portlandkidd157

Hello!
I need help on this issue im having.
A while ago my water pump went out (4 monthes ago), so i did the timing belt/ pump replacement.
Everything was fine for a while, then my radiator ended up cracking so i replaced it along with any hoses i thought to be suspect.
SHortly after my car overheated so i checked it out, baught a new thermostat and it ran good.
Then, My idle got stuck at 2000-1500rpm at all time even when clutch is put in. The rpms drop right when you put in clutch, then bounce back up to 2000rpm. This problem i think is unrelated.. I think it might be a IACV.
So after a few weeks of driving with a whack idle, not being able to find the problem, I kept driving.
last week my Cooling fan stopped working, i had to drive with the heater on High for a while... and now my water wont circulate at all.

I was told my coolant temp. sensor went out and i should replace it.
So i went out and baught the sensor and another ant this really cheap parts store. They didnt give me the right parts im pretty sure, but I baught 2 of the 4? coolant related sensors on my car. the two sensors that are located right on the cyclinder head, on the passenger side of engine. I guess they are the Coolant temp sensor, and the cooling fan switch?

There are two more sensors that i havent replaced, one is located on a water housing that connects to the upper radiator hose. And one screws into the thermostat housing. Both look similar.
Can these cause my water to not circulate, and fans not to engage?

I also baught a new thermostat and replaced it, still overheating.
I know you have to purge the system, and get air out, but in order to do so your coolant has to circulate twice. Well im f***ed on that part i guess? Air in the system can cause these problems too?


Help

portlandkidd157

c'mon you guys 50 views and no one has anything to say>?
Soo. ya i just trying emptying and refilling my cooling system.. I kept the bleed blot open when fillingn it, and when i was done i left the cap off with car running to purge air. the fans never kick on, the water doesnt seem to circulate, (thermostat doesnt open) pretty sure. and then it over heats. I guess thi sounds like vaper lock? air causing thermo to not open? I cracked bolts on thermostat housing to leak air out, then thighened back down, and tried the cbleed bolt a few time, some air came out, and i could then put a little more coolant, but ya. Over heat, over heat overheat.
I dont think its a gasket or crak in block?>>??

this car is a daily driver, i could use some help on what to do next....

pjschmitt

Is thermostat installed correctly? Have you tried without thermostat? could be you need to bleed system and chech hoses to and from iacv, water neck and fitv, water neck has a screw on it to bleed air. start enginge, let heat up until fan comes on and shuts off twice.

take socket or wrench and crack screw open enough to let fluid and/or air pass through. stay clear at first. let it flow a bit then retighten. info on how to do this is in the manual.

Good Luck

portlandkidd157

Okay so i thought it was my engine coolant temperature switch. I replaced it and the replay clicked a few times when i turned the key, i heated it up and bled the coolant again, but when the thermostat opened, the fan didnt turn on.

My problem is my fan does not work. I jumpered the connector and the fan turned on making me think the sensor(switch) was bad. Do i just have a loose wire/bad connection?

jdmcrx1

if you jumpered the relay connector and it turned on then the relay is bad.. check all your relays for continuity and clean the connections with elec parts cleaner.

portlandkidd157

hey jdm, umm i jumpered the ECT sensor connector, like it says to do to check and see if the ran works in the first place. That means the relay has to be working? Right? anyways i switched the fan relay with the power window relay and the power windows still worked.... so idk.

New thermostat, and new sensor (thats on the thermostat housing that tells the relay to turn on fan.)

Still the fan doesnt come on when driving.

portlandkidd157

help me!!

poorman212

First, what year is this thing, that would a bit of helpful information.

Which green switch are we talking about. The one on the t-stat housing controls the fan operation while the car is running. Is that the one you tested/replaced. Sounds like it in post #6. If you are jumping the connector and the fans come on the rest of the system (fan motors, relay, fuse, ect) is fine.

Also, the fans will not come on as soon as the t-stat opens-which I glad to see, your first post sounded like there was no flow of coolant at all. There is about 20 degrees difference in the two settings. What is the temp gague inside the car telling you.

portlandkidd157

Okay the green wire sensor(switch) connector is the one i tested.. Also for coninuity. the fan comes on when jumpered. My car is a 1991 honda accord LX 2.2L/
So i know the fan and fan motor is funtional.
Also i thought that the coolant was circulating because when i tried to bleed the system, it coolant level dropped. allowing me to put in more coolant.

I just got towork and i checked the hoses, after a 45 min drive, the lower radiator hose was cold to the touch. the uppr one was hot. It seems like the thermostat is not opening after all. Yes is should open at 170degrees.

