vtecgsr98

ok well i bought a 90 accord of one of my fiance's friends for $200 cause it was having overheating problems which was a steal cause it only has 92k iles and is in immaculate shape. Anyway here we go. I read all of the post and searched and heres what i got. She had the car in the shop trying to get the problem fixed and the papers that were in the glove box said they replaced the thermostat and there was a short to the cooling fans. I read all the post and so far i have replaced the cooling fan relay in the fuse box under the hood, checked all the fuses for the fans, replaced the sensor on the thermostat housing, and tonight I replaced the thermostat, and put on a new radiator cap and bled the air just to double check since the work was done at a hole in the wall garage b4. I have a new sensor for the water inlet housing coming in tomorrow. I put the A/C on and the only fan that turned on was the drivers side fan and not both. The thing is i will let the car idle and none of the fans will kick on at all and it will get right b4 the overheating mark on the guage and i shut it off just to make sure. Can someone help me out with anything else i can try. We were working on it tonight and put the new thermostat in and the upper radiator hose was hot and the bottom was cold but the guage was reading over 3/4 right b4 the red. Im starting to think that maybe it is the water pump not recirculating?? Anyone have anything else i can try, im going nuts tyring to fiure this out?? What are the chances of the car not even overheating and the guage just reading wrong??

hondadude

With a new T-stat installed and you have a major temp difference between the top and bottom hose; I'd think the radiator is plugged up and restricting the coolant flow. Or the coolant got bad and ate the fins off of the water pump and there is no flow.

pro1342

blown head gasket?

P_Adams

Throw a couple of gallon jugs of water in the back seat and take it for a drive. Pennsylvaina is pretty cool this time of year.
If the overheating problem is a system control issue (no fan operation), the car will not overheat as long as it's moving, but will overheat once you stop (no air circulation thru the radiator).
A quick test of the primary fan system is to short to ground the wire to the coolant system temp switch. The fan should turn on. If it doesn't you've either a bad relay/timer or the Fan Motor is garbage.
If everythings working properly, the system will sometimes stay on for a few minutes after you've turned the car off.

P

The_Todd

I would take a garden hose and take off the top radiator hose and take out the radiator drain plug and rinse that puppy out. Then put in all new coolant and bleed the system.

I would think with a new t-stat it would help unless the problem lies within the radiator or the system is clogged.

vtecgsr98

ok heres the new info. I drained the radiator and flused it out real good, filled it back up and let it run and bled it real good for like 5 minutes straight to make sure all the air was out. I started the car up and like normal it warmed up and little by little climed up the the red on the guage. Since it did this so many times i was ok im gonna let it run for awhile since it has a new cap and all and it was showing no signs of overheating or anything going into the overflow. After letting it run for about 20 minutes the guage just went down to half way and the A/C fan came on. Im starting to think that it might need a temp. sending unit for the guage and that the car isnt even overheating at all?? The weird thing is that the radiator fan(passenger side) never turns on at all. When I unhook the switch on the thermostat housing and jump it the A/C fan comes on?? The only parts the I have left to replace that arnt new are the Fan timer under the drivers dash i ordered which will be in this week and the sensor on the water inlet which i believe doesnt have anything to do with the radiator fan if im correct. I thought that the radiator fan was suppost to come on first then the A/C after it reached a higher temp.?? New parts i replaced are thermostat, fan relay in the fuse panel uner the hood, sensor on the thermostat housing, and all fuses are good. Im replacing the timer this week when it comes in. The only fan that is kicking on while the car is running and getting alittle warm is the A/C fan. The motor on the radiator fan is good cause when we hook a power probe up to the relay and put power to it the fan turns on? Anyone have any ideas??

vtecgsr98

o and I forgot when i turn the A/C on only the A/C fan comes on and not both...

vtecgsr98

YeuEmMaiMai

yr primary fan is not working check out the relay and the fan and the sensor....

Honda-Master

http://www.ozaccord.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44

try this ,,

vtecgsr98

ok heres the latest. Got the car legal and tagged yesterday and got to drive it. Not sure if everyone read the other info but what I replaced so far was:
-thermostat
-radiator cap
-radiator fan switch on thermostat housing
-drained radiator and flushed well, refilled and bled air out
-replaced fan timer under drivers dash

The timer under the dash was what fixed it and now the fans kick on. The problem is it still overheats. The only thing i have left to replace is the timing belt and water pump. Ive had this car for a week and today was the first time it was driven on the road and I actually seen it overheat and start to go into the overflow. The upper hose is hot but the lower radiator hose going to the thermostat is still cold which im starting to think that the water pump is taking a crap and not recirculating. I drove the car for about 30 minutes so it had plenty of time to warm up and the heater was kicking out good heat. The car has 97k miles on it and I picked it up for $200 bucks in immaculate condition off a college kid who didnt want to fix it. Anyway what everyone elses input, water pump??

vtecgsr98

The_Todd

If you replaced all that except the water pump then I would think it's either a faulty t-stat or a bad water pump. Since the car already has almost 100K do you know if it's had the t-belt service done...if not now is a good time and you can replace the water pump while you're at it.

