This will be my first time posting in quite a while, but I need help.

I have a totally stock 91 CRX Si and ran into a weird problem. I was driving home yesterday and noticed the temp guage rising, and figured I may need to top off coolant and/or oil. I have no visible leaks whatsoever. So I get to Pep Boys and pick up coolant and oil.

Well I was about a little low on oil, so I added a half quart. and then I checked the radiator and it took about a third to half a bottle of 50/50 premixed coolant. So she was low there. I started it up and waitied for fans to kick on, just to check - yup no problems there. temp stayed at about 1/3 up the guage.

So everything good right? Wrong.

I get home and as I pull in the garage, I notice my guage going up above the halfway mark into the upper third of the guage, NOW HERE's THE WEIRDEST PART, I go to close my sunroof and as I hold my switch down, the temp guage goes up in time with the sunroof closing - almost as if the switch was connected to the guage?!?!?

This morning it all happened again. And there was sight amounts of coolant spilled out of the expansion tank, so i know there is heat being generated.

Any Ideas? Help?


Modified by RSZero1 at 10:31 AM 8/31/2006

 

Stop using that useless piece of glass. There problem solved

 

Well, is the thermostat opening? If they go bad some will stock closed, as for the sunroof switch thing i'd check all your grounds and start with that i for see some bad wiring somewhere

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Loserkidwac &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, is the thermostat opening? If they go bad some will stock closed, as for the sunroof switch thing i'd check all your grounds and start with that i for see some bad wiring somewhere </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, the thermo is opening, both hoses to the radiator are warm to the touch.

 

I was considering the thermostat and water pump, it was just the damn sunroof switch that was throwing me off.

I did have an alarm installed recently, i may have to go back and have them check the wiring.

 

Welp the coolant is going somewhere so it's either mixing with the oil or it's leaking. I had a similar problem recently and it turned out to be leaking from the intake manifold gasket and then later the waterpump itself. Changed both and problem solved. I also experienced the same thing with the temp gauge and holding the sunroof switch down, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Reelizmpro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Welp the coolant is going somewhere so it's either mixing with the oil or it's leaking. I had a similar problem recently and it turned out to be leaking from the intake manifold gasket and then later the waterpump itself. Changed both and problem solved. I also experienced the same thing with the temp gauge and holding the sunroof switch down, I wouldn't worry about it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Coolant level wasn't checked before purchase. We're not sure it's loosing coolant.

 

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

Coolant level wasn't checked before purchase. We're not sure it's loosing coolant.</TD></TR></TABLE>

True, I missed it during purchase, however it still does kick up the temp a bit. I'm going to flush the system this weekend to see if there's crud in the system and also give a good once over to check for leakage anywhere. So far i dont see any signs though.

Any idea as far as why the sunroof switch affected the temp guage?

 

Okay, just to keep everyone updated, I kept bleeding the system, but in all the instructions i printed, none indicated you were supposed to add fluid during the fan cycles. Everyone only mentioned adding when the two cycles were complete.

So I'm sure there were still bubles in the system. So the car still had the temp rising, especially the faster i went, the higher it would go, and when I slowed down the lower it went.

So this time as I drove home, I left the heater control on full heat. Once i got home, I let the car cool for about an hour, then I opened the bleed valve, and added coolant to the radiator. Topped everything off. The next day temps didnt climb so high so quick, but it did a bit, so I did the same thing again.

And I kept doing this for like 3 days. Everything seemed to be doing fine. Then all of a sudden it shot up again, FARK!

When I stopped I checked everything out, no fluid loss, but what was happening, seemed that as the car got hot, fluid was going into the reserve tank, but once there, it wasn't getting back into the radiator, and that left air in the system somehow.

So I figured it might be the cap, the rubber was a little expanded, and fit really snug into the filler neck.

So I cut the bull, topped everything off and picked up a Mugen Rad Cap. This cap is made for 1.6 and 1.8 engines and fit my rado plus it increases the pressure in the system and lowers the boiling point.

Ever since... NO MORE PROBLEMS. Everything is nice in the world again.