hey guys got a 98 dx..i had to replace the radiator since it had a hole somewhere and decided to replace the tstat since i was there..well heres the issue i filled the res to the min then filled up the radiator and left the cap off..i then got inside the car and put it to max and turned it on..well after 30 mins or maybe even more the fan never came on and the tstat never opened,top was hot after the half hr and bottom cold but all the other hoses around it was hot..what you guys think it is?

tomorrow i will try the paperclip test to see if the fan comes on and if does its the cooling fan switch? and if doesnt and if i hear a click and no workie then its the relay?

also the gauge gets to the middle and acts all good..thanks guys

 

Take the car for a 10-15 min drive in your neighborhood and watch the temp gauge carefully. It should always read less than the halfway mark. If so, you should be good to go. If not, bleed the cooling system again with the front end raised on stands.

 

Thanks and that reminds me the car is on stands in the front. Am I not doing the bleeding procedure correctly? Thanks again also anyone have part# for the switch? There is to many diff switchs or sensors lol

 

you never said anything about you bleeding the system. you need to open the bleeder screw and get all the air out of the system. once all the air is out then the fan will work like it should.

 

I didn't see one. Where's it at?

 

Usually on the engine's coolant outlet fitting, the one that leads to the upper radiator tube. On newer cars or fittings it's sometimes absent. Once you get back from the drive, fill the overflow a bit past the max mark. Then after you let it cool down, open the cap and fill that to the top. I had a car once take 3 drives/bleedings, showing massive overheat on the first 2. I was certain I did it all correct, so I just let it cool down each time and tried again. It was a Mazda motor, so I wasn't surprised.

 

Oh ok yea mine don't have a bleeder. Ill try that. Thanks

 

Bleeding may take 20-30 minutes:

1) Park the car on an inclined driveway with the front end higher than the rear.

2) Push the dash heater lever/**** to MAX heat.

3) Follow the directions in the diagram below

 

Thats exactly what I did but fans never came on or stat never opened

 

Try again.

Did you take the car on a drive to see whether it overheats?

 

Not yet im at work till 5

 

Usually if the car doesn't warm up then the thermostat problem. If you leave the car idle for long time and the fans doesn't come on then the engine will over heat, and did turn off the vehicle right away. You should check to see if the fan working by turning it on or test it with 12 volt battery. The fan very important because if doesn't work then the engine will over heat and cause many issuse..

 

Did you unplug the fan switch and forget to plug it in again? That's the first thing that popped into my mind...

 

The gauge gets to the middle just not opening the tstat. Anything I unplugged to change the radiator was plugged back in. The actual fan and the switch on the tstat housing

 

Was the new thermostat installed correctly?

 

being a 98 im sure that you have a bleeder screw. follow the upper radiator hose to where it goes into the motor and you should see a small screw that has a nipple on it, it looks just like one you would use to bleed your brakes.

 

The stock 98 engine does not have a bleeder bolt.

 

well you got me. i could have swore my 97 did and all my other hondas do. oh well. i tried to help.

 

Tstat is in correctly. And just tried the paperclip trick and fan works. About to take if for a drive

 

Ok update. I let it idle and also let it rev at like 2k for a while and squeezed the bottom hose a bit and after 20-25 mins bottom hose got about as hot as top so assuming the stat finally opened. The fan still didn't come on during all this. So buttoned it up and went for a traffic and open drive and never went past the bottom line of the temp symbol on dash. I think the fan went on once. Then I came home popped the hood and kept it idleing and about a few mins later the fan came on for about 15-20 secs. That normal or still something going on? Thanks

 

You're good to go.

 

Perfect. Thank you. Just don't like how long it takes for that fan to come on and how long it stays on

 

Civic engine tend to run on the cold side. Sounds to me yours is working just fine.

 

it doesn't take much to cool your D series. the fan only will stay on for a few seconds to do its job and then turn off. glad you figured it out

 

Thanks again guys wouldn't have figured it out without all the help