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Hi all, 2012 Fit, was working on draining and refilling my transmission. Was wondering how long exactly until the radiator fan turns on after I turn my car on and let it sit there in idle? Should it be in a matter of a couple minutes or so?
Just for clarification, is the radiator fan the two fans that turn on when I turn my heat on? Those two only seem to turn on when I turn the heat on, and I think my AC as well.
Depends on the outside temperature. I drained and filled my transmission two weeks ago and then tried to get the fan to turn on, and it never did. Outside temperature about 35 degreess. In the summer,it will come on in about 15 to 20 minutes, outside temp about 85 degrees. My fan doesn't turn on until the water temperature reaches about 210 degrees on the Scanguage. I've more or less given up on the fan start thing and when the temperature gets to 190 degrees, I'll check it then. I doubt if the dealer or a fluid change place waits until the fan turns on, and follows the time limit recommendation in the manual.
Wow. That is a long time for the vehicle to be in idle! =o
Thank you very much for the information.
Well, after flushing the ATF, refilling, then driving for quite a while and arriving back home, I waited 60-90 seconds and checked the dipstick, wiped it off, then took it out again - looks like I filled up too much ATF. Is this enough to be a major concern for the transmission?
When I fill mine, I put a little less in than came out, then check the stick. Usually it's a bit below the line at the bottom on the hash marks. I then add 2 oz. and drive around some. Let it sit for an hour or two, then check again. Then repeat as necessary. Adding 2 oz. brings the level up maybe one of those diamond shapes (or whatever you call them). It looks like yours is at the O in the word HOT, maybe a little lower. That would be about 4 oz. too much. I can't see that an extra 4 oz. in the transmission would matter much, but if you want to bring it down some, just crack the drain nut a bit and take a little out. Or keep inserting and pulling the stick out and let the fluid drip off the stick (I have no idea how long that last method would take). Make sure you check the level when the car is sitting level; even a slight incline changes the level on the stick. I found that out because I have a sloped driveway.
My question is: is the ATF supposed to be within the hash marks when the fluid is hot, from driving the car around for 15-20 minutes, or however long, or is the fluid supposed to be within that range when the fluid is cold, and the car has not been driven for good while?
2. Warm up the engine to normal operating temperatures (the radiator fan comes on), then turn the engine off. Do not allow the engine to warm up longer than the time it takes for the radiator fan to come on twice. NOTE: Check the fluid level within 60-90 seconds after turning the engine off. Higher fluid level may be indicated if the radiator fan comes on twice or more."
It doesn't say anything about driving the car around then checking the fluid. I don't know if that matters; maybe by driving around more fluid is inside the transmission than in the sump where the stick goes. Also, I have no idea what the "normal operating temperature" is from Honda's point of view. My Fit stays between 175 - 179 degrees when I'm driving. Unless I'm stuck in traffic on a hot day - I've seen it go up to 235 degrees when sitting in the Holland Tunnel traffic in the summer. When I check mine I always wait about 30 minutes or so after driving, then let it idle to get it up to about 190 degrees. Then I do the checks.
Yeah. Thank you. Do you have a tool to check the temperature of your vehicle?
Thing is, I have no idea what the radiator fan sounds like when it does come on. In fact, I am scrolling through the Service manual, trying to find what the radiator fan looks like and such, and I keep coming across this, "Start the engine. Hold the engine speed at 3,000 rpm without load (in P or N) until the radiator fan comes on, then let it idle." I guess that is helpful, but if we don't know what the radiator fan sounds like when it comes on, then that does not do us too much good. 😆 Also, I do wonder how long it would take for the radiator fan to kick on by holding the engine speed at 3,000 RPM? Is that bad for the car to be running the engine like that in park for however long at 3,000 RPM?
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! Letter "C," pointing to that fan on the right, is the Radiator fan?! HAVE I ACTUALLY DISCOVERED THE LOCATION OF THE INFAMOUS RADIATOR FAN?! 😲 All this time I thought it was some mysterious, hidden fan, behind the engine block, or some unseen location! Alas, I have looked at it over 9,000 times already! 😆 This all makes sense now. 😆
Why is is that, say, when I turn the heat on both of these come on at the same time shortly thereafter, even if I just turned my car on shortly before?
By turning the heat on, thus causing the radiator fan to kick on, does that qualify for the "Warm up the engine to normal operating temperatures (the radiator fan comes on)"?
If what you're saying is accurate (I've never checked) I'd assume the circuit for the air conditioning overrides the one for the radiator fan to ensure things don't get too hot under additional load of the A/C compressor. I believe that the manufacturer is accounting for lack of knowledge possessed by the average operator, and in so doing stating that it is more important to avoid overheating than worry about the engine achieving ideal operating temps.
You're correct in regards to the rad fan location, btw. With the kinds of questions you ask, you're going to be quite the pro in a couple years, my friend.
