Honda CRV 2001 EX radiator fan is turning on

[arod2013]

I did drain the cooling system for a timing belt and water pump change. And when I did refill the system and bleed it both fan turn on, and the cooling is blowing coolant from the cap. But the gauge of the panel doesn't move from the middle.
1.Checked fuses under dash and under hood, working good.
2.Tested relay, by removing it and checking for continuity on terminal #1 and #2, while applying battery power to terminal #3 and ground to terminal #3, working good.
3.Jumped the two wires going to the fan switch, and fan turned on.
4.Measured voltage between the #1terminal of the radiator fan relay and body ground, 11 volts.
5.With ignition on II checked the voltage between the #3 terminal of the radiator fan relay and body ground = 11 volts.
6.Checked for continuity between the #2 terminal of the radiator fan relay and the #2 terminal of the radiator fan motor – 2 pins connector, got continuity.
7.Checked for continuity between the #1 terminal of the radiator fan motor – 2 pins connector – and body ground, got continuity.
8. Measured the voltage between the #2 terminal of the radiator fan switch – 2 pins connector – and body ground = 11 volts.
9.Removed the yel/grn wires connector from the “coolant temperature sending unit” and turned ignition to II position and grounded it, the needle on the dash moved up to the hot position. And when I am driving the car it stay in the middle range, never got to the high range.
10.Tested the “radiator fan switch” with hot water and I got continuity from the 2 pins terminals.
11.I run the engine at 1500 rpm and again both fans came on.
And today I did install a new thermostat and new radiator fan switch, and still both fan are running even though I did not turn the A/C on. Now and running the car with A/C on, because it is how I get both fan running. Please I need some advice.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: arod2013
I did drain the cooling system for a timing belt and water pump change. And when I did refill the system and bleed it both fan turn on, and the cooling is blowing coolant from the cap. But the gauge of the panel doesn't move from the middle.


Fact that both fans are turned on and the coolant is blowing from the cap tells me that it is not an electrical issue and that there must be a serious air pocket in the system, perhaps near the coolant sensor, causing it to read high temp. Don't rely on the dummy cluster gauge for coolant temps.

How did you bleed the system after you refilled it?
Did you let the car run, with the radiator cap, or pressure tank cap off until the thermostat opened? Or did you just fill it up, capped it and run the engine?

 

[refaller]

Is the engine hot at all? Why was the coolant blowing out of the cap? It should blow into the reservoir. If it is getting past the cap it is either a. really hot or b. a bad cap. Need more info to help out on this. It is not a complicated procedure and I had done it many times on my 2000 CRV.

ref

 

[Smoky14]

H20 pump change and T-belt, I'd look at the timing on the belt for a tooth off and or a bad pump.

Murphy's law #1

Smoky

 

[arod2013]

Thanks to you guys for replaying. To bleed the system I installed a long neck funnel in the radiator neck, and let the engine run a 1500 rpm for 30 minutes, there were some small bubbles coming but there were some big ones coming out, too, but I never ever saw the radiator fan coming on, only the 2 of them (radiator fan and A/c fan at the same time. And when I drive the car with the A/c on to get both fans working I've notice some times, not always, some amount of coolant. I haven't checked the timing with a lamp yet,which I will do tomorrow, and the car is running smooth and with power, not stalling at all. And for the temperature of the engine I check it with a infrared lamp aimed to the block of the engine. And when the fans kicks on the coolant from the funnel lower and and after it start coming back the the high leverl and the the temperature at this time is about 90 degree C. The spilling is not in great amount but again my big concern is why the radiator fan is not turning on.

 

[Quest]

you didn't properly purge your cooling system to rid of air pockets/air trapped inside.

You need to re-do the whole thing again.

Q.

 

[arod2013]

Thanks for writing, do you means that I have to keep the engine running until bubbles stop coming out no matter the how long its take. I just want to mention that I saw a video on youtube,today and the guy was using a 2 little pop bottle connected to the neck of the radiator, and saw that he was getting bubbles of the same size like the one I was getting. I'll give it a try.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: arod2013
Thanks for writing, do you means that I have to keep the engine running until bubbles stop coming out no matter the how long its take. I just want to mention that I saw a video on youtube,today and the guy was using a 2 little pop bottle connected to the neck of the radiator, and saw that he was getting bubbles of the same size like the one I was getting. I'll give it a try.


Yes, keep the engine revving at about 2k RPM until you see no air bubbles coming out. 30 minutes is not enough with low temps we're having lately to fully open the thermostat and circulate the coolant throughout the whole system.

