Missouri_Civ

Hey all. I've been having a problem the last few weeks with my 92 Civic DX (D15B7). It started out where it would start to overheat on me whenever the car wasn't in motion. My first thought was that the cooling system had sprung a leak and my coolant was low, even though I hadn't noticed any spots on the ground when I parked. Anyway, I added some coolant and no dice.

My dad then suggested that my thermostat might be bad, so I picked one up at Autozone and put it in, and it seemed at first like the problem was fixed. Then, one day last week I was driving around town with my A/C on and noticed it starting to overheat again. We flushed and refilled the radiator and that seemed to fix the problem once again. However, as soon as I started driving with the A/C on it cropped up again.

It seems to be that I can drive fine, and the car can idle fine without the A/C on. It will even drive okay with the A/C on. If it sits for any length of time and idles with the A/C on, though, you can sit and watch the temperature gauge go up. It only idled with the A/C on for around a minute, maybe less, after we did the coolant flush and refill and it was already 3/4 of the way up the gauge.

Do any of you guys have any ideas as to what this could be? I still have not noticed any leaks whatsoever from the cooling system. Also, I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but I have a K&N cone filter attached directly to the throttle body. Any help is greatly appreciated.

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

My first question... is the fan activating? If it is, have you burped/bled the system? If the fan is not coming on, have you jumped the fan from the battery to see if it is working itself? You can also take a paperclip and pull the plug off the "thermoswitch" located on the thermostat housing and jump the connection to see if your relay is working. If your relay and fan both work then your thermoswitch could be bad.

del sol b18c

does your radiator fan have a switch or is it activated by the thermostat, if it has a switch the thermostat you installed did no good, if you have a switch and you turn it on remember to turn it off if your car doesn't automatically turn it off. but i dont think the fan would make that much of a difference. you could see if the fan turns on by waiting till it gets hot and just poppin the hood and look i guess. just a thought, my car has a switch so i thought it might be it. hope you figure it out.

Missouri_Civ

We were wondering about the thermoswitch ourselves. Yes, though, the fan does come on. How do I go about jumping the thermoswitch with the paperclip, though (I'm horrible with electrical stuff)?

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

If the fan comes on then your thermoswitch and relay are both good. No need to jump it. You can also pressure test the rad. cap if you have the right tool. I would bleed/burp the system and see if that works. Take off the rad cap and fill your coolant up, start up the car and let it idle with the cap off until your fan comes on once or twice (if you wish). Turn off the car and put the cap back on, let it cool down and then top it off.

No white smoke is exiting from your exhaust and your oil is not milky right?

Missouri_Civ

Nope. No smoke and nothing wrong with the oil. Also, is the procedure you described how I would bleed/burp the system? And when you say to fill up the coolant do you just mean to take off the radiator cap and pour coolant in until it reaches the brim?

Thanks again.

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

You are correct, that procedure is how you burp the system. Yup, all you have to do is take the cap off when its cold, fill it up to the neck (not all the way because when you go to crank it coolant will pop out) and just let her run until the fan comes on at least once. Let her sit and cool, then take the cap off and top the rad. off.

BRNRone

warm your car up to operating temp, keep it running, open your hood, and follow the upper rad hose to the water outlet. youll see a nipple. Use a 10mm open end wrench and open it a little until coolant flows out. youll see bubbles. when the coolant flows out smooth tighten it back up and your cooling system is bled. air in your cooling system can cause overheating. also check your head gasket.