in my car. Can you check yours and let us know what you find out?

Dermen

What I do is use face/floor to heat up the car when I first get in. Or defrost/floor if the windows are fogging. After the car gets warm if I am using defrost I will set it to face/floor. Then turn the fan speed to 0 and then change the setting to floor.

When the fan speed is on 0 air will still blow out the vents as long as the car is moving. But because it is on 0 the AC will not be on.

ex_MGB

My SOP as well. After everything is stabilized. Put fan on zero. Lots of flow with fan at zero on the highway.