Please sirs, help me if you may, I have a 1996 honda accord ex that has been overheating, maybe i was not clear enough in my last post, my car overheats when I am on the highway, the temp needle rises to the red, and when I open the hood, the reserve tank top is loose or off and the water is gone, sometimes the radiator cap is hot sometimes not, I have checked the oil and water is not mixing with the oil, water is not coming out of the tailpipe either, I have also had the thermostate replaced, what could this be, please help, I am not mechanically inclined like alot of you are, but with some of your guidance, I can figure this out..Thanks in advance, I just filled the radiator and overflow tank with water, i turned on the a/c and the fan came on, but the fan on the drivers side did not come on, at what point is this fan supposed to operate........


Modified by PREACHERBREW at 3:44 PM 8/16/2006

 

the driver's side fan should come on after the thermostat opens. The pass. side fan cuts on automatically with the a/c. Crank the car up and let it idle for a while. Keep checking the lower radiator hose and once it gets warm, the fan should cut on shortly after. It speeds up the process if you give it some gas while it sits (2000-3000 rpm).

If the fan doesn't cut on then it's probably the fan switch. If so then it's time to check the radiator and water pump.

 

where is the water pump located and is it hard to replace, and where is the fan switch located and is it hard to replace...............

 

hey,

First and foremost NEVER PUT WATER IN YOUR RADIATOR,(if i read that right) ya need to remember water has a low boiling point as oppose to anti-freeze which has a higher boiling point. the other factor is your gonna rust the inside of your engine and last if you said you're not inclined mechanically forget about replacing a water pump and timing just pay the 250 bucks labor not including parts and have it done, I suggest you let honda do it (even though they are crooks) LOL don't wanna scare ya. or you can buy the parts from honda and have someone you know and trust to do it as for the fan relay i have no clue.

good luck

 

holler honda will give you a good shake, short term till problem is fixed water wont hurt your car , over the long haul it will
now fill your car and start it up, let it warm up look at the water in the radiator if it doesnt move at all you have a bad water pump if air bubbles out of it the head gasket may be blown , check your hoses if the bottom one is bad it will collapse and not allow water flow thus your radiator could pressurize and blow up from the heat and pressure build up this may be your problem if it is always happening on I-4 and rarely on the surface streets. car runs fast pump sucks on water and hose closes up causing no flow and radiator takes the abuse and finally pops thus your temp went down, which was strange posibly bad water pump still. sorry if i rambled on.