I got a 86 CRX-HF that's running hot but not really overheating - its running at about 60-90% of the temp gauge. When I start it up and warm it to operating temperature the electric fan will come on for a split second but then it immediately shuts off. I jumper wired the fan to the battery and it ran fine uninterrupted. The fan must be operating irregularly for some of the time cause I can drive the car up grades and it never really overheats - it just runs at 90% right under the red zone. What could be the problem with this thing?

 

The fan doesn't seem to be the problem. If it overheats just the same while the car is moving, it would overheat without the fan. I'll put my money on the thermostat. Chances are it is stuck partially open allowing some coolant to flow, but not the proper amount to completely cool your engine.

The fan could be another problem, but your car should not overheat at normal highway speeds even with the fan off.

The thermostat will set you back maybe $20, and you can do it yourself in 30 minutes, or most shops will do it for around $50 labor.

Any other thoughts?

 

if you live in a place that is hot as hell just take out your thermastat and it will run coolant through the engine at all times. Or do what i said but then if you notice that it helps grab a new one.

 

Thanks for the replies but I already changed the thermostat from a 195 to a 180 and that seemed to cool it down some. This car was originally a 86 CRX-HF with the 58-hp EW1 (which uses a 0.9 gallon radiator) but I recently re-engined it with a 84 Civic 76-hp EW1 (which uses a 1.2 gallon radiator). Could this re-engine - same engine, higher HP - cause the car to run hot since I'm still using the original radiator?

 

That's reasonable. I would go with a new (larger) radiator and maybe some nice double fans to help.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by macrob68 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I got a 86 CRX-HF that's running hot but not really overheating - its running at about 60-90% of the temp gauge. When I start it up and warm it to operating temperature the electric fan will come on for a split second but then it immediately shuts off. I jumper wired the fan to the battery and it ran fine uninterrupted. The fan must be operating irregularly for some of the time cause I can drive the car up grades and it never really overheats - it just runs at 90% right under the red zone. What could be the problem with this thing? </TD></TR></TABLE>

The fans serve one and only one purpose: to keep the engine cool while the car is stationary. When you are moving (especially at freeway speeds), the ram-air effect moves more air through the radiator than the fans ever could. So I would suspect something else here. The thermostat could be one problem. But if this has been replaced to no avail, then I would take a look at the radiator. It is a plain and simple fact that the cooling system is THE most neglected system on a car. And corrosion tends to build up in radiators when people do such stupid things as never change the coolant, use straight water, or even use tap water rather than distilled water. It could be that, due to such long-term neglect, your radiator is clogged with deposits and, therefore, not cooling properly.