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This is my first time with this car that it has overheated with me. I was driving and my car was on idle on the road and i saw the needle started to go up slowly, so i quickly turned on the heat and pulled over to throw in some water. This just reminded me that i haven't changed the coolant/flush the system in a while, could this be the problem that its overheating?
Yeah most likely. Could also be your radiator. Another possibility could be one of your fans isn't coming on. You have 2.
yeah that happend to me. The fans were not comming on due to a messed up sensor. The guy fixed it pretty quick but if they really wont come on make sure your a\c is on weather it works or not. It turned my fans on untill i could get to the mechanic.
Yeah, you are better off putting on your A/C than heat. If your A/c works the fans will come on, the heat won't turn on the radiator fans. You need to see if your radiator fan is working. There is a switch in the bottom of radiator that turns the fan on when it gets hot. If you disconnect the plug and jumper it out, the fan should come on with the key on. If it doesn't you have a wiring problem. If it does come on your switch is shot. First check to see if fan comes on during idle (when it gets hot at idle).
You said you pulled over to throw in some water. Was it low???? In addition to changing fluids you should have your radiator cap pressure checked to make sure its still good, that can cause overheating. Make sure you bleed the system as well after you change fluid. Also before you go off jumpering Temp sensors check all your fuses, there's one in the engine compartment for the Radiator fan
HA! i found the problem!!!! the fan doesnt come on when the car is on! but the fan turns on when the car is off, what the **** is going on?! is it because of my temperture sensor or my thermostat?
Oh...it might be a myth but someone told me when ever my car over heats...turn on the heat so it will drag all the hot air away from ur engine so it reduces the chance of it overheating. thats why i turned on the heat.
it's not a myth.... the heater core is hooked up to the coolant flow and sort of acts like a mini radiator... it really doesn't have the capacity to majorly cool the motor though.
Assuming you filled your radiator with coolant, if the car is running hot but the fan doesnt turn on like it should while the car is running it is most likely the switch at the bottom of the radiator. Thats what mine did... even though it DID work once the car shut off.
BEWARE though... i changed mine with a switch from Autozone and didnt fix the problem.... the new switch was bad too. I then wasnt sure what the problem was since i replaced the switch, so I got one from the junkyard a while later while I was there and it fixed the problem. So either buy one from a dealer or take a chance buying a bad one like I did. My mechanic told me the same thing... he seen a lot of these aftermarket switches are not good and he advised me to go to dealer.
Exactly. Same here my switch was bad and I bought a new one that didn't work. So I went to another auto store and bought another one. That one didn't work either. So I went to the junkyard and got one that did work. Came to the conclusion that aftermarket switchs don't work. You can check them before you put them in. If you have a multimeter hook to each contact on switch and place in pot of water and heat on stove. You should get continuity before it boils. If you go to the junkyard cut the connector off and use that to clip your meter leads on. Good luck.
that was happening to my sister's car...it was the temperature sensor and the fan motor that went out...replaced it and voila!
what does this switch looks like? and where can i find it?
Is there a way to just have the fan run everytime my car is on? So that way i dont have to replace anything?
here's everything you need to know about the fan
http://quadmobile.virtualave.net/fanswitch.htm
yes it is. the sensor will just close the circuit to the ground. if you bypass the sensor and attach the wire directly to the groud then the fan will be 'on' all the time (while driving of course). i did this to my 84 prelude. it would however put a lot of pressure on your fan, since it doesn't have to be on all the time. another solution is to install a manual switch inside the car, and turn it on/off manually. however, i would recomand changing the sensor. shouldn't cost more thatn 10$ and it takes 20 min to change.Quote:
Originally posted by xaccordx89x
Is there a way to just have the fan run everytime my car is on? So that way i dont have to replace anything?
I had the same problem with my car...the fan wasn't coming on, so I did the jumper test: fan came on....must be the switch then right?....WRONG!
After wasting my money on a new switch from Honda the problem was still there...so out of curiousity I tested the old switch with a heat gun and it worked. So I tested the new switch, and it worked.
Here's what the problem REALLY was: The bottom of my radiator was all gummed up on the walls and around the thermo switch. So here's what I figure: Although the switch and the circuit were fine, the switch wasn't turning on because as far as it could feel the coolant was nice and cool.
Here's the fix I did......FLUSH THE RADIATOR, then take out the switch again and carefully clean inside the radiator around where the switch hole it.
Problem solved.
Or just jumper the terminals of the wire that goes to the thermo switch....but I don't like hearing my fan running all the time.
Wow good find pstone. I bet that was frustrating. And thanks, that is some good info, might come in handy some day.
