POE

bought a new car for my girlfriend, its a 92 civic dx hatch. the dude we bought the car from had a b16 all motor in it, and then put in a dx motor and sold it to us.
Well the car takes FOR EVER to HEAT up. And when the temp gauge does start to move, if i try and turn on the heater, it will go back down. and be cool again, also the heater does not work. i checked the heater valve thingy( not sure what its called) It is located on the firewall of the engine bay, i thought it opened and closed to let Heat and cool air in the car. The metal wire that conects to it was still attached, but the valve was broken off of the fire wall were it mounts, could that affect it?
Anybody got any ideas?
thanks H tech.

lucky

check the thermostat..it might not have one. that would mean water is able to flow freely, not giving the engine time to heat up before water started flowing through the block.

POE

aight, how can i inspect the thermo to tell if its bad, i know where its located... do i need to just take it apart and inspect it? do honda thermo's go bad often? what messes up and allows water to flow freely? The valve inside the thermo just go bad?

lucky

it would overheat if it was bad, the only way it would allow it to run cooler is if they cut out the functioning part of the thermostat or removed it completely. However, if you are going to take it off, and it does have one, you should just replace it. although i doubt that would fix your current problem of not warming up.

Russ713

iTrader: (1)

Look where the lower radiator hose leaves the radiator and goes to the block. Where it connects is where the thermostat is located. Unbolt the flange and the thermostat will come right out. You can pick up a new one from the local parts store for about 30 bux.

Keep in mind, a missing thermostat or a thermostat with holes drilled through are tell-tale signs of a motor with an overheating problem. Possibly bad head gasket.

lucky

however, there is a fun way to check a thermostat. remove it, make sure it is completely cooled off, then put it in hot water(almost boiling) and it should open. Kind of cool, but not an effective way to check ther thermostat.

POE

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lucky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it would overheat if it was bad, the only way it would allow it to run cooler is if they cut out the functioning part of the thermostat or removed it completely. However, if you are going to take it off, and it does have one, you should just replace it. although i doubt that would fix your current problem of not warming up.</TD></TR></TABLE>
yep i think u are right man, i belive they just maybe cut part of the wiring harness of the thermo off, i found one wires just twisted together, not even soldier or taped or nothing... also thats what uw ere talking about when u said removed right.. the wiring and not an actual part of the thremo...
so what do i need to get this thing workin right?

Russ713

iTrader: (1)

hmmm... Reconnect the wires properly. Double check the thermostat.

If the thermostat is drilled or removed, it's allowing the coolant to constantly flow at full pressure, therefore, not sitting still long enough to warm up.

POE

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Russ713 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmmm... Reconnect the wires properly. Double check the thermostat.</TD></TR></TABLE>
do u think this could be the cause of when i turn on the blower and heater , the car cools back down QUICKLEY?

Russ713

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by POE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
do u think this could be the cause of when i turn on the blower and heater , the car cools back down QUICKLEY?</TD></TR></TABLE>


yes. that's what it will do.

POE

allright, thanks a Lot, is there anywayu could find a picture of the wiring to the thermo, if not i understand im searching right now.

Russ713

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by POE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">allright, thanks a Lot, is there anywayu could find a picture of the wiring to the thermo, if not i understand im searching right now.</TD></TR></TABLE>


i'm not near any honda right now. sorry.

POE

aight its cool, do u know of any links to any sites that have the wiring and what not?

Russ713

iTrader: (1)

unfortunately I can't link you to anything while I'm here at work. All my favorites are stored on the home desktop.

POE

i understand, do u think u could possibly hook me up with a link later, when u get home fromwork or whatever... thanks.

lucky

the wiring has nothing to do with it, you have to physically take the housing off topsee if there is even a thermostat there. if the wires are hooked, that should be fine, you don't have a wiring issue from what your are describing to be the problem.

POE

allright thanks lucky, i will take that bitchapart and see whast up.

Russ713

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by POE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">allright thanks lucky, i will take that bitchapart and see whast up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought you should've understood from my earlier posts that you ' need to check the thermostat ' to see if it's got holes drilled through, missing, or just old.

