'87 LXi sedan radiator fans not turning on

[Temeku]

I noticed when leaving the store the other day, that when idling in the parking lot for a few minutes, my temp gauge started going up past halfway and I was quick to shut the engine off. It hadn't done this at any other point recently until a few days ago, but this problem did also happen in July of last year. At that time, I had the car towed to a shop, and they replaced the radiator cap, cooling fan motor, fan switch, and repaired a resistor on the fan timer module. They told me they soldered a part for the fan timer module. Coolant was also flushed and replaced.

No problems with cooling again for months until just a few days ago. After letting the engine initially cool down, I popped the hood and started the engine again, closely watching the temp gauge and waiting for the radiator fans to kick on when the engine reached operating temperature. Both fans never turned on, and eventually the temp gauge started going past halfway again before I shut it off. Unlike in last July, this time the coolant did not appear to be boiling over at all (last July it was boiling when I pulled over and gushing out of the coolant reservoir tank).

No coolant leaks, coolant level and color in reservoir tank is OK, hoses are good, no PGM-FI light, head gasket does not appear to be blown. I have the car back at the house and want to tackle this problem myself since it seems to mirror the problem from last July. I'm just looking for some direction on where I should start. I had the auto shop email me the RO from the repair done on my car last July.

Vehicle: 1987 Honda Accord LXi sedan, 190k miles, owned since 2018.

[Oldblueaccord]

Good chance it is the control box again since they just repaired a resistor in it...im just guessing. I would also check the underdash fuse box and see if there is a fuse blown.

In a pinch if you turn the AC button on even if you ac doesnt work it should force the fan on to keep you from over heating. Also running the heat full blast with the fan on full should keep you from over heating.

You did the correct thing buy stopping if its over heating you could blow the head gasket if the engine gets to hot.

[ShiRen]

Half way isn't near enough to hurt it. Depending on the car, it might not even be enough to kick the fans on.
Verify that the fans come on with the ac, then maybe try again and if they don't turn on, hit the AC at 3/4. Also, check the temp with an IR thermometer