moto37

my car has 90k on it and has been running perfect, but yesterday i put NGK Iridium spark plugs in it, fuel injector cleaner and put new coolant in the radiator. Now my fan doesn't kick on until the temp is up to the "H"-line, then cuts back off when the temp has only dropped like two bars. So, i'm wondering is it my radiator messing up or do i need a new thermostat. i hope someone can help me out with this!!!

daddy

iTrader: (1)

is there a leak in your coolant or anything? if it started right after you replaced the coolant i'd look into things that you may have done accidently while changing it before i go spending money on other stuff. just my .02

moto37

yeh i checked for leaks and the coolant level and everything checked out. the only thing that was weird to me was that the overflow was full not to the max. line but to the cap full.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

It could be your thermostat or a block in your heater core, causing issues.

And, also, having your overflow bottle filled up all the way isn't the best idea.

Boilermaker1

full overflow bottle is a sign of air in the cooling system. Turn the car on, radiator cap off, heater on full blast and let it run... for a while. Top the radiator off as necessary.

JohnnyClutch

fan not startin properly?

id say its your thermostat....

AzunEX

try purging the system first. run the car without the radiator cap for a few minutes. than when theres no more bubbles cap it.

moto37

well, it was air bubbles in the radiator and i ran it and it runs perfect again. so, thanks yall saved me a lot of money from shop fees.

tlendt

Recently did the coolant change myself and one thing I did that was well worth it was to use a radiator funnel. This is a funnel that screws on the filler neck and allows you to run the engine and burp the air out without spilling coolant and letting air back in. Cost about $15. As much as I respect Honda engineering, with the radiator fill below the highest point in the engine, its going to be hard to eliminate air without taking some steps.

PnX-R

Take it to the dealer. So that we can install our funky $15 funnel and allow it properly air bleed. And then we'll charge you another $100 to let the car sit there and allow the cooling system to cool down for at least 30mins with funnel still on the radiator and a big fan sitting in front of the radiator to help cool the coolant. As it cools for the 30 mins, it'll allow the system to suck in as much coolant as possible and fill the system. Just make sure we remember to restrict the overflow bottle hose so that it doesn't over fill that little tank.

So yeah.. you get the picture. It's a common mistake we seen all the time. Just using the funnel isn't enough, common sense and a little general understanding of how the cooling system works will help. I usually just turn the fan temp to hot, recirc, and AC on to help with cooling..

Good Luck.

lhershenson

Hey, my 05 civic is overheating on a regular basis. No leaks, new radiator in and it overheated 45 minutes later, new thermostat, etc. Now, it will overheat and within 5-10 seconds it will go back to normal. Next step is use the radiator funnel...and I'll do it myself. What do I do step by step?

Thanks!

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

Flush the heater core.

mike0101

I own a 2004 honda civic. Temprature gauge is fluctuating. Replaced thermostat but no help there. Water is circulating through the radiator, fans come on when heated up. Possibly loosing fluid but I can't be certian about that. Heater takes a while to heat up and the will turn off when I come to a stop sign. Only 58,000 miles on my car. I drive it carefully and keep it maintained. I could all most be certian there is no blown head gasket, no cracked or warped head. Oil is still black. Water is not mixing with oil. Does the water pump take a while to go out? Any ideas? There was never a problem until I drove from dallas to corpus christi. (400 miles) I drove 5 miles below speed limit the whole way. After a couple of days in corpus I noticed an odd smell coming through the vents. Much like antifreeze but not as strong. I also noticed that the temp gauge was climbing the more I drove the more stable the temp gauge would become. I stopped at a wal mart and got anti freeze because it was dark out and I couldn't tell if I had water or not. I capped off the over flow jugg on an accident. It only took about a quarter of the bottle of anti freeze. I don't think it needed anti freeze but i'm still not sure if it was low that night. Well, the next morning, I drove back to dallas from corpus. (400 miles)I drove approximatley 240 miles and it never even once got heated up or did i see the temp gauge fluctuate. Until i got to 250 miles. I noticed it started to rise. I pulled over to let it cool. I never heard it get to the boiling point (ever). The last 150 miles of the trip back the temp guage rose to the red line of the temp guage about 5 times. Every time it rose that far i stopped my car immediatly as not not cause any damage to the engine. It never stayed at that red line for more that 10-15 seconds. I never drove it hot. For most of the trip, if I stayed between 50 and 75 miles per hour the temp guage would just stay on normal or just slightly above normal but then sometimes it would rise and fall again. Well I got all the way back to dallas and parked it overnight. The next day drove it around and it never got hot. Infact I drove it for a week straight and it never heated up. Probably didnt drive it no more than 20 miles at a time but it never heated up on me. That led me to believe it was the thermostat. I changed the thermostat and drove it around and immediatley the temp guage rose up that same night. I thought, ok maybe i got air into the system so i removed radiator cap and left it running for like 20 to 30 min. I put the cap back on and drove around. Again the temp guage rose. I can drive it for about 10 to 15 miles before it will heat up. My dad used to work on cars so I took it to him and he said it does'nt seem to have anything wrong with it. He thought it was weird. The engine sounds perfect and runs well. No hesitation-No smoke-No boiling. Just a rising guage FYI: The heater started acting up like a month or two earlier but the car never ran hot that i noticed. Also I don't want to throw a wrench into this whole story because I personally don't think this has anything to do with my problem but about a month ago my check engine light came on. I took it to auto zone and they said it had a mis fire. They reset the light and it never came back on. I do remember when the mis fire happened. I had like almost no gas in the tank. I started it up and it mis fired because it was trying to suck gas into the engine but there was none. I forgot to get gas the night before so I had to put the gas for my lawn mower into the tank to make it to the gas station to get gas. My car seems to be running perfect except for the temp guage and heat coming on and off. Very smooth idleing. I don't think that had anything to do with it but I could be wrong. I dont know. Anyway I know this is long but I had to give you all the facts to get the best answer. Thanks! FYI:the original thermostat operated great in a pan of boiling water. closed almost immediatley after i pulled it out

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PremierEM2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well on my car same thing it overheats and drops back so i changed the thermostat (honda part) and it still not kickin in. i let my car sit in N and it will overheat so ppl are sayin its my fan switch.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Have you flushed the system yet? It could be a clog in your heater core (common issue).

blackKready

if all you said in first post is what you did , than it needs to be bled properly , thats all.

Spoon EM2

so i have to get a flush?
how would i know if its cloged.



Modified by Spoon EM2 at 2:04 AM 5/19/2008

laramon130

my 2005 is doing the same thing as mike0101. its overheating but only when im running the car at slow speeds, stuck in traffic or right after i come off the freeway. the heater seems to be acting up as well, it stops blowing hot air when i come to a red light or a stop sign. when i start running the car at faster speeds the needle goes back down to regular temp. can anyone help? i cant seem to read any replies sent to mike0101 to know what kind of advice he was given.

thinknology

Mikes problem seems to be that he isn't getting flow through the heater core or air in the lines ... Have you ever burped your system like the storey before yours? Like the said turn heat on and run it and keep adding coplant until no bubbles,

And laramon... If the only time you have over heating is when your stopped make sure your fans are working properly