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Hello everyone,
My name is John. I've already introduced myself in the introductions thread. I've recently purchased a 2000 year Berlina black model. The car has 240K miles and I identified a few issues I hope to get feedback from all of you in the community.
Items I need help with:
1. The car seems to intermittently kick the fan on with A/C off. Last time I let it idle from a cold start it kicked on after 5 mins and then turned off, after that the temperature crept to 221F before I turned on the A/C to kick the fans on? The PO did this when I checked the car out, I figured it would be a simple wiring fix or a temperature sensor. But I guess this car's fans are controlled by the ECU? Anybody able to share the wiring schematic with me? FYI, I noticed the wiring for the headlights have been changed or modded because there's those 2 to 1 cut/clip splices. Not sure if this has anything to do with the wiring of the fans and temperature sensor but possibly they use the power that's supplied to the fans because there close proximity? IDK, a wiring schematic would definitely help though.
2. After a week of letting the car sit without any startups, I attempted to start it and had to turn the ignition off/on several times to prime the fuel lines. What do you guys think? Is this a big deal? It seems if I don't start it for a day, I can start it with no problem.
3. Ok, this too me might is a big deal. I found some radiator stop leak in the radiator after I let the car sit for several days. It's a copperish color and I believe it's Bar's Leak. Anyone have experience with this stuff? Any input of items I should check? When I checked the car out from the PO the car was daily driven and there were no signs of stop leak in the radiator at the time. I've driven the car about 40 miles with no issues while monitoring data from my torque pro app. Previously, I had cylinder 2 and 4 misfire detected but after I cleared the faults they have yet to return.
4. I drained the oil and plan to send it out to Blackstone to get a UOA. The PO used a cheap oil filter. I have a new OEM I will install.
The above items I want to take care of first.
I'd really like to hear what you all think.
I pulled the plugs and they are the recommended plugs. The plugs look good and normal. I checked the gaps and some were a little off so I gapped those.
When I picked up the car I driven it about 40 miles with no issues while monitoring the raw data from torque pro. The car seems to run fine. Other than having to turn the A/C on while idle to keep the coolant temp low with the fans.
I'd really like to get the fan issue fixed first. Put some more miles on it. I am thinking of doing a pressure check on my coolant system, what do you all think? If I suspect I have a cracked block, will this identify it? The car pulls and reaches redline really fast. The PO said the car has been ported, but he also said the car might have been turbo'd in the past. I don't know about that. The car is NA, as I bought it. The dude to me didn't come as a mechanically minded person, so I have little faith in what very little information I got about this car.
Last edited by Jdept; 06-07-2019 at 06:50 PM.
Reason: more info
The fans are controlled in a similar manner as an old pinball machine: relay and switch. The radiator fan thermal switch is in the bottom of the radiator and is most likely bad or may not even be connected. Simple open/closed thermal switch at temperatures noted in my post in your other thread. Any shade tree (or A&P ) mechanic should be able to locate and test the switch. Both fans come on with the AC switch regardless of engine temp as you know. With AC Off they're regulated by the thermal switch in the radiator bottom, not the ECU -- this car ain't that sophisticated. The OEM switch is $50 so test it first and only repeat if needed. Link to switch (Part 11).
There are links to the Honda maintenance and wiring manuals in the library. Several thousand pages between the two but easy to just print the couple of pages you need. Get the real maintenance manual, not the one with the Japanese bikini model on the cover.
I found the service manual online. I followed the troubleshooting steps and used the wiring schematic. I found no problems with the wiring nor the relays. All wiring, grounds, and power checks are good. After I verified all the wiring and relays were good I put some dielectric grease on all the fan related connections. Then when I ops checked the temperature switch it worked everytime and without fault. I swapped relays from A/C and fan side and it remained the same. I did this through like 8 temperature cycles of the fan kicking on and off and not did it once go over 210F. So at this time I am going to keep an eye on it and drive it some.
I also recently changed the oil to Mobil 1 HM 10W-40 with OEM filter. And I cleaned my fabric softtop and treated it with 2 coats of Aerospace 303 fabric guard.
06-07-2019, 08:56 AM
My used 2000 Black and Bruised thread
) mechanic should be able to locate and test the switch. Both fans come on with the AC switch regardless of engine temp as you know. With AC Off they're regulated by the thermal switch in the radiator bottom, not the ECU -- this car ain't that sophisticated. The OEM switch is $50 so test it first and only repeat if needed. Link to switch (Part 11).
