Hey everyone, so my stock 98 honda civic is having a recurring problem. The problem is the car will over heat but when I stop and turn off my car then turn it back on it seems to correct itself, so I can't tell what the problem is, like the fan motor or switch. Any ideas on what it could be?

Thanks

 

Can you hear the fan come on at idle?

 

Try searching this topic comes up at least twice a week!

 

Most of the time it does come on and I can hear it when it does....do you think its the fan motor or a switch issue?

Thanks

 

So it only overheats at idle right?

Try this drive the car for a half hour or so, park it and let it idle, watch the temp gauge when it starts going past half way you should hear the fan come on, if not sure go double check open the hood.

Also, to make sure the fan is working, go under the hood and on top of the thermostat housing there is a plug unplug it, take a paper clip bend it like a U take one side of the paper clip stick in left hole take the other end of the paperclip and put in the right hole, go inside the car and turn the key to the second position number 2 and see if the fan comes on.

 

Do the tests suggested, but for a while I thought I was over heating and my gauge was bad. I'd turn off the car for just a second or two and the temp would drop from about 3/4 to 1/4 and then stay there for a while. If all else seems good you can try testing the gauge and/or replacing the sender. Do you have a copy of the FSM?

 

Try changing the thermo fan switch... I the same problem n it seemed to fix the problem.

 

Fan should come on way before the temp gauge starts rising. He already said the fan was coming on so why test it. Does it happen when your traveling at a decent speed or in traffic (stop and go)?

 

I have been through this, sometimes the fan will come on late. People will confuse the fans as well, such as the AC fan.

Don't assume, troubleshoot first and make sure that rad fan is coming with the simple test I posted which is common knowledge.

People ask for advice, and when people tell them the steps to troubleshoot, they should do each step until the problem is solved.