I am at wit's end. My 90 civic hatchback 1.5l F/I, no a/c
has a cooling fan that won't run. Replaced the thermo switch - even though
now I don't think it was bad, the fan motor is good and i did find a blown
fuse. The fuse was replaced, has not blown again, but still no fan. I
bypassed the thermo switch, still no fan. The dealer says there is a relay
in that circuit, doesn't know where. Haynes shows a generic skematic with a
relay in the circuit but the troubleshooting instructions don't mention
it.My next step is to trace the wires from the thermo to the fan- what fun.
any help appreciated.
Lou

 

There definitely is a relay in the circuit. I checked the cooling fan relay for
my 91 Civic, no A/C, a few weeks ago.

http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/Concert...k301/16-77.pdf , page 1, shows
about where it is. Mine is under the hood in the car's right, front corner, just
forward and maybe a little below the level of the of the air filter in its box,
IIRC. Trace the wires from the fan's motor, and you should come to it. It's not
hard to find. Kind of a pain to disconnect for testing, but maybe that's just my
inexperience with electrical connectors. It's do-able even by the neophyte.

The site above also has instructions on how to test the relay (page 4).

Note: The 1990 Concerto engine is identical or nearly so to the 1990 Civic
engine.

www.autozone.com reproduces what's in my Chilton's and mentions the relay, but
gives no other information. If you want to see it, click on the "free repair
guides" link on the right and put in your car's info. It's under "engine &
engine overhaul, "engine mechanical," "cooling fan."

Updates are welcome.

Good luck.

"L. Ayende" <ayendel@nuvox.net> wrote
> I am at wit's end. My 90 civic hatchback 1.5l F/I, no a/c
> has a cooling fan that won't run. Replaced the thermo switch - even though
> now I don't think it was bad, the fan motor is good and i did find a blown
> fuse. The fuse was replaced, has not blown again, but still no fan. I
> bypassed the thermo switch, still no fan. The dealer says there is a relay
> in that circuit, doesn't know where. Haynes shows a generic skematic with a
> relay in the circuit but the troubleshooting instructions don't mention
> it.My next step is to trace the wires from the thermo to the fan- what fun.
> any help appreciated.
> Lou
>
>

 

In article <10fi60es859mt77@corp.supernews.com>, "L. Ayende"
<ayendel@nuvox.net> wrote:

>I am at wit's end. My 90 civic hatchback 1.5l F/I, no a/c
>has a cooling fan that won't run. Replaced the thermo switch - even though
>now I don't think it was bad, the fan motor is good and i did find a blown
>fuse. The fuse was replaced, has not blown again, but still no fan. I
>bypassed the thermo switch, still no fan. The dealer says there is a relay
>in that circuit, doesn't know where. Haynes shows a generic skematic with a
>relay in the circuit but the troubleshooting instructions don't mention
>it.My next step is to trace the wires from the thermo to the fan- what fun.
>any help appreciated.
>Lou

I think the relay is in the underhood fuse box.

There is also a "timer" in the circuit, located under the dash near the
steering post (on an 84 Civic anyway).
It's a black, plastic box about 3.5" sq. by about 1" thick. A bit pricey!