Engine Fans

hello

i have a 92 civic si and would like to know if the 2 fans at the front of
the bay should move when the engine is on or when the car is moving??

cheers

paul

 

Paul,

One of the fans should come on only when the A/C is on, the other is
controlled by a thermo-switch (sensing the coolant temperature) and will
typically cycle on and off when you are in slow traffic etc. If you let
the engine idle for a while ( 5 - 10 minutes) you should see it come on.

 

*****But only if it's themostat wants it on.****

Fans only run when needed, a cold engine needs to warm up quickly to
minimise emmisions. Fans also use energy, so why waste it.

 

Are you sure about that? I've never owned a '92 Civic but all the other
Hondas/Acuras I've owned always ran both fans together, whether due to the
A/C being on or the coolant thermoswitch triggering them.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I always wondered why both fans ran on my Accord when the AC was on. When
highway cruising, there's a good chance that neither fan is really needed,
dependent on temperature/load conditions. Running the radiator fan "just
because" when the coolant isn't overly hot just seems to be a waste of
electricity, which means MPG will decrease a very negligable amount. The
extra wear on the fan motor also seems like a waste!
I always felt thermoswitches were there to turn the fans on when needed.