POE

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Russ713 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I thought you should've understood from my earlier posts that you ' need to check the thermostat ' to see if it's got holes drilled through, missing, or just old.</TD></TR></TABLE>

im doing a bit of everything.

DelSolDon

the wires running to the thermostat housing are the ground points for most of the ECU. the thermostat just opens by heat, not by switch.

MonkeyBoy668

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lucky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it would overheat if it was bad, the only way it would allow it to run cooler is if they cut out the functioning part of the thermostat or removed it completely.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not really. It will overheat if the thermostat fails and sticks closed.

If the spring in the thermostat is old and weak it will not close fully and/or open too far - basically allow too much coolant to circulate causing the engine to run cold.

If the engine warms up fully if you leave it sitting at idle for an extended period, but then drops as you're driving it around, more than likely it's just an old thermostat. I just replaced mine due to having those symptoms, and it's right back to operating normally. Night and day. But I'm the original owner so theoretically there haven't been too many people monkeying around with my car.

The only way to check the thermostat is to remove it from the housing, inspect it for physical damage, and if it physically is okay put suspend it in a pot o' water with a hot plate underneath. How far it opens at different set temps tells you whether the spring is still good.


Modified by MonkeyBoy668 at 6:27 PM 4/22/2005

POE

damn , thanks for the info. do u belive my symptom is a bad thermo then..

Aphelion

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MonkeyBoy668 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not really. It will overheat if the thermostat fails and sticks closed.

If the spring in the thermostat is old and weak it will not close fully and/or open too far - basically allow too much coolant to circulate causing the engine to run cold.

If the engine warms up fully if you leave it sitting at idle for an extended period, but then drops as you're driving it around, more than likely it's just an old thermostat. I just replaced mine due to having those symptoms, and it's right back to operating normally. Night and day. But I'm the original owner so theoretically there haven't been too many people monkeying around with my car.

The only way to check the thermostat is to remove it from the housing, inspect it for physical damage, and if it physically is okay put suspend it in a pot o' water with a hot plate underneath. How far it opens at different set temps tells you whether the spring is still good.


Modified by MonkeyBoy668 at 6:27 PM 4/22/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>

Monkeyboy is right. I think you probably have a thermostat problem. Do what Russ said to do - check to see if the thermostat is still there, or has holes drilled in it. If it's missing or has holes then you will need to do additional work on the car. If it's there and looks ok, I would replace the thermostat. They're cheap and have to be replaced every so often anyway, just do it. Oh, and it's probably too much trouble to test the thermostat like MB suggests - $20-30 at parts store

f1z1c

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by POE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bought a new car for my girlfriend, its a 92 civic dx hatch. the dude we bought the car from had a b16 all motor in it, and then put in a dx motor and sold it to us.
Well the car takes FOR EVER to HEAT up. And when the temp gauge does start to move, if i try and turn on the heater, it will go back down. and be cool again, also the heater does not work. i checked the heater valve thingy( not sure what its called) It is located on the firewall of the engine bay, i thought it opened and closed to let Heat and cool air in the car. The metal wire that conects to it was still attached, but the valve was broken off of the fire wall were it mounts, could that affect it?
Anybody got any ideas?
thanks H tech.</TD></TR></TABLE>
If that valve is not affixed in the exact position on the firewall, the slide control will not be able to pull it open. It attaches to a bracket there.

f1z1c

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by POE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bought a new car for my girlfriend, its a 92 civic dx hatch. the dude we bought the car from had a b16 all motor in it, and then put in a dx motor and sold it to us.
Well the car takes FOR EVER to HEAT up. And when the temp gauge does start to move, if i try and turn on the heater, it will go back down. and be cool again, also the heater does not work. i checked the heater valve thingy( not sure what its called) It is located on the firewall of the engine bay, i thought it opened and closed to let Heat and cool air in the car. The metal wire that conects to it was still attached, but the valve was broken off of the fire wall were it mounts, could that affect it?
Anybody got any ideas?
thanks H tech.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Also what do you mean by FOR EVER? My 93 dx take about 20 minutes.