RVD9431

110K on it, new honda water pump, honda thermostat, honda headgasket, aftermarket radiator, aftermarket coolant temp sensor, aftermarket fan temp sensor.

The temp will rise to about 3/4 the way up, sometimes 4/5, never overheats, only does this at idle after driving, while driving its normal, as soon as I stop at a light, up it goes, fans have come on in the past but I dont let it idle at that temp for long and they dont come on immediately.

Had a 22 year Acura tech check it out, he said bad HG, he replaced it, still does this, and he said that he had a 90 that did this and the temp flux is normal??

Another acura tech says that his accord with over 200K never did this, and it might be a plugged radiator?? But its new within a year..........someone help before I drop more money into this motor.............

phootbag

Sounds like the fans aren't coming on when they should. I would focus my troubleshooting efforts there.

phootbag

The temp guage shouldn't fluctuate.

RVD9431

any suggestions?

redef90si

iTrader: (3)

new tempurature sensor/new fan? pick a one of each up at the junkyard maybe $20-30 at the most,best of luck man

RVD9431

ok i guess I can try getting a used fan and see if that works...........im just at the point where Ive replaced so much and spent so much that im really tired of just guessing

jdadams12

Before you drop and more money or trust a 22 year tech, do some troubleshooting.

Do the fans come on? The one on the divers side should come on as soon as you turn the AC on. The one on the passenger side should come on as soon as the car warms up a bit.

We need to know if those come on.

You can usually get by with one of the two fans (if you are running the AC and the AC fan is the one that is on), but you need both in the summertime.

Just last week, my radiator fan blew a fuse out of nowhere an my car ran most of the way towards the top. Fifty cent fuse took care of it.

The pointer should be below the D4 on most of these cars - it should run cool.

RVD9431

A/C doesnt work, its an LX 5 speed, I tested it today, the temp gauge would go up and the fans wont come on, i dont want to let it sit at that temp so i either turn it off or drive it after 30 seconds of it sitting there.

Sitting at a light today, i heard a relay click, the idle stumbled slightly like the fan was coming on, didnt hear a fan, the temp immediately jumped to 3/4

The acura tech said he'll put an infared gun on the block and head to verify the temp but he keeps telling me that its fine if anything its a bad gauge?? He also said that he saw the temp go up, he said the fans came on and it dropped to 1/2 temp. Ive seen the fans come on once before

The radiator fuse is fine, i swapped relays with the power windows and both work. Fan temp switch? Fan?

jdadams12

This guy is an idiot. Don't go back to them. Is this the same tech that said that it was the head gasket? Temp gauges are not supposed to bounce around. If they guy would put a gauge into the water (via the sending unit hole), then I might believe the results. ...but a heat gun on the block is not a good test when you know that the fans are not running.

The fans need to come on... unless you are driving on the Polar Ice Cap in the dead of winter. Like the second post says, this is the number one thing to figure out. Disconnect the fan from the harness and test the harness for power. If it is getting voltage when the car is hot, then it is the fan. Be sure and test the car side of the harness and not the fan side of the harness. If it is not getting voltage, then work your way backwards to the solution.

I stress again, if the water is hot enough for the thermostat to open, then the fan should be running. If that top tube is hot, then the thermostat is open.

Will the A/C fan run with the A/C switched on? If so, then switch it on. I know that the AC does not work, but I would use that fan if it will run - it will help some. I don't know if it will, or not, but I would try it out.

RVD9431

the AC fan doesnt run when I turn on AC, its the same tech that did the headgasket.

Im goin over there tonight, ill ask him to probe the connector for the fan and see if Im gettin power.

phootbag

You've probably got a bad fan switch or one that isn't calibrated for this vehicle. The fans come on, you verified that. Since the DO come on but only when the temp gets above normal, I would assume the fan switch you installed is bad.

When the vehicle temp starts to go up, jump the fan switch with a jumper wire. If the fans immediately come on, the fan switch is probably faulty.

RVD9431

Ok, took it back to his house today, the fans definitely come on, I let it idle and they came on over and over. He used an infared gauge to read the temp at the thermostat and the temp switch, the temp switch kicks the fans on around 200, which shows 4/5ths up the temp gauge. He started his 96 accord and used the infared on his, and his fans kick on around 190, and his gauge reads halfway between cold and half.

He is insisting its a bad cluster gauge, he thinks the previous owner must have pegged the temp one time, and thats why its like that now, and why he did all that coolant system work at once.

phootbag

Why did you replace the parts listed in the first post? Was is to fix an apparent overheat or did the problems begin after you replaced these parts?

NA Hunter

jus wondering did u guys bleed the system by the thermostart? i have a f20b in my car and was having these same exact probs when driving and that solved it for me.

RVD9431

the previous owner replaced all of those things minus the HG. I replaced the water pump that he replaced because I thought the aftermarket pump wasnt flowing enough so I put a honda pump in it, as well as a honda thermostat when he had a aftermarket one in there.

And yes the system was bled multiple times with a radiator funnel

last trumpet

I noticed the aftermarket radiator, and if I missed someone else mentioming this I'm sorry, I didn't catch it. Hows the radiator shroud? Is it there,and if so is it in goog shape, bolted in properly? Anybody mention the cap? Test it, if you hav't already.

RVD9431

theres no radiator shroud........its a honda it has a fan shroud on the fan itself, the cap has been swapped out for a used OEM and no change

jdadams12

Yup.

Now that you verified that the fans have come on, make sure that the system is bled. There is a bold with a hole in the top on the thermostat housing. Open the radiator cap and open this bolt until coolant starts puking out. Refill the radiator and see what is up.

NA Hunter

Any luck?

RVD9431

he bled the system, ive bled the system, and i really dont want to buy a cluster only to guess to be honest, ive driven it a ton and it doesnt boil over, doesnt lose coolant, drives fine

jdadams12

You might test/replace the sending unit before you tear up the dash.

killer_Bseries

i had this same problem in my 1994 accord LX 5spd, replaced all the obvious parts like you and still had the problem. Couldn't figure it out for the life of me, finally spun a rod bearing because it got too hot. check to make sure your reservoir cap tube didn't fall off inside of the res.

holmesnmanny

Let me tell you what you do, you take that thermostat out, put the gasket back in, run it thermostatless and see if that thing overheats and if the fan comes on. Also feel the lower hose, if that thing doesn't get hot, then replace the switch on the thermostat housing or atleast make sure it's not bad.

phootbag

That's nothing. I had a fan spinning backwards because some jackass replaced the fan motor before I got the car ( 94 ) and changed the blade with one that had the opposite pitch and never reversed the polarity of the wiring.

RVD9431

Tube is on, like I said, I had a thermal temp reader pointed right at the fan switch on the upper hose directly coming out of the head, the fans kicked on around 210 but the gauge reads high???

I need better answers than this these are all small things that have been checked and rechecked I need other ideas.

Also, the fans DO come on, just not in traffic, they take a lil while but when it gets to 210 on the infared they come on, the thermostat was replaced two years ago and then again by me 2 months ago with a Honda Tstat, its not the thermostat.

And phootbag I dont understand, but what is your take on this, you are a Honda tech correct?? The 22 year Acura tech still insists bad gauge............

Ive been driving this car EVERYWHERE, runs great, other than this issue.