Fan started up with car off

[hewofmatt]

I was sitting outside today and noticed my fan started up on my car while the car was off, with no keys in it or anything. It was a hot day, but is this normal? Has anybody else noticed this? I'm just wondering if there's electrical problem that i need to fix, or if it's normal for it to do that even with the ignition off.

[russiankid]

I believe this is normal on the EFI models.

[Civic Accord Honda]

indeed its sopose to do that lol

[forrest89sei]

Yes All EFI Accords do that

[hewofmatt]

Thanks guys, I figured it was normal. Just wanted to make sure.

[nswst8]

Not normal, yes the fan will come on if it is overheating. I have an 89 LXi and I live in San antonio, TX. My fan does not come on while off. Yes it is a safety feature to keep the car from overheating, but it is also an early warning sign that something is not functioning correctly.

Go thru your cooling check list.

Whats your location? Are you running coolant or water and what mixture?

Coolant change
Thermostat
Water pump
Radiator cap
Temp sensors
All the water hoses, not just the radiator hoses.

Find the problem before you blow the head gasket.

[Pico]

nswst is right.
My fan did the same for a while, turned out I had air in the cooling system causing it to run slightly hotter. I bleed the system and all is fine at the moment

[hewofmatt]

wow, i liked the first replies better.
I live on the Ohio/West Virginia border. I drove the car a few different places this morning covering a total of 15 miles or so. I parked the car at 1:30 PM and noticed the fan coming on about 2:00-2:30 when it was about 90 degrees out.

[cdm18911]

mine does this frequently, temp gauge never goes up...i'll have to take these things into consideration

[Civic Accord Honda]

mine did it after i washed the engine bay good and kept doing it for about 3 months then stoped again untill the next time i washed the engine bay O_o

[nswst8]

wow, i liked the first replies better.
I live on the Ohio/West Virginia border. I drove the car a few different places this morning covering a total of 15 miles or so. I parked the car at 1:30 PM and noticed the fan coming on about 2:00-2:30 when it was about 90 degrees out.

You will have to run down the check list and refer to Picopop suggestion Bleed the system. Your cooling system is trying to tell you that you have a problem.

mine does this frequently, temp gauge never goes up...i'll have to take these things into consideration

Again as above your system is trying to tell you that you have a problem.

mine did it after i washed the engine bay good and kept doing it for about 3 months then stoped again untill the next time i washed the engine bay O_o

You probably have a ground short in the temp sensors, sounds as if it takes time for the condisation to disipate.

[nswst8]

I use to have a 79 olds that would overheat constantly that on a relocation from Cali to Fl it developed a leak at the intake manifold/head gasket. The shop didn't have a replacemnt rad cap and couldn't test the old one, long story short it turned out to be a $4.29 radiator cap that cost me time and about $500 dollars in the mid 80s.

These accord cooling systems are great and if maintained properly will keep your engine cooled as it should. The only down fall is all the little cooling hoses that you have to check.

[Dr_Snooz]

Alright, I don't mean to pick a fight, but you're about to send these guys on a wild-goose chase. Five year old rust-colored coolant and bulging, seepy hoses are a problem. Cooling fans are NOT!!!

According to the shop manual:
"When the coolant temperature is above approx. 226 deg. F after the engine is stopped, the condenser fan goes into operation to cool the engine for a maximum of 15 minutes. When the temperature falls below 214 deg. F, the fan is stopped."

The fans are designed to turn on with the car off and a normally functioning system will do this.

[nswst8]

No worries, the fans are designed to keep running after the car is turned off. Adding that their systems are operating normally. 19,20,22,23 year old cars.

But my experience with these cars and I have owned this one since 93 is that if your fans are coming on there is an underlying concern that you should address just because of the age. I lived in Florida where the heat hits 100 and now in Texas were I converted back to R-12 just because of the heat. And my fans do not come on once the car is shut off.

The fans coming on after shutting down the engine is a last ditch effort to keep heat from damaging the engine.

