I have a 93 Accord. Lately the temperature guage has been moving to HOT when stopped at a light. As soon as I begin to drive, or just increase the RPMs, the temperature immediately drops to normal. I just replaced the thermastat, but no change. The upper hose gets very hot, so I assume the water is circulating. I jumped the fan switch to make the right side fan run constantly, but still no help. What ese can I check ? Assuming that the water pump runs off of the timing belt, is it safe to assume that the pump is circulating the water properly ? or can it actually stop pumping even if still rotating ? Please help ! Thanks.
Bob
7/16/03: here's an update .... when making right turns the temp. goes up ..... when making left turns it goes down ! I thought I was imagining this, but had someone else drive the car and tell me what they observe .... same result. I removed thermostat and temperature stayed "normal" . I checked thermastat in hot water and it appears to be working. My feeling (just a guess) is that the water pump is not working to full capacity. How is this possible ? Do the "fins" wear down ? It must be turning if run by timing belt .... correct ? Car has about 120,000 miles. Bought it at 113,000 not sure if water pump (or timing belt) have been changed. Can anyone explain these odd symptoms ?
Thanks.

Modified by zatman1 at 10:58 AM 7/16/2003

 

if ur water pump is not working properly, coolant would be leaking out thru the weep holes. weep holes r holes purposely built into the pump to warn you want it is defective. Also, u might wanna check the temp sensor.

 

did u install the themostat right ? It has to face a certain way. Check it.

 

Is the radiator full of water or is there antifreeze present? Tap water contains deposits that often contaminate the fins, etc and will stick to the parts inside, helping wear down the pump.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zatman1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... Car has about 120,000 miles. Bought it at 113,000 not sure if water pump (or timing belt) have been changed...</TD></TR></TABLE>
That's a pretty good excuse right there. New timing belt & water pump. You do NOT want to let the timing belt break.

I don't know how the fins of the pump impeller would wear down. Maybe there's air in the system? Thermostat installed correctly? I don't think it would even fit if you had it backwards. But there's a little bleed hole with a funny pin thing in it. If the gasket is positioned wrong, it doesn't let that work properly.

 

ECT sensor, maybe?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carolinaACCORD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ECT sensor, maybe?</TD></TR></TABLE>
I'd rather believe it's the fan switch or the sender for the dashboard temperature gauge. The ECT is just for the ECM, it doesn't 'share' information with the dash gauge or the fan control.

 

good point