2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
#1
2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
Picked up a 2000 civic yesterday. Dude said it drove fine and had no problems. I did a quick test drive and all seemed well. Driving home, I notice the temp gauge isn't moving. I was on the highway at night, not stop and go traffic, but it didn't seem to be pissing coolant or overheating(because highway probably)
Some basics...
I can jump the radiator fan, so it, the fuse and relay are fine.
Via some reading, I know of the coolant temp sensor near the distributor, and the one wire sensor next to it that feeds the gauge.
I let the car idle 5-6 minutes in the driveway. Both radiator hoses got hot to the touch, so I'll assume the thermostat is opening and functioning properly.
However, I didn't see the fans kick on. If the gauge isn't working, will that prevent the fans from kicking on? My thinking is the temp sensor measures the temp clearly. The fan sensor next to the thermostat, that feeds off the the temp sensor correct? So if the temp sensor is bad, not only will the gauge not read anything, but also the fan will never kick on. Correct?
Some basics...
I can jump the radiator fan, so it, the fuse and relay are fine.
Via some reading, I know of the coolant temp sensor near the distributor, and the one wire sensor next to it that feeds the gauge.
I let the car idle 5-6 minutes in the driveway. Both radiator hoses got hot to the touch, so I'll assume the thermostat is opening and functioning properly.
However, I didn't see the fans kick on. If the gauge isn't working, will that prevent the fans from kicking on? My thinking is the temp sensor measures the temp clearly. The fan sensor next to the thermostat, that feeds off the the temp sensor correct? So if the temp sensor is bad, not only will the gauge not read anything, but also the fan will never kick on. Correct?
#2
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
The fan and the gauge are not interconnected. The radiator fan is controlled by the switch at the thermostat housing. The smaller fan on the left side of the car is dedicated to the A/C.
The only thing the one-wire sensor on the engine does is drive the gauge. Make sure the wire is secure. Resistance of the sensor should be about 90 ohms with the engine warmed up (and considerably more if it is cold). If you unplug the wire and ground it, the gauge should go all the way up to hot when you turn the key on.
The only thing the one-wire sensor on the engine does is drive the gauge. Make sure the wire is secure. Resistance of the sensor should be about 90 ohms with the engine warmed up (and considerably more if it is cold). If you unplug the wire and ground it, the gauge should go all the way up to hot when you turn the key on.
#3
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
The fan and the gauge are not interconnected. The radiator fan is controlled by the switch at the thermostat housing. The smaller fan on the left side of the car is dedicated to the A/C.
The only thing the one-wire sensor on the engine does is drive the gauge. Make sure the wire is secure. Resistance of the sensor should be about 90 ohms with the engine warmed up (and considerably more if it is cold). If you unplug the wire and ground it, the gauge should go all the way up to hot when you turn the key on.
The only thing the one-wire sensor on the engine does is drive the gauge. Make sure the wire is secure. Resistance of the sensor should be about 90 ohms with the engine warmed up (and considerably more if it is cold). If you unplug the wire and ground it, the gauge should go all the way up to hot when you turn the key on.
Hmmm, ok. Maybe I didn't let the car run enough to kick on the fan then? Yeah, I know the drivers side fan is for the AC. I'm pretty good with cars, but civics are not my speciality.
I'll see if I can find some junk wire to ground the 1 wire and see if the gauge moves. I've read to not let it go up too high, so I'm already aware of that before someone replies saying to be careful.
#5
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
#6
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
#7
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
I'm starting to think I got royally ****ed.
Here's the car running with the radiator cap off. I can't tell if that's bubbles or vibrations. Yes the rockers seem a little loud.
Here's the coolant. No it's not brown, it's green, the flash makes it look brown, but the flash also brings out the sparkle effect I could see.
I saw some coolant earlier, and dried it off. Now it's wet in these spots:
https://i.imgur.com/583fUCjl.jpg
and back here:
https://i.imgur.com/dJW8iX0l.jpg
He said it has a fresh oil change.
Pic: https://i.imgur.com/qGB2fWGl.jpg
Here's the car running with the radiator cap off. I can't tell if that's bubbles or vibrations. Yes the rockers seem a little loud.
Here's the coolant. No it's not brown, it's green, the flash makes it look brown, but the flash also brings out the sparkle effect I could see.