[MessyHonda]

mine would do that but not anymore...cuz my sensor is busted so i just jumped the connection

[frantik]

i'm pretty sure it's a normal function of the LX-i. My car runs great, I have new pumps, belts and hoses, and the fan turns on from time to time after it's been running a while. On page 83 of my manual it says:

Keep hands away from the radiator fan. The fan may start automatically without warning and run for 15 minutes even after the engine is turned off. (On the LX-i)

it doesn't say anything about it being a sign of a problem....

[nswst8]

i'm pretty sure it's a normal function of the LX-i. My car runs great, I have new pumps, belts and hoses, and the fan turns on from time to time after it's been running a while. On page 83 of my manual it says:

it doesn't say anything about it being a sign of a problem....

Yes, again these cars are aged and neglected most of the time. Its is my experience (I'm 44, had this car since 1994) that when the fans run after engine off it is either an excessively hot day 100+ degree day or a neglected cooling system.

I'm in San antonio, TX and my fans do not come on after engine off. And yes they do work.

Most of these guys are saying that their fans come on constantly, thats not the sign of a well running cooling system.

[Oldblueaccord]

I'll have to agree. my car does not turn the fans(motor off) on unless I am at a very high altitude. I think the best thing is to get a temp guage installed and see what is going on. Changing the radaitor cap and making sure the overflow bottle is filled to the proper level as well.

Now that being said my 92 wagon does turn them on quite a bit just stopped this week actaully. I would still consider this not normal and that the car does run a little hot but not enough to do any kind of damage. I cleaned the front of the radaitor,the power steering cooler hose must have a leak, and this helped alot. My buddy at work has the same car and his rarely come on he has told me.


wp

[cubert]

my 88 Lx-i would do this from time to time...and I dont think the temp gauge ever made it over halfway (rarely would it make it there even..) and there was nothing wrong with the cooling system. i dont think you have anything to worry about...

[Oldblueaccord]

Just to dredge up an oldie.


I was thinking if having an Auto trans car maybe the heat after the car is off makes the fans come on more then a 5 speed car does. My wifes 92 accord auto the fans come on all the time after the car is off. Not really a direct comparison but something I was thinking about.


wp

[Dr_Snooz]

I think it's one of the mysteries of life, like why does bread always land butter side down?

[evil88accordLX]

the butter side is heavier. the greater the mass of an object, the more gravity acts upon it. plus butter is just an asshole and will go out of its way to fuck your day up.

[Ichiban]

the butter side is heavier. the greater the mass of an object, the more gravity acts upon it. plus butter is just an asshole and will go out of its way to fuck your day up.

Well, if cats always land on their feet, and bread lands butter side down, what happens if you strap buttered bread to the back of a cat, and toss them both off the table. Will they spin? Hover? Explode? I wanna know.

The mechanical temp gauge in my 2g would always peak about 5 minutes after shutting it off. I attribute this to the fact that there's still heat coming out of the block, but the coolant isn't being cooled by flowing through the rad. I believe it's called "Heat soak".

[evil88accordLX]

my friend has a cat, ill give it a try. i have a feeling the experiments end result will be nothing more than his claws in my face though.

[Dr_Snooz]

the butter side is heavier. the greater the mass of an object, the more gravity acts upon it. plus butter is just an asshole and will go out of its way to fuck your day up.

Well, if cats always land on their feet, and bread lands butter side down, what happens if you strap buttered bread to the back of a cat, and toss them both off the table. Will they spin? Hover? Explode? I wanna know.

The mechanical temp gauge in my 2g would always peak about 5 minutes after shutting it off. I attribute this to the fact that there's still heat coming out of the block, but the coolant isn't being cooled by flowing through the rad. I believe it's called "Heat soak".

my friend has a cat, ill give it a try. i have a feeling the experiments end result will be nothing more than his claws in my face though.

Thanks! I needed that. (not sure why my smilies are all FUBAR)