I noticed now that it is cold out the car doesn't seem to ever heat up fully. Normally the temp. gauge reaches the hash mark to the left of the center mark. This morning after 30+ mins. of driving the car never got there. Plus, when I hit VTEC, the temp. dropped quite a bit. I also tried running the heat on the car, and that caused the temp. to drop by one hash mark.

Needless to say, the car never seems to fully heat up, and it normally does within 15 min. or less.

Does it sound like my thermostat is starting to go? I am thinking it might be sticking open or something?

Any ideas?

 

how old is the thermostat? it does sound like its stuck open or something like that. any other issues like smoking or anything from the exhaust?

also I wouldnt drive the car too hard in this condition. if the ECU thinks its not warming up all the way, it thinks its in warm up mode, meaning its probably dumping a lot of fuel, and running a different timing map (IIRC).

 

Yes its your thermemostat. Quick and easy fix, just make sure to bleed the system right.

 

Is our factory thermo a "fail open" design? I guess I didn't realize that.

It's time for me to replace just 'cause...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BudMan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is our factory thermo a "fail open" design? I guess I didn't realize that.

It's time for me to replace just 'cause...</TD></TR></TABLE>

apparently.... i was unaware of that as well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RTW DC2R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how old is the thermostat? it does sound like its stuck open or something like that. any other issues like smoking or anything from the exhaust?

also I wouldnt drive the car too hard in this condition. if the ECU thinks its not warming up all the way, it thinks its in warm up mode, meaning its probably dumping a lot of fuel, and running a different timing map (IIRC). </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well no smoke I notice while driving; I haven't had anyone watch the car from behind.

The car has about 55,000 miles on it. Car is about four years and a half years old.

The weather in Phoenix has gotten cold recently, but nothing super cold or anything. I can't imagine that would cause the car to not be able to warm up; the thermostat should take care of this.

I'll try grabbing a thermostat from Acura today and replace it this weekend. I am hoping that is the problem.

 

If I was home I'd replace all the pics on this thread for you...
https://honda-tech.com/zero...age=1

But I'm not

But if you look in the Helms book it will give directions on how to replace.

 

Im having a similar issue, but I wont have time to replace the thermostat for a least another week. Let us know if that corrects the problem.

 

Same prob I had a year ago, its the thermo.

 

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Can I just refill the radiator fluid as needed after the thermo. replacement, or do I need to drain/fill/bleed the whole system?

 

Just change the thermo, take the radiator cap off fill until full, run the car, keep filling when needed, after the fan kicks on twice you should be fine.

 

also, just to be safe, make sure no oil/dirt buildup is found on the underside of the rad cap. that could indicate a headgasket leak which is letting oil/dirt into the coolant system, thereby possibly ruining the thermo. I doubt thats the case, but doesnt hurt to check.

 

dont forget to hook the thermo ground back up!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by walker111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just change the thermo, take the radiator cap off fill until full, run the car, keep filling when needed, after the fan kicks on twice you should be fine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Pull the rad cap off. Start the car. Wait until it stops bubbling and the fluid level drops. When it drops fairly drastically you will know that the thermostat just opened. Top off the rad and then you should be good to go. Tighten back the cap and take her for a spin. Though i'm sure if the fan comes on twice the above mentioned would have already happened.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dave_B &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Pull the rad cap off. Start the car. Wait until it stops bubbling and the fluid level drops. When it drops fairly drastically you will know that the thermostat just opened. Top off the rad and then you should be good to go. Tighten back the cap and take her for a spin. Though i'm sure if the fan comes on twice the above mentioned would have already happened. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Per honda, normal operating temp is reached when the fan kicks on. Thats how I do it, when the fan kicks on the thermo should open.

 

running the heat won't improve, how cold is it? what happens run w/ a/c?

 

yep, the thermostate is just open....you'll see when you pull it out that it just hasn't closed and its an easy fix.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hooch’n &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yep, the thermostate is just open....you'll see when you pull it out that it just hasn't closed and its an easy fix. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's my guess also.

And running the heat will cause a temporary lowering on the temp gauge on a "cold" car.

The method Walker mentioned is the "Honda way"

 

Your post sounds VERY familiar. I just went through this too. Here's a quote from my thread:


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DC2-911 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Small things first...

It's now gotten pretty cold here in New Engalnd. I noticed that the temp gage stays way down and that the heater was slow to warm up. I figured that maybe a previous owner had disabled the thermostat. Maybe it went bad and was stuck open. I put a new OEM thermostat in and it is now fixed!! I have heat...</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I have this same problem now....Is there a thermostat recomendation from anyone???
SPOON or Stock or Advance Auto???

 

Using a JR 160 deg thermo and I don't see any difference

 

Ditto, same exact problem on my GSR and thermo solved it.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by walker111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Same prob I had a year ago, its the thermo.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Hmm, symptoms didn't seem that bad this morning. But since it is an easy fix I will do the thermo. replacement anyways.

Anyone know where I can get a JDM carbon fiber thermo.?

 

http://www.apc.com

 

Would this work? I think it is for 00-01 Integras.

http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=95