Annoying overheating issues
08-13-2018, 06:59 AM
#1
Annoying overheating issues
It's for a 1996 Civic CX with D16Y7 engine.
I've been having some intermittent overheating issues since the end of June, and I can't seem to narrow down what the issue is.
It started when I got home from work one night and the needle started creeping up. I left it alone as I had to go out of town for the entire week. When I got back, saw there was coolant around the radiator neck so I replaced the cap with a new one, bled the system for almost 2 hours. Test drove it around the city and the highway, all was fine, but didn't drive it for 3 weeks as my battery was dead and I was too busy with work to get it replaced. Last week, I replaced the battery and drove it to work with the A/C on...only for the needle to creep up after an hour of driving on the freeway when I took an exit at a light. Put the heat on MAX to mitigate the overheating which the needle crept downward until I arrived at the office. Lifted the hood up and saw the reservoir tank filled up and overflowing as there was some coolant around the cap which spilled over to the surrounding areas.
Did some tests and determined the radiator fan wasn't functioning correctly. Replaced it with a new fan and bled the system again, and drove it all over the city, in stop-and-go traffic and highway driving and not once did the needle go up. Yesterday, after an hour of driving with A/C also on full, as I pulled in to a parking lot, the needle went up again and then immediately turned it off as I parked. A couple of hours later, I leave the parking lot and drive it on the freeway back home with the A/C on, then the needle started to go up again but this time while on the highway. I turned A/C off, put the heater on full blast, and the needle went back down again. Pulled over to the side, and let it cool down for 20-30 minutes. I start it up and noticed that the radiator fan wasn't kicking in when the temperature needle was going up. I ended up driving it back home with the heater on and the needle kept steady. I jumped the fan switch wire with a paperclip to see if the radiator fan was working, and just as expected it is working with the once-filled up coolant reservoir staying steady. I determined here that the fan switch is faulty and will replace that ASAP as I can't drive it with the radiator fan on all the time.
This morning, I drove it to work again with both A/C on and the radiator fan ON. While it did not overheat once, I did notice that the coolant reservoir was filled up after I arrived to the office once more when it was empty before I left.
Is this the tell-tale sign of a blown head gasket still?
I've been having some intermittent overheating issues since the end of June, and I can't seem to narrow down what the issue is.
It started when I got home from work one night and the needle started creeping up. I left it alone as I had to go out of town for the entire week. When I got back, saw there was coolant around the radiator neck so I replaced the cap with a new one, bled the system for almost 2 hours. Test drove it around the city and the highway, all was fine, but didn't drive it for 3 weeks as my battery was dead and I was too busy with work to get it replaced. Last week, I replaced the battery and drove it to work with the A/C on...only for the needle to creep up after an hour of driving on the freeway when I took an exit at a light. Put the heat on MAX to mitigate the overheating which the needle crept downward until I arrived at the office. Lifted the hood up and saw the reservoir tank filled up and overflowing as there was some coolant around the cap which spilled over to the surrounding areas.
Did some tests and determined the radiator fan wasn't functioning correctly. Replaced it with a new fan and bled the system again, and drove it all over the city, in stop-and-go traffic and highway driving and not once did the needle go up. Yesterday, after an hour of driving with A/C also on full, as I pulled in to a parking lot, the needle went up again and then immediately turned it off as I parked. A couple of hours later, I leave the parking lot and drive it on the freeway back home with the A/C on, then the needle started to go up again but this time while on the highway. I turned A/C off, put the heater on full blast, and the needle went back down again. Pulled over to the side, and let it cool down for 20-30 minutes. I start it up and noticed that the radiator fan wasn't kicking in when the temperature needle was going up. I ended up driving it back home with the heater on and the needle kept steady. I jumped the fan switch wire with a paperclip to see if the radiator fan was working, and just as expected it is working with the once-filled up coolant reservoir staying steady. I determined here that the fan switch is faulty and will replace that ASAP as I can't drive it with the radiator fan on all the time.
This morning, I drove it to work again with both A/C on and the radiator fan ON. While it did not overheat once, I did notice that the coolant reservoir was filled up after I arrived to the office once more when it was empty before I left.
Is this the tell-tale sign of a blown head gasket still?
Last edited by SpecialRequest; 08-13-2018 at 08:17 AM.
08-13-2018, 11:43 AM
#2
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Annoying overheating issues
I always start with a compression test, a compression gage is cheap and handy. Only so many think will cause overheating, thermostat/ low water or air pocket in water system / fan not coming on / head gasket/ water pump ,water pumps usually dump out water when they fail
08-13-2018, 12:11 PM
#3
Re: Annoying overheating issues
I always start with a compression test, a compression gage is cheap and handy. Only so many think will cause overheating, thermostat/ low water or air pocket in water system / fan not coming on / head gasket/ water pump ,water pumps usually dump out water when they fail
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