For some reason my radiator fan has gone out and now the engine's overheating, I already checked the fuse, I still need to check the relay. One thing I'm worried about is it only takes about five minutes for the motor to overheat (starting out cold) could this be just because the fan's out or is something else wrong? I'll update once I check voltage at the fan and check the relay.

P.S. my civic is a '92 vx

 

Does it overheat when driving or just when sitting still? When driving you don't need the fan. Note that if the thermostat is stuck closed, the engine will overheat, yet the fan may not come on.

To test the fan circuit unplug the fan switch in the thermostat housing (where the lower radiator hose meets the engine) and jumper the two pins in the plug on the car side. Now the fan should run constantly whenever the key is on. If it doesn't, check if voltage is reaching the motor -- voltage reaching the motor but it doesn't run means the motor is bad. No voltage to the motor, check the fuse and relay.

Test drive with the jumper in place so the fan runs all the time. If it doesn't overheat, replace the fan switch. If it still does, the thermostat would be the next thing to consider. Just replace it.

 

Actually it overheated when I was on the highway doing 55, so I'm suspecting the thermostat- you're saying it's possible that a bad thermostat is keeping the fans from switching on because it's not allowing coolant to circulate?

 

check the wires for the fan to make sure that it is getting power to it. the fan could be the problem or the wires itself. if that isnt the solution then change the thermostat. but u could change the thermostat first being that its cheap. it shouldnt be more than $10-$15.

 

just bypassed the switch and the fan came on when I turned the key so I'm pretty sure it's the thermostat. I'll update when I replace it.