I used a thermomoter that uses infared light, and the upper hose temp was 177 degrees. this would seem to make the thermo open but idk, my engine temp was 198 degrees.
I have already baught a new thermostat;
radiator (3monthes ago)
water pump (5 monthes ago)
and hoses
Also replaced the ECT switch (engine coolant temperature switch {one with green wire) that tells relay to turn on fan.
Also replaced the single wire gauge sensor, and the other sensor near that... (they called it a coolant temp sensor). Which just stores info in ecm for egr and other function(i think)

So pretty much with a new thermoand all new sensors the thermostat will not open, and the fan will not turn on while driving. I jumpered the fan and drove it like that to see if it still heated up and yes it did.

the gauge reads into the red before i baught the new thermo, and sensors... now at max it will get a little more than 3/4th of the way hot. not overheating but not good?

There is still a fan timer located by the driver side fuse box, but the symtoms of this going bad is the fan coming on when its not suposed to(like whe engine is off)???

Help? i know you know the answers!!!

holmesnmanny

Drain the coolant, take the thermostat out and look inside the bottom of it. It'll show a temperature. It should read 180. If not, you have the wrong one for your car. If it is 180 then make sure you have the heater control ****/dial all the way to full red/hot and put the t-stat back in and before you refill, open the bleeder bolt on the thermostat housing(close it when you see a steady stream of coolant coming out when you refill coolant into the radiator. It will first spew water and air, then a steady stream of coolant. Just watch it as you pour into the radiator. Also, make sure you're on fairly level ground). Now, see if the hose going to the thermostat housing gets hot or the car overheats. If it overheats check the hose, if it's cold, drain it again and this time pull the thermostat. Refill again using the same procedure above and if it overheats. It shouldn't assuming that the fans come back on. If the car doesn't overheat, replace the thermostat, this time with one from Honda. I never ever use any thermostat that's not from a factory, because factory thermostats normally no matter what car maker, are designed not to fail closed.

Oh, don't forget when you install the thermostat to make sure the small metal jingle valve on the thermostat is pointing directly up. If it is not pointing directly up the air in the system has no way of escaping and you will have an air pocket.

portlandkidd157

okay well i know for a fact the t.stat says 170 on it. And as far as installing it with the valve up... theres only one way to put it on because of the two raised lines on the o-ring aroung the thermo, fit in 2 slots.

so your saying honda accord 1991 thermo. should be set at 180?

i baught the the next best thing to honda spec. idk if thats right .

and yes i filled and drained coolant like you say, but water still doesnt circulate, or i think that it dont because the lower hose is cold after a long drive.

also cooling fan will not come on. but will when jumpered.

jdmcrx1

yes that means the relay is fine. To be clear, you are saying that the lower hose is COLD after the car is running for about 5 min or so? I that is true you have no circulation in the system. Which means i am leaning towards water pump.

I am not a 100% sure but the sensor on the thermo housing on a 91 is on the hose side? if so that would explain why your fan is not coming on.. that needs to read a temp of 180 or more to complete the circuit.

Do what holmesnmanny said and pull out the thermostat and start the car. if after 5-10 min the fans dont come on and ur lower hose is cold.... Waterpump man.

Keep us posted..

holmesnmanny

OE temperature is 180 degrees. The thing about it is that if the one you bought is 170 then it should open earlier than an 180 degree thermostat and yours doesn't appear to be, Odds are that yours is defective so this time take it out and run without it. The lower hose should get warm and the fans come on. The reason why the fan won't come on is that coolant has to hit the fan switch in order to get the fans to turn on and since coolant isn't making it past the thermostat the fans won't turn on. If you take it out, the coolant should hit it and when it gets hot enough the fans should turn on. You should check your receipt and make sure that your fan switch on the thermo housing is in fact the exact one you need for your car. Call the parts store to have them recheck. This is vital.

The lower hose should then atleast get warm, if not hot. If it only gets warm and not hot like the upper then the water pump may in fact be faulty. Normally when the water pump goes out you get a leak there. Check that area.

Like I said, you should pay the extra 20 bucks and get a Honda thermostat. It's not worth it to **** around with 20 dollars savings when if the aftermarket goes bad it ruins your engine by sticking closed, overheating your engine and damaging the head gasket and then the head and possibly the block. I learned this the wrong way. Trust me on this. If your fans don't come on you can still get by. If your thermo gets stuck it's only a few minutes before your destroy your engine.

portlandkidd157

okay you guys but i recently replaced y water pump when it went kaput, and yes water leaked everywhere. theres no leak, and the upper hose has lots of pressure, so im thinking water pump is fine.