The temperature gauge on my 96 honda accord goes up and down
 

basically it started on monday this week, i watched the temperature go up as i idled. then when i started acclerating it went back down to half way. so i check the antifreeze resevoir and it was empty so i filled it. then today (friday) it started doing it again. so i filled the resevoir once more but now this time after it still kept going up with the temperature. what could it be? do i need a new rad?

Re: The temperature gauge on my 96 honda accord goes up and down
 

Open the radiator cap (when cool to touch) and check the coolant level and fill the radiator as necessary.

Re: The temperature gauge on my 96 honda accord goes up and down
 

There is a number of possibilites. First how hot did it get and how lond did u drive it that hot. You could have either taken the head gasket out or warped the head. To check that look at ur oil and see if there antifreeze mixed in. Or u could have a leak in ur rad n it keeps leaking to where theres nothing in it which would make it heat up. Or you could have an air bubble in ur coolant line you could try after it cools down take the radiator cap off start n rev the engine for a little n sometimes they work there way out. But the worst one is if u warped ur head or took the head hasket out ur talking a really exspensive repair unless u have the knowledge to do it ur self

Re: The temperature gauge on my 96 honda accord goes up and down
 

Once the radiator is filled up, if there are large air pockets in the cooling system, they may still need to be purged out.

Later, get the car up to operating temperature (you want the system pressurized) and look for obvious leaks around the engine and under the car. Keep an eye out on the coolant levels and for overheating, as a blown head gasket is $$$ if you let it overheat for an extended period.