YACT: Car freaks of ATOT, help!

[Schadenfreude]

I have a '93 Honda Civic Ex Coupe

Last Tuesday, I driving along, when all of a sudden I smell this funky fish-type smell. Oblivious, I thought it was just something around town: it turns out, that I was wrong.

After I reached my intended destination, I noticed that my car was "smoking" under the hood.

Now let's skip forward to the rason: after I called a buddy of mine, we found out that the radiator fan isn't working, so the thing's overheating: and the "smoke" was the antifreeze bubbling over due to the built up pressure. Here's a list of what we did:

- Directly connected the fan to the battery - the fan works.
- Replaced the Temperature sensor: nothing new - the gauge worked fine before, so it wasn't that.
- Replaced the fan switch: nothing.
- We also tried switching around the relay wth another one (rear defroster), which didn't help.

Now we're thinking it's the wiring, and none of know what the hell we're doing, so I've given up - I'm going to drop it off at the mechanic shop tomorrow to get a diagnostic, at least.

Of course, as a last huzzah, I thought I'd bring it up here, to see if there's anyone knowledgeable about this stuff. Is there something else that I missed?

 

[mwmorph]

You drove it smoking for how long? Did you not notice the temp guage at the very top?

I'd do a compression check too, make sure you didnt blow the headgasket with it.

Sorry cant give you a diagnosis for the electrical though, I'm only certified in brakes, suspension engine repair and engine performance. I'd probably fail the electrical ase.

 

[Heisenberg]

Did you check the fuse/fusible link to the fan?

 

[Schadenfreude]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Did you check the fuse/fusible link to the fan?

Oh, yes we did. I forgot to mention that the relay was in the fusebox and we checked it out at the same time. The fuse was intact.

 

[PG]

thermostat

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: Schadenfreude

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Did you check the fuse/fusible link to the fan?

Oh, yes we did. I forgot to mention that the relay was in the fusebox and we checked it out at the same time. The fuse was intact.

Well it seems like you checked all the obvious things I can think of anyway. The next step would be to start working your way through the wiring with a DMM to figure out where the circuit is open.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

Originally posted by: Schadenfreude

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Did you check the fuse/fusible link to the fan?

Oh, yes we did. I forgot to mention that the relay was in the fusebox and we checked it out at the same time. The fuse was intact.

Well it seems like you checked all the obvious things I can think of anyway. The next step would be to start working your way through the wiring with a DMM to figure out where the circuit is open.

That is what I feared. Even if I have the tools to find it, how easy is it to replace? I can't imagine that it's link screwing/unscrweing a simple sensor . . ..

Anyhow, a million thanks, Heisenberg, and all others that posted! I guess I owe you guys a beer if I ever see you!

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: Schadenfreude

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

Originally posted by: Schadenfreude

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Did you check the fuse/fusible link to the fan?

Oh, yes we did. I forgot to mention that the relay was in the fusebox and we checked it out at the same time. The fuse was intact.

Well it seems like you checked all the obvious things I can think of anyway. The next step would be to start working your way through the wiring with a DMM to figure out where the circuit is open.

That is what I feared. Even if I have the tools to find it, how easy is it to replace? I can't imagine that it's link screwing/unscrweing a simple sensor . . ..

Anyhow, a million thanks, Heisenberg, and all others that posted! I guess I owe you guys a beer if I ever see you!

No problem.

Well if the wire is physically broken somewhere it's easy to fix once you find it - just splice in a new piece. Finding it is the major PITA. Also important is determining why it broke/shorted/burned up in the first place as it may indicate a larger problem, or cause future issues.