Radiator Fan and A/c Fan

euphoria1zz

Hi, I have a honda FRV. The A/c doesn't work as there's no refrigerant as there's small leaks in pipe and radiator would need replacing costing over £1k. The clutch engages, compressor works as does the a/c fan. I have decided not to get it repaired as I don't really need the a/c.

My question is regarding the radiator fan. I know when you turn a/c on it turns both fans on.  But now the a/c doesn't work, does that mean the A/c fan will not turn on?  I no longer hear the clicking sound that i used to. Reason i ask is on long journeys i would prefer both fans to be on constantly to keep the engine cool rather than the radiator fan coming on and off depending on temperature.

Thanks

AdrianC

There is no "a/c fan".

The rad fan is turned on when the aircon comes on, to keep air flowing over the condenser. It should still come on as normal when the coolant reaches the upper bounds of the normal range. If the coolant gets really hot, the fans will kick into high speed and/or both fans.

The interior fan works on all speeds whether the aircon is on or not, either manually or as the climate "auto" mode decides, depending on what your car has.

When the pressure is low in the aircon refrigerant circuit, the pressure switch turns the whole lot off, so the rad fan doesn't come on automatically - there's no point, since there's no need for the airflow over the condenser.

There's no need for the rad fan to be on all the time - it adds nothing at all when the coolant is in the normal range, and on a "long journey" I presume you're doing speeds that'll keep the air flowing over the rad anyway. It's of most benefit in urban stop-start, when there's no natural airflow and more heatsoak, and will come on as required.

If you're really paranoid about coolant temps, and don't intend to fix the aircon refrigerant circuit, then you may as well get the condenser removed completely, and improve airflow over the rad. But basic maintenance of the cooling system is all that's needed - remember, these are cars sold globally, including in countries with FAR higher ambient temps than the UK. Summer in Japan can frequently be 35-40 degC, easily.

chrisw

euphoria1zz said:

Hi, I have a honda FRV. The A/c doesn't work as there's no refrigerant as there's small leaks in pipe and radiator would need replacing costing over £1k. The clutch engages, compressor works as does the a/c fan. I have decided not to get it repaired as I don't really need the a/c.

The clutch won't engage and the compressor won't work if there's no or low refrigerant. The clicking sound you can no longer hear was the clutch engaging to drive the compressor. The car's cooling system will have been designed to cope without the a/c fan in case it's left turned off or not working as in your case.

In short, don't worry about it.