its not my post i help people and its just that we have a few rules...
its just not fair to the one who created the thread..it takes the helpers attention away from them to help sombody else...and also this thread is old...
but since your already here....
the fan doesnt run to the ecu...does your fans come on when you turn on the a/c?

 

yea the fans run with the ac on, ac is broke but the fans work, i just wasn't sure if it was directly controlled like most cars or controlled by input and output signals from the ecu, seen more then a few like that.

 

[quote=94civichatchback;your engine is a d16y7[/quote]

D16y8, actually. They all seem to have EX models.

 

Hey lostforawhile,

So did you replace the sending unit? Isn't there a sensor (cheaper) that you could test first? Just trying to give you some more ideas. Let us know how your issue works out.

As for mine...since I replaced the thermostat I have had ZERO problems. YAY!

 

not yet nappa has to order it, no one else has it,of course the eight dollar autozone one is the wrong range unit, the car does not overheat from a cold engine in 30 seconds. nothing from autozone electrical ever seems to work. stupid sender for the gauge is 20 bucks at nappa, i have to drive to valdosta tomorrow so i'l keep a careful eye on it, only seems to overheat in traffic after a while, I also replaced the thermostat about 2 weeks ago, cheap and easy to fix, I'm thinking once that sender hits a range just a little higher then midway,it goes out of range, not unusual for a resistive sensor, the sender gets baked for years then it develops a critical temp where it doesn't read correctly after. the radiator is also only a couple of years old, first thing this car did when we brought it home was split the old radiator in the driveway as soon as we pulled up in it, been jinxed ever since. the coolant is clean with no signs of corrosion, has been as long as we've had it.

 

Ok the sender was part of the problem,now i'm chasing an electrical mystery, before both fans came on with the ac,now i switch on the ac and only the condenser fan comes on, I checked the underhood fuse, pulled it and checked it with a meter, it's good, i swapped the ac condenser fan relay and the fan relay, problem stays the same, i have no voltage at the connection going into the cooling fan, trying to chase it backwards, looking at the plug by the fusebox where it plugs in . been working on car electrical for 20 years and whoever designed those plugs was an idiot, they never want to come apart,tab pressed or not. This has to be electrical, because every honda i've seen has the cooling relay come on with the ac condenser relay.

 

Actually, in the 98 LX, the condenser fan and radiator fan work independently of each other.

 

Ok after searching, i jumpered the fan temp switch in the thermostat housing, and now the fan works, I think I may have had two problems at once, not suprising with the number of electrical problems this car has had. Did Lucas start making wiring harnesses for Honda? It seems like it, the temp gauge was making it appear the engine was heating up and cooling down in ways that are physicially impossible, the engine does not red line then cool down in 1 second to normal temp. needle was bouncing all over the place, I put the new sensor in, and the nedle is stable,but the fan never comes on, let it idle to the point it should come on, and nothing needle stays stable though,not shooting up. even seen the needle redline on a cold engine that had sat all night,no way did it heat up that fast.

 

You may need to replace the fan switch on the thermostat housing if the engine is hot and the fan does not run. Alternatively, the crazy dash temp readings suggest that air is trapped in the cooling system. Here's how you bleed the system:

Procedure may take 20-30 minutes:

1) Park the car on an inclined driveway with the front end higher than the rear.

2) Push the dash heater lever/**** to MAX heat.

3) Follow the directions in the diagram below (your engine does not have a bleed bolt so skip that step below):

 

i'll have to remember to modify that thermostat housing and tig weld on a bung for a bleed fitting.