I have a B16A SIRII in my 1994 Hatchback. The car ALWAYS runs cold because like alot of floridians for some reason the fan stop turning on and off so it was grounded to stay on ALL the time. But thats not a big deal .... usually runs at 1/3 of the way up from Cold when its settled ...... But the problem i am having is ...... While driving the gauage goes all the way cold while the car is moving and back to 1/3 or alittle higher when i stop ...... Could this mean my thermostat is stuck??

Please HELP!

 

Sounds like it. If it was low on coolant, it would show an overheat.

 

Could driving the car like this damagae it in anyway????

^^^ Thats really my main concern

 

I wouldn't think driving it like that would hurt it as long as its got coolant in it kidds in alaska cant turn there cars off or they wont start back up

 

As long as your not going up or neat the red "H" mark, its not causing any permenant damage to the motor. Check your coolant level, sounds like there may be bubbles in the system. If thats not the problem, look to the thermostat.

 

when u go down the road, air cools the coolant, no need for a fan....... fan is only there to run when sitting still...... so u have to fix ur fan operation and see if the problem continues..... running cold is caused by fan operating all the time, especially when its going down a highway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ImportCracker88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">..... running cold is caused by fan operating all the time, especially when its going down a highway.</TD></TR></TABLE>

OR the thermostat is stuck open, not allowing the coolant enough time inside the engine to absorb heat.

 

sounds like you thermostat is open to me!

while it is probably not going to harm the car @ that temperature, I would get the thermostat replaced ASAP just to be on the safe side.

 

I would say that is is not really going to harm your car to run a little cool. The main reason people allow their engines to warm up as much as they do is to operate the heating system. This is not too big of a problem in Miami most of the time. Some ECUs do cause the engine to run a little rich while the car is warming-up, so your mileage may be affected a little if you don't do anything about it. I would also have to go with the open thermostat theory for this one. When you are going down the road, if your fan is on, it won't make much of a difference in cooling as the wind is already going through the radiator, which is the purpose of the fan in slow or non-moving traffic.
I am going to have to suggest going with an OEM thermostat here if you do buy one. I bought one at NAPA for the '92 Accord I was driving about 4 years ago. The car started to overheat about 2 weeks later when I took it to Mississippi. So I drove without the thermostat for a few weeks. I then drove the car to Overton, Nevada and bought another thermostat at NAPA because it was cold and I needed the defroster to work and that was the only parts store in town. On the way back to Oklahoma, somewhere in New Mexico, it overheated again at about 2 in the morning and it was about 12° outside. At least the engine kept me warm. I finally went to the Honda dealer and bought one for it and it was still working perfectly when I sold the car last month with 261,000 miles on it. NAPA did refund the cost of the two thermostats, eventually, after two messages to the regional manager letting them know that I would not shop there again, even if I broke down in front of the store.

Chris Chase
'02 Accord LX
'96 del Sol S

 

Sounds like it possibly is the thermostat... But you mentioning the temp dropping back to cold makes me think otherwise.

Perhaps a malfunctioning temp gauge? I know my fuel gauge does the same. Sometimes it reads the proper level but 90% of the time, it'll go back way past F (past where it goes when it's full and works) and stay there for weeks at a time sometimes.

I'd change the t-stat anyways. It's a 30 minute job, not even, and you'll spend $20-$30 inc. tax for the t-stat from the dealership.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cachase1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">after two messages to the regional manager letting them know that I would not shop there again, even if I broke down in front of the store.</TD></TR></TABLE>

HAHA! Good one

x2 on getting an OEM thermostat

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmhondas &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wouldn't think driving it like that would hurt it as long as its got coolant in it <FONT COLOR="red">kidds in alaska cant turn there cars off or they wont start back up</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

What?!?

 

deff sounds like a t-stat, when ever one of my honda motors has a prob with temp or cooling issues thats always my first approach, cheap and usually fixed the prob...