 

[arod2013]

Hey guys I did check the timing with a timing light and I found out that the mark is about one inch behind, I tried to adjust it by rotating the distributor forward but even though I got it to the maximum that its allowed and the mark is still close to a quarter inch behind. Can you guys tell me if it is Ok. or do I have to uninstall and reinstall the belt and make sure that the timing is correct. One more thing, I saw a video on You Tube that is necessary to jump a connector that is located under the compartment glove. This way any change made will be recorded on the computer. And Thank you again for all the help.

 

[jrustles]

Is the car in diagnostic mode? Did you jump any terminals before?
Is coolant moving throughout the system? I've seen disintegrated water pump impellers cause these issues ie fans going on high, water boiling over, temp gauge not spiking though I doubt your Honda has a ceramic WP impeller.

The ignition? timing is interesting. What does "an inch behind" mean? Is it still on the scale? Rotating the distributor outside of diagnostic mode (provided your civic even has a cam angle sensor in the disty) will not change the timing, if it's computer controlled off of the crank angle sensor.

 

[yonyon]

Well, now that you've just retarded your ignition timing all the way... yes you need to redo that first. Unless you can see bolt marks showing exactly where the distributor was before you moved it you can't use that to judge whether or not you got the cam timing right and need to uncover the cam gear. Hopefully one of the Honda guys can give you a shortcut or two.

 

[arod2013]

Originally Posted By: jrustles
Is the car in diagnostic mode? Did you jump any terminals before?
Is coolant moving throughout the system? I've seen disintegrated water pump impellers cause these issues ie fans going on high, water boiling over, temp gauge not spiking though I doubt your Honda has a ceramic WP impeller.

The ignition? timing is interesting. What does "an inch behind" mean? Is it still on the scale? Rotating the distributor outside of diagnostic mode (provided your civic even has a cam angle sensor in the disty) will not change the timing, if it's computer controlled off of the crank angle sensor.


I did not jump any terminal before. And as said before I installed a new WP and it is possible that WP can be damaged to soon? And I thought that the timing could be adjusted with the distributor. So do you suggest that I have to move the distributor back where it was and redo the timing belt? Thanks.

 

[arod2013]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Well, now that you've just retarded your ignition timing all the way... yes you need to redo that first. Unless you can see bolt marks showing exactly where the distributor was before you moved it you can't use that to judge whether or not you got the cam timing right and need to uncover the cam gear. Hopefully one of the Honda guys can give you a shortcut or two.

Ok. let see if I understood. First, I have to get the distributor back where it was, and yes I did mark the former position of the distributor. Second, redo the timing belt. Am I right?

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: arod2013

Ok. let see if I understood. First, I have to get the distributor back where it was, and yes I did mark the former position of the distributor. Second, redo the timing belt. Am I right?


I would say yes, put the distributor back where it was, but don't take the timing belt back off yet. Check the ignition timing properly and if it's already correct then you can pretty much assume the belt is on right. If it's off you still don't need to remove the timing belt until you first check the alignment of the marks. If they're good, just set the ignition timing.

 

[arod2013]

Hey Yonyon, A) by checking the ignition timing you means "Using the timing light. B)by checking the alignment of the marks you means "Setting piston #1 at TDC and checking if the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley aligns with the timing pointer on the lower timing belt cover. And do you think that I have to remove the valves cover to check the marks on the camshaft sprockets. Thanks.

 

[yonyon]

a) yes b) yes c) I don't recall, sorry . You had it all apart pretty recently though, so I'm sure you'll figure it out.

 

[arod2013]

Hey guys, I am so sorry about the misinformation of the timing. The crankshaft has 2 sets of point. First, one that is painted in white which I used for the timing belt installation. Second, a group of 3 points with the one in the center, which should be painted in red, but is not. As a result I was checking ignition timing with the white point, for that reason I was seen the timing 1 inch behind. What I am planning to do is getting the distributor back where it was, and getting a red marker to paint the middle mark. But right now the weather is so terrible, so I'll wait for a better day to do it. Thanks and sorry again for my ignorance.

 

[arod2013]

Hi guys, it is me again with the same problem. But I think that I found what is causing it. I followed the troubleshooting from the honda manual and I got to the point that it is telling me this "Repair open in the GRN wire between the radiator fan relay and the PCM" because I got battery voltage from the No 4 terminal of the radiator fan relay 4P socket and the body ground. Also, I get the same answer for the condenser fan. Can you guys give me an idea of the procedure how to do that. And please help me out,because I am totally frustrated. Sorry one more question what the GRN stand for, It is ground or a green wire.