Small over heating problem


EK9dan

B18C-R EK9
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Sep 23, 2008
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Hi folks,

Recently the cars water temp gauge raised high, stopped, noticed there was lack of water in the system, filled it up and i was good to go, problem stopped for 2 weeks or so. Only happened the once.

Today sitting in traffic noticed the Temp gauge rise to 3/4. But when i started driving the temp gauge went back down to normal very quickly. This happened twice on the same road. And i was only in traffic for about 3 minutes(and its not exactly hot weather) Got home, checked water and just needed a bit of topping up, there was enough water in there though to be fair, considering i wasnt driving hard at all. Floored it and hit vtec once in the whole journey for about 2 seconds.

Now could it be the thermostat playing games? As the car doesnt smoke/ doesnt really loose water, maybe a bit but it gets driven fairly hard on occasions so its normal to top up water from week to week.

There are no leaks as far as i can see either. To me its pointing straight at the thermostat, or the radiator but i doubt its that. What are other opinions on this?
 
Id change the thermostat there relatively cheap and would prefer not to risk a faulty stat not opening. Any gunk under oil cap?
 
Id change the thermostat there relatively cheap and would prefer not to risk a faulty stat not opening. Any gunk under oil cap?

No Gunk at all buddy, clean as a whistle, Engine feels perfect.

I thought i'd like to add the car was sitting for 6 months not in use(been back on road the last month), only driven about twice in the space of the 6 months it was sitting. Running out of water and refilling may have air in system?

I will change stat anyway, something i havent done on this car yet so piece of mind.
 
take off timing covers and check water pump.sounds to me like it aint circulating so it heats up when stopped and cools down when you on the move cos the air hits the rad then.
 
could have slight air in the system, sounds more like a stat prob tho.
 
take off timing covers and check water pump.sounds to me like it aint circulating so it heats up when stopped and cools down when you on the move cos the air hits the rad then.


How do you check if the water pump is working correctly? Oh that reminds me, at the time that the temp gauge had risen the heater were blowing out cooler air, the when I drove off, temp gauge lowered the heaters blew out normal hot air again, this anything to think about mate?
 
Does your Fan work?

You know dude i don't know, but sitting in traffic for a couple of minutes in this freezing weather after a fairly short journey shouldn't really overheat like that, should it? As I did think initially "fan" but surley this can't be the issue?
 
that was the first thing i think of as you mention you are stationary.

the car will get hot enough if you are stationary, and the fan will come in, even in this weather.

thats the first thing i would go check if the fan is cutting in, when the temperature is going up, the needle shouldn't even move when the fan usually come in.

if it is then you know the fan switch is working ok, if it is not then you can check by bridging the fan switch.

if it is the thermostat, it will only make you take longer to warm up, usually this stuck open when they become faulty, rather than closed as it is a safety feature
 
as tmus said does;nt sound like your thermostat i replaced mine tday due to the car taking ages to heat up reckon it was sticking like hes said, they're £25 from honda if anyone wanted to know:)
 
that was the first thing i think of as you mention you are stationary.

the car will get hot enough if you are stationary, and the fan will come in, even in this weather.

thats the first thing i would go check if the fan is cutting in, when the temperature is going up, the needle shouldn't even move when the fan usually come in.

if it is then you know the fan switch is working ok, if it is not then you can check by bridging the fan switch.

if it is the thermostat, it will only make you take longer to warm up, usually this stuck open when they become faulty, rather than closed as it is a safety feature

Hmmm something to definitely think about there, thanks.

I will get on it tomorrow, leave the car idling and see if it cuts in. When car is at normal running temperature it should only take 1-2 minutes before fan kicks right? My only concern at the moment is having a reliable car for the Burg trip. Last thing i want is my water pump giving up while im out there. Problem is i dont think i have enough money this money to fork out for a pump + fitting.
 
Yeah, or even go for a drive then leave it idle, it does take while if you are idling the car from cold to the fan coming on so better to warm the car from a drive first.

depends how hot you got the car, it shouldn't take too long.

just Keep an eye on the temperature needle, make sure it doesn't rise to 3/4. if it does you know you got a problem already

if the fan doesn't start working, then you know your problem is with either FAN or Fan Switch.

Try that and we can eliminate one possible cause

HTH
 
Thanks for the help Tmus, I'll keep this thread updated.
 
How do you check if the water pump is working correctly? Oh that reminds me, at the time that the temp gauge had risen the heater were blowing out cooler air, the when I drove off, temp gauge lowered the heaters blew out normal hot air again, this anything to think about mate?

Sounds like you may have air in the cooling system. Id change thermostat just to be on the safe side then park your car on abit of a hill with front facing forward or jack up front slightly(this helps direct trapped air to top of rad) fill rad with coolant and leave rad cap open, start engine and keep topping up the coolant as it drops, you should see air bubbles come to the surface then when hot turn heater fan on at full heat setting and top up coolant again as needed, knock off car and let cool down then check coolant level again should be job done after that:nice:
 
Vtec6000 is right on, there may be air in the system, replace that thermostat [easy job] and also check the fan switch is still working or just replace that as well while your doing the thermostat [very easy to replace]. Also--check that the fan still works by running power to it, bypass the switch.

You mention that your loosing coolant right? It may be a small leak in a hose or the radiator. Check closely...heater hoses tend to be over looked for leaks, its where I found a leak about 2 years ago. Mine were 10 years old and hard with cracks...
 
Thanks very much for the input you guys.

We have bled the system and there was actually quite alot of air in the system. Ive checked the fan and that came on just fine. Drove the car about today on fairly short drive, gave it a few screams, left it running for 20 odd minutes and seemed completely normal, no overheating etc.... Not sure if the problem is solved but so far so good........

hmmm... All i can do is keep an eye and see if it happens again.
 
should be ok then, just keep the expansion bottle top up, as if you had air or had coolant change there will always be air left. it will keep sucking in quite a few heat/cool cycle.
 
Thanks very much for the input you guys.

We have bled the system and there was actually quite alot of air in the system. Ive checked the fan and that came on just fine. Drove the car about today on fairly short drive, gave it a few screams, left it running for 20 odd minutes and seemed completely normal, no overheating etc.... Not sure if the problem is solved but so far so good........

hmmm... All i can do is keep an eye and see if it happens again.

Cheers! Get a water temp gauge in your ride, gives a more timely and accurate reading over the dash gauge [weakest part of a Honda, the oem water temp gauge, honestly, its a joke].
 
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