Engine Cooling problem
2000 Acura TL 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 248000 miles
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I have a high mileage TL that normally runs very cool. Lately, I have noticed issues with the heater... it seems to be blowing humid air... which fogs up the windshield... the A/C is not working, and when driving up hill slowly, the car is overheating. Flat ground the temp gauge is at the halfway point (hot for this car)... with the AC fan circulating, the car is marginally fine. (minus any slow climbs)

The A/C fan comes on but not the other radiator fan... we have swapped the relay... a mechanic said it was not the thermostat, and recently replaced the Timer/Fan/Heater Control chip. The waterpump was replaced in November with the timing belt. (not sure about the thermostat)

The fan, when plugged into the A/C fan plug, works perfectly.

Any thoughts on what this could be? I'm $200.00 into repairs on this issue, and nothing to show for it... Any help you can send me would be greatly appreciated.

Hi hocki,

Are you losing coolant from the system? Check radiator coolant level. The heater core might be leaking.


Both fans should work in tandem. Check if power is present at radiator fan relay, 1 terminal shuld be hot at all times while another will get power when ignition switch is turned on.

Does bridging the relay terminals for the fans works? If power is present and bridging does not work, you need to check for open circuit from relay to fan motor. Relay terminals tends to heat up and cause bad connections.