hi guys, i'm new to this forum. have tried searching for the answer to my problem, but no luck finding it. sorry if this is an easy answer. i have a 79 honda civic which has a couple of issues, and i'm not sure if they are all related or not.

Here are the symptoms:
1. the electric radiator fan is always on whenever the ignition is on
2. i seem to be using a bit extra coolant lately
3. the dashboard temp sensor is not accurate. when the heater setting is set to 'cold' the sensor bottoms out, but when the internal heater is set to 'hot' the sensor sits slightly above the top of the 'normal' range.

If anybody could tell me whether the symptoms are related and what i could do to solve the problem i would really appreciate it.

Regards, Moldy.

 

did the fan always come on when you bought the car, or it just started doing that?
its possible the previous owner hard wired the fan to always be on...
as for your coolant consumption theres only a couple things it could be...either you got a leak or ur head gasket is starting to go and coolant is getting into the combustion chamber...if in fact it is your head gasket and you plan on keeping the car for a while, then i would replace it immediately so that you dont end up completely blowing the headgasket and ruining the motor by overheating it...

 

the car has been in my family since new. last year it needed to go in to the mechanic after the timing belt broke. they told me that the fan was on constantly, but they couldn't work out why. i suspect that they were too lazy to work it out.

re: the coolant. i assume that changing a head gasket is best left to the pros and expensive? hopefully i can find a leak somewhere first!! should i be able to notice a leak when the car is left stationary for a long period? excuse my ignorance.