I have a 2012 Fit Sport I am the original owner with 207,000 miles on the ole girl. The car owes me nothing I love it.

Last week i noticed a strange noise when the radiator cooling fans were on. Sound like a stick or something hitting the blade.
The strange thing is if the fan is running but the engine is not the fans sound fine. If the engine is running and the fans come on it sounds like a stick or something hitting the blades.

I figured I had a out of balance or damaged blade or a bearing going bad on one of the fans so I replaced both fans with direct plug and play units from NAPA. This did NOT fix the issue.
When I pulled the factory fans out both spun fine with my finger neither had a broken or damage blades or flanges.

My point is it is not the fans making the noise but you only hear the noise when the fans are on. Also when its making the strange sound if the engine is running you can rev the engine and the sound revs with it.

I am in $300 already on parts and some coolant. Thought about paying the Local honda dealer $100 to diagnose it for me because I am out of ideas except maybe the relays? Possibly the Alternator?

any ideas I appreciate!

 

update I changed the relays 2 of them that control the radiator fan and the condenser fan. The problem is still ongoing. I noticed today that if I turn the cabin fan on and the fans come on they run for 2 seconds and then kick off and then right back on for 2 seconds and back off. I do not remember it being like this.

At this point the issue is driving me mad and I cannot exactly remember what is new and what is normal. I drive 32 miles one way to work I need a vehicle i can rely on and with summer coming and hot weather I just dont feel like I can trust her at the moment.

Most Americans sadly at this point would evaluate their financial status and think about buying a newer car with far less miles on it. I am not at that point yet but the truth is it needs new suspension, on top of what ever this electrical issue is. It needs a new ac comp and clutch which isnt cheap the ALT is still the factory unit and it is not cheap even for a NAPA unit.

It just kinda sucks I love the car and the final nail in the coffin is its a Michigan car driven in road salt its entire life. I doubt at this point if it would even be a good candidate for a K swap.

 

Pay the diag fee. Stop devaluing your own time.

Sounds like it could be AC related. Fans generally kick on with AC on to pull air through the condenser. You already know it's bad...

If it sounds like a stick hitting it make sure it is in fact the fans. Your AC compressor could be trying to cycle causing said issue.

If you can't figure it out your self muster them dollerinos up. You'll spend more time pulling your own hair out and maybe realize courage is better than timidity.

Too bad you're not close to PA I'd hook you up in a heart beat. Keep us updated

 

Yea its going in on Friday. That would explain the noise only happening when the fans come on if the engine is running. If the engine is not running and the fans come on they sound good run fine. If the engine is running they sound like a stick hitting the fan blade.
Man I think you are onto something with the compressor clutch. Thank you for pointing me in a new direction.

 

sorry for the late update i was without power for several days.

I replaced the serp belt with a smaller unit and bypassed the ac compressor and seems to have fixed the issue I no longer hear any noise like sticks in my radiator fan.

The culprit was the ac clutch. No longer a problem