Big AL

Hey all, I thought I'd share my experiences with my car overheating so that maybe others can benefit from this information and since I didn't find too much info regarding my experience on here. For the past couple of weeks, my car has been overheating whenever it's like 90+ degrees outside while sitting in traffic with the A/C on but it would be fine when the car was moving. At first I did the obvious like check the coolant level and it was a little low so I filled it up but it was still overheating. Then I replaced my thermostat but once again it was still overheating. Then I noticed only one of my two radiator fans coming on so I thought maybe it's the switch near the thermostat housing. I tested the voltage on the line near the switch and again at the fan. Both times I registered 14 volts so I was convinced it was the switch. I replaced it but the fan was still not coming on.

Then I decided to do something dangerous. With the other fan spinning I gave the non working fan a little push on the blades and it started spinning albeit very slowly. That's when I realized it was the fan motor. So I go to Autozone and buy a fan motor but the guy at the counter said there were two different models to choose from. One was $47 and the other was like $130. All he knew was that one was for the Nippondenso motor and the other was for the Valeo motor. Given that I knew I have Denso parts in my car I bought the $47 (Denso) one and it turned out to be the right one. It was pretty easy to install and only took me 30 minutes. I didn't even have to remove the radiator like some people think you do. All I had to remove was the overflow tank but it's not even bolted in. It's just sitting in there with a wedge type clip. I had to remove the entire fan shroud to replace the radiator fan motor but luckily there are only two bolts on top to remove. The bottom is sitting on rubber grommets. It was a tight squeeze to remove but I was determined not to drain the radiator, remove it and then refill it again. Also, the new fan motor wires didn't include a socket to plug into the existing wiring. The wiring was bare so I had to splice into the existing wiring. Works perfect now. I was also going to post pics but my digital camera is on the fritz.

Misa

glad it worked out for you.

rwtompkins

Thanks - that is pretty close to what is happening to my 99 accord, the fans keep shutting off and on causing it to overheat when not moving