knclouse

Hello,

I would appreciate any help you could give me. My 1990 Accord has had this problem for the last year or so. This doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes after I've driven down the highway 20-30 minutes, when I stop and idle (for example at a traffic light) the thermostat will go up to about 3/4 of the way (normal is 1/2 way). If I give the car a little gas and keep it around 2000rpm, it will go back to normal again.

It had done this for quite some time, until this past June, when it just stayed about 3/4 of the way or higher on the thermostat no matter what I did. So this place on the side of the road put in a new thermostat, and everything was fine for about 4 months. But now the problem is back.

I have a new water pump and new thermostat. The people at the shop said that my fans and coolant were fine. They say they've never seen this problem and don't know what to do about it. I've taken it to three places now.

Please help!
Thanks so much!
--Nicole.

cmrvi1

Odds are it's one of two things. Either the radiator is clogged or the thermostat is bad. Did you use a Honda thermostat? I've personally had several bad experiences with those thermostats sold in auto parts stores. If it is aftermarket, I suggest you install a genuine Honda thermostat.

Stoich EG2

could also be the fan. it happened in my del sol. you probably overheat while getting in the higher RPMs also. check fuses and lines and even the fan bracket.

JimBlake

Driving down the highway, your engine makes so much more heat vs. idling. Since it doesn't overheat then, it sounds like your radiator is OK.

When it gets hot, does the radiator fan run? Maybe your fan switch doesn't turn on at the right temperature. It's supposed to be set hotter than your thermostat, so it's normal to get a little hotter when you stop.

The fan switch is usually in the thermostat housing, it's got a 2-wire connector. But some years(?) Honda put them other places... Unplug it & jumper the wire with a paperclip, that should make the fan run. When it does that, does the temperature come down even while you're stopped?

93CivicSI

thermoswitch on the thermostat housing may be bad.

fleetmack

i had the same problem a few months back. all of the above are what you shoudl check first (also check if both fans come on when the a/c is turned on).....but just to throw it out there and hopefully it isn't it -- your water pump could be on the fritz.

hawkmgc

Reading all the replies and one major part never gets mentioned.


bad head gasket
(lots of times a small part of the head gasket goes bad, just enough for an air pocket or compression issue) will caused over heat issue


Had same issue on one of my Honda's, then replaced the head gasket. And had to redo what the shop messed up. As they did not get all the air out before bolting it all down. And they refused to warranty their work (got a good check out of that and redid the head gasket) Not to mention I had to replace a crap load of sensors that they had changed on me and not with new ones mind you. A very bad shop that was.

After all was said and done, no more over heating issues.

So I would have them check the head gasket and make sure.

tjohnson329

This little problem you have could be a bunch of things. But for 1 we know it's not the head gasket or the waterpump because he said he had that changed. That also means that the radiator was drained, so that rules that out. Check to see if the radiator is clogged. Also is the temp guage going up and the car smoking or is the temp guage just going up and the car seems normal? Check that out, get a infared heat gun and see cause it could be the electronics. Also I wouldn't overlook the EGR valve. Some how this could be closeing back up at idle when your stop and cuasing the car guage to go up. As a matter of fact check the EGR valve sounds like the problem lies right there.

hawkmgc

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tjohnson329 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This little problem you have could be a bunch of things. But for 1 we know it's not the head gasket or the waterpump because he said he had that changed. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Water pump yes, Head gasket NO

From what I am seeing from their post is that the only part left is the head gasket.

When I had this issue loads of shops were stumped. I talked with a 40yr+ Honda mechanic and they told me about the head issue. So I had it done, then when had same issue, talk to mechanic again and he told me what the shop did wrong.
I did it myself a made sure all was right and NO MORE PROBLEM.

Best to talk with the older mechanics that have dealt with these things more.

Good luck

fleetmack

before you go doing a huge check on your head gasket - bleed your radiator first -- this'll make sure it's not just an air pocket.....also make sure your rad. cap is kosher.

maroonaccord2.2

Had this happen.....exactly the same thing. The thermostat that the autoparts sold me was too hot!! I swapped it with a genuine honda part, now the problem is gone. Reference a manual for the proper thermostat temp is my suggestion.....