The fan on my A/C and heater of my '07 Fit quit working last fall, but since it quit at the beginning of a 60 mile trip and started working at the end, I didn't do anything about it.

It quit working again a few weeks ago, but I didn't get it fixed because I don't know a good mechanic near where I'm going to grad school and was going to wait until I went to my parents some weekend and use their mechanic on a Monday.

Wednesday night my battery light came on when I got in the car for a 3 mile trip to the store (in 30 degree weather, with headlights on). By the time I got back from the store, most of my trouble lights came on and my power steering went out, although the engine stayed on long enough for me to find a parking spot.

I don't know if it is the alternator (and I should go to a mechanic recommended on a local message board) or the 5 year old battery (and I should get a tow to the dealer where they will have the 151R battery). I went through 2 batteries in the first 5 years, although I did a lot more short trips in those years, and for most of the second 5 years I haven't been driving daily and/or had longer trips.

The past month has been a lot more short trips with the radio on, whereas I didn't have the radio on for months because of problems with the radio reset code after leaving the lights on. Could the alternator/battery being low be the reason the fan hasn't been working? If the fan is an independent problem, that's another reason why I should go to the local mechanic.

Any thoughts?

 

Juggling a lot of "possibilities" here. And several possibly related or divergent symptoms.
But at this point your vehicle is dead. Throwing codes.
I think if it was me? I'd just take it to a dealership which hopefully can diagnose the whole picture, and have the parts available to fix it, including possibly a battery.

But it's up to you. A qualified, competent independent should be able to source you a correct battery. If they can't do that? I wouldn't want them working on my vehicle period.

Some people absolutely will not use a dealership because of perceived cost. It usually isn't the cheapest option.

But at this point...non running vehicle, you just need to find out what is wrong. Then get it fixed.
It's always a gamble. But if I was placing the bet, at this point I'd just go with dealership.

Good Luck.

 

I'd try replacing the 5 year old battery as a first step. No need to tow to a dealer if you can get a friend to give you a ride to get the battery. Change the battery in your car, then drop off the old batter for the "core charge" refund.

Here's a tutorial on a 2008, should be the same for a 2007: https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2...eplace_battery