I don't know if anyone else has asked but what parts are you using? With cooling components I would really only go with oem as some aftermarket stuff is crap/known to not work as good, t-stat in particular.

vtecgsr98

hey thanks for responding. The thermostat that I used was a Stant one, I know its not a Honda one but I figured it would still do the job. I guess Ill try gettin a Honda thermostat and see what happens. The only thing is the lower radiator hose going to the thermostat isnt gettin hot like the upper one which means the thermostat isnt being told to open since its still cold right? I guess what im trying to figure out is what causes the lower hose to not heat up even after driving for 30 minutes? The water pump not recirculating??

The_Todd

Or maybe the t-stat is being stuck open...does it take a while to get the car to warm up?

vtecgsr98

The car warms up really quick and by the time I drive about 5 miles ints 3/4 of the way up on the temp. guage. I popped the hood and felt it after I took it for a spin and the lower hose was still cold and the upper was hot. I just went to the store and bought some Prestone radiator cleaner thta you put in once you drain it and run it with the cleaner and water for 3 hours or a couple days then drain it and flush it real well. I didnt take off the lower hose last time when i flushed it just left the drain bolt out some Im hoping that the cleaner will get all the rust and **** out like it says it will. im also gonna thriow in a Honda thermostat while I have it drained and see if it fixes it..

vtecgsr98

I guess if this stuff doesnt fix it im gonna lean towars the water pump being the problem...

gsdreams

I don't have a '92 and in 10 years things change a lot as mine is an '82 but I know my '87 Acura Legend I used to own had a Fan Thermoswitch on the Radiator, does the '92 still have it?

The Fan Thermoswitch is located normally at the lower passenger side of the radiator (at least on my '82 accord and the '87 legend I owned). It should have two wires going into it. Connect them. If the fan comes on, test it when warm. If they don't come on when connected but come on with it jumped that's your problem.

Basically the fans are supposed to be ran off the Temperature of the Radiator not the engine.

The big question though, if your lower hose is still cold, are you getting any water circulation?

vtecgsr98

Yea the fan problem is solved right now they are operating fine. The problem is its still overheating and im trying to figure out if it might be a air pocket, the water pump or a clogged radiator thats causing the lower hose to stay cold and upper to be hot and coolant to not be circulating. the car goes into the shop tomorrow for the t-belt and water pump so im hoping it might just be the water pump being bad...

YeuEmMaiMai

does your stuff still bubble out of your overflow tank even when the fans are on? If so, you might have

1. cloggged rad
2. Bad t-stat

or

3 Blown head gasket/crakced block or head and exhaust is leaking into your coolant.

gsdreams

He never stated he was having any problems with "Losing" coolant. If he is I could see a headgasket. Bubbling over is probably due to the heat, but could be a gasket.

This can be diagnosed though with a Compression check and Emissions reading. Probably about $50.00 at a shop.

vtecgsr98

car is in the shop right now gettin the timing belt and water pump replaced. Im good friends with the mechanic thats doing it so if its not the water pump then he said he will using a heat gun and see if the radiator is clogged up anywhere. If those two things dont fix it then Im gonna lean towards the head gasket I guess. Yea i tried to drive it to work the other morning and i only work 9 miles away and by the time I got to work the guage was all the way in the red and the lower rad. hose was cold and the upper was hot and it was going into the overflow. Im hoping that maybe the water pump maye isnt circulating and that might be it. I drained the radiator once already but I didnt take over the lower hose when I flushed it just left the drain blot out but we will be able to see if it is clogged when he using the heat tester on it...

vtecgsr98

O and i dont think the fans even come on when its overheating because the lower hose it still cold and the sensor on the thermostat housing is tellin them to. I drove home from work with the a/c on so both of the fans ran and it still overheated bad. Fans still run when I turn the car off so the whole fan problem I had I fixed by replacing the timer under the dash just gotta figure out why its not recirculating...

YeuEmMaiMai

i think your waterpump has quit or your t-stat is bad

vtecgsr98

Thats what im hoping. When I got the car the girl said it wouldnt start so the first thing i did after I towed it home was pull the timing cover off and make sure the belt wasnt broke b4 I tried to start. The belt is real wobbly even when its runnin. You can slip the belt right off the cam gear its so loose. I shinned a flash light down on the water pump and its spinning it fine but im still hoping it is the pump that is bad...