Radiator fan not turning on but will turn on when AC is on

Radiator only turns on when computer tells it to

 

What did your OBD app say the coolant temperature was when the car was at idle for 30 minutes?

EDIT: Except under extreme conditions, the fan shouldn't come on when you're driving. The movement of the car usually provides more than enough air flow over the radiator to sufficiently cool the engine.
Same when you're at idle. If the radiator can keep up with the demand for cooling, then the fan doesn't come on. If the radiator can't keep up, the fan comes on to give some help. Once the cooling demand has been met, the fan shuts off again.

 

I've yet to do a coolant change on our 3rd gen (due this fall), but I have found with previous cars it can take some time for the fan to kick in. Having someone sit in the car keeping the engine rpms slightly raised can help. Also, if you can monitor coolant temp (ScanGuage, or one of various phone apps) you can get some feedback. I'm having a hard time finding spec'd coolant temp for fan to come on, but would guess somewhere around 190~200 Fahrenheit?

 

My radiator fan kicked in when we were taking the intake manifold apart at a meet up, I got poo poo'ed on here and was told you always pull the 12v battery lead off when working on cars. None of the credible videos on here said so

Now that I'm done venting, thought you can get the fans to come on when the heater is turned on high to bleed air bubbles in coolant?

 

It'll take longer to warm up if the heater's on high, since it's dissipating some heat. That said, you want the cabin heater set to high, to flow coolant through that circuit. I think the trick is to set the temp to high (so coolant's free to flow through the cabin heater core (aka little radiator in the dash), and the fan speed set to mininum, to reduce heat loss, help the coolant temp to climb faster.

That's what @NutzAboutBolts does in his engine coolant change video: cabin temp set high, and fan speed low.

 

in that 30 minute while the engine is on, did you touch the upper and lower radiator to see if both are hot? if the top is cool, then the thermostat didn't open and the engine isn't hot enough for the radiator fan to kick on.

 

Both fans will kick in when you turn the a/c on. It's to cool the hotter freon.
I'm certain the fan IS coming on, or the engine would over heat.
You won't notice it driving down the road because of road/tire, wind, and other noises.
And if you sitting, the engine turns off, most of the time. The fan is not very loud.
You could stick a Go-Pro or other camera in the engine compartment and drive.
Then it would give you peace of mind.

 

Well, you could replace the face if you're looking for something to do!
I know the feeling... I've done a lot of house cleaning... I never wanted to stop, it was my clients...
I'm hoping that will change this week or next...

 

At least they are easy to do. Just wrap a rag around the boot so you don't tear it or pinch it.
I replaced the rears 2 weeks ago, easier than the front.
It's a good investment.

 

I couldn't get the bolts through the reverse side. That was my plan as it worked on my Van.
But, I just used a big hammer and punch and rotated the bearing clockwise and counter clock wise a
few time, then I was able to bang them out. Very little effort.
With the fronts, I didn't disassemble the suspension, only took the caliper assembly off and the nut off
the axel.
I was able to rotate the hug, and install the bolts in the back. Simple!

 

It's the tires, not the rims.
I had Continental's True contact. Got 60,000 + out of them. But they were noisy.
I replaced them with Cooper tires. Very quiet, but I lost 4-5mpg. I have over 20,000 miles on them,
and they still look new. So MAYBE the mileage will make up for the lost mpg's...