engine temperature problem

[cb7wagonPL]

i have an F22A6 in my wagon and something weird has been happening lately with my temp gauge. When i drive around the needle stays in the middle and the temp is fine. when i come to a light and i sit there for a minute or so my temperature starts to raise all the way to the top and as soon as i start driving again the temo drops back to normal. Also after i turn off the car the fan goes on and stays on for few mins. Whats the problem?? This weekend i will drain the antifreeze from my car and put in new one and see if that helps. could it be the thermostat?

[GrayCar]

Doubtful it's your thermostat. Otherwise the motor would just stay hot. But, it is a quick and cheap thing to do and they do get pretty gunked up, not a bad idea to replace it.

Your fans are working so that's not it. Usually if your car gets hot while at a standstill but cools off after you drive it's the fans, fan relay or the like.

Sounds like you have low coolant, a gunked up radiator or just old cooolant.

You're on the right track. Drain, flush, top her off and see how it goes. Keep an eye out for leaks over the next couple of weeks, they may not start until the motor warms up and the system is under pressure.

[Tone-us]

It could also be your water pump going out on you?

[Sho Nuff]

I had the same thing, you have low coolant. Make sure you put some in with the car running at normal temperature so that some goes in the engine and some tops off the radiator.

[GrayCar]

Ack! Don't do it with the car hot! You run the risk of cracking your block. Cold water + hot metal is not good.

It definitely needs to be running when you do it, but not with a hot motor. Make sure you have your heat turned on all the way also, get the heater core flowing.

If you've drained it all, fill 'er up at the radiator. There's a bleeder valve on top of the thermostat housing too. Open that up a bit and fill the radiator until coolant comes out of the bleeder. Stop, close it up and top off the radiator.

Start the car, with the heat on, let it run a bit and get the bubbles out of the system. The radiator level will dip a bit when the motor draws coolant in, keep it running until the thermostat opens up, top her off and close it up.

[cb7wagonPL]

Originally posted by GrayCar
Ack! Don't do it with the car hot! You run the risk of cracking your block. Cold water + hot metal is not good.

It definitely needs to be running when you do it, but not with a hot motor. Make sure you have your heat turned on all the way also, get the heater core flowing.

If you've drained it all, fill 'er up at the radiator. There's a bleeder valve on top of the thermostat housing too. Open that up a bit and fill the radiator until coolant comes out of the bleeder. Stop, close it up and top off the radiator.

Start the car, with the heat on, let it run a bit and get the bubbles out of the system. The radiator level will dip a bit when the motor draws coolant in, keep it running until the thermostat opens up, top her off and close it up.

thanx a lot for the help. yea my honda manual gives very similar directions. Thats a good tip to cool off the engine to protect the block just wanna clarify one thing... after i drain the old coolant and get the bleeder part done do i leave the car running with the radioator cap off and add coolant as needed. wanna make sure ill do this right. thanx again

[GrayCar]

Ya, you can leave the motor running for a bit, I wouldn't let it get hot-hot.

Figure the thermostat opens up at about 180-190 (I think). Soon as you get some heat out of the vents you're good.

Not a big thing, you can always add coolant later.

Just don't hit the block with a large amount of cood water. Just topping off a radiator won't do it.

[alb_accord]

hey man i am having ur problem
low colant lever. just add some more when the car is cold.
anyway. that isn't the worst part. the worst part is trying to figure out why did it lose the coolant and where.
get a tool from autozone and put ur system under preasure. then u would see where the leak is. do this while the car is cold.

if u don't see any leaks that is good lol.
then warm the car. then open ur heater. drive for about 30 min. stop and gon. then see if u smell any coolant buring.
there are some hozes that get water only when upen up ur heater. and ur leak might be there. and also there is this hard hoze on the bottom of the thermostat. if that leaks u won't find out. only if it leaks a lot u will smell it,, or u will see smoke coming out from under the car. this is because it will fall on top of the exaust pipe.

but do the preasure check first. and check for white spots on the engine compartment. that would mean that there is a coolant leak

[Sho Nuff]

Yeah dont do it with the block hot, that is a no-no just make sure it is warm so that some can get pass the thermostat.

[squig808]

Originally posted by