Could someone do me a favor to help me diagnose a little problem I'm having. After tearing my car apart and putting it all back together I noticed some smoke coming from under the hood. Looks more like steam actually. Guage doesn't show overheating. I haven't even begun to pull out of the driveway mind you but the car is warmed up. Now when I was installing my EBC I spilled some coolant all inside the engine bay BUT I noticed my fan wasn't spinning. Double

So could someone pop up their hood and start their car and please check their fan. Is it running from start up or does it take awhile to start spinning. I think the reason I'm seeing steam or smoke come out of the radiator (that's where it's coming from) is because the fan isn't operating to cool it down or blow it out. I can't figure out how it stopped working other than a plug might have gotten loosened a little from when I unbolted it to get to the vacuum hoses.

I'm hoping it's either A) just excess coolant burning off or B) a loose plug. I really can't think of anything else. I was really careful about what I did and took off and put on.

 

bump

 

Hmm. Most electric fans won't begin running until the computer determines that it's required. Chances are you're just burning off extra coolant.

If you're afraid to drive the car, warm it up in the driveway and then hit the A/C. After a short while, the temp should be at the proper lever for the fan to kick on.

It's almost impossible to hear the fan from inside the cabin, you might want to sit outside it and catch some sun while you wait.

The fan will run at engine idle, since there is no airflow to provide cooling, it will kick on faster than if you were actually moving. Remember, once the fan starts, it'll shut down once the temp falls back into acceptable ranges. You will need to be paying attention to see if it kicks on.

If coolant is your problem, it should bake off without too much trouble. You can always hose down your engine bay, just so long as you let it dry for a while afterwards before running the engine.

If you get bored, spray down the engine bay, let the car air dry for an hour or two and start her up again.

 

sounds like you're burning up the spilled coolant...no biggie. What does it smell like? If its fairly pungent it's the coolant.

 

It's definitely burning coolant. Has that sweet, pungeant smell. Just kinda freaky seeing steam coming out of the radiator. I spilled a lot though. I guess as long as the car isn't overheating I shouldn't have too much to worry about. I'll try letting it sit at idle with the AC on and see if the fan kicks in. I have the hood popped open so I can see if it's going or not. Thanks.