I saw some coolant earlier, and dried it off. Now it's wet in these spots:
https://i.imgur.com/583fUCjl.jpg
and back here:
https://i.imgur.com/dJW8iX0l.jpg
He said it has a fresh oil change.
Pic: https://i.imgur.com/qGB2fWGl.jpg
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#9
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
I saw no bubbles in the radiator coolant.
Check for a coolant leak from the ECT sensor, thermostat housing and radiator hose, and the heater hoses. Post pictures.
Upload your pictures directly to H-T. Here:
Check for a coolant leak from the ECT sensor, thermostat housing and radiator hose, and the heater hoses. Post pictures.
Upload your pictures directly to H-T. Here:
#10
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
I'm simple thinking worst case scenario and that I was sold a lemon with a blown headgasket and the car is pushing coolant out the head while it runs. I hope I'm wrong, but with the temp gauge not working, and I'm not getting the fan to come on unless I jump it, and it's leaking coolant...
#13
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
So, I haven't touched the car in 2 days, and popped the hood to see this: https://i.imgur.com/4pLZMaL.jpg
So it's leaking oil, not coolant. He did mention he replaced the vtec solenoid gasket at one point. Looks like that is the leak I'm seeing then?
So it's leaking oil, not coolant. He did mention he replaced the vtec solenoid gasket at one point. Looks like that is the leak I'm seeing then?
#16
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
Check for an oil leak from the distributor and/or VTEC solenoid.
Some oil leaks from the VTEC solenoid require sealing both gaskets with HondaBond.
Some oil leaks from the VTEC solenoid require sealing both gaskets with HondaBond.
#17
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
The back side is wet/dirty so something more central like the distributor might be a good call. Plus the coolant temp gauge isn't working, so perhaps oil soaked into the one wire piece making it go bad.
#18
Fish Twig
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Still hunting that foo up there
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Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
Do yourself a favor, brake cleaner. Start cleaning it up. You'll easily be able to spot where the oil is leaking from.
Back to the temp gauge, you need to test that sensor to confirm if you need to replace it or not.
Back to the temp gauge, you need to test that sensor to confirm if you need to replace it or not.
#19
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
More oil on the firewall side seems like a better fit with a leak from the VTEC solenoid rather than the distributor, though be sure to check both.
#20
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
Good news everyone.
So my earlier posts may have been a jump to conclusion. I started the car with plans on letting it run till I heard coolant bubbling or the fan come on. 5-6 minutes, and the gauge was still at nothing. Then I thought I saw a slight bit of movement. I held the gas at 2K for about 2-3 minutes and sure enough I got the gauge to come up and the fan to kick on.
That still seems like a bit much, but maybe I'm just use to seeing the gauge come up quicker because I would jump in my old civic and take off. Then again, I swear it was begged at zero while driving this one home. Maybe the one wire was off, and since I've messed with it, it's now working?
Secondly, I cleaned up any oil residue I could wipe, and as already said started the car. wiping my fingers under the vtec solenoid, I was easily picking up fresh oil, so that is the leak. Now I know what to do.
So my earlier posts may have been a jump to conclusion. I started the car with plans on letting it run till I heard coolant bubbling or the fan come on. 5-6 minutes, and the gauge was still at nothing. Then I thought I saw a slight bit of movement. I held the gas at 2K for about 2-3 minutes and sure enough I got the gauge to come up and the fan to kick on.
That still seems like a bit much, but maybe I'm just use to seeing the gauge come up quicker because I would jump in my old civic and take off. Then again, I swear it was begged at zero while driving this one home. Maybe the one wire was off, and since I've messed with it, it's now working?
Secondly, I cleaned up any oil residue I could wipe, and as already said started the car. wiping my fingers under the vtec solenoid, I was easily picking up fresh oil, so that is the leak. Now I know what to do.
#21
Re: 2000 civic temp gauge not moving, will car overheat?
Local dealer has the main gasket on hand, so I decided to yank the old one before going over. Come to find out whoever installed it used like a half tube of RTV. That **** was everywhere. No wonder it wasn't sealing. Since there's not THAT much work to remove the solenoid, I super cleaned both surfaces, gently removed all the RTV from the gasket itself and slapped it all back together. Worst case it still leaks. Best case, I fixed it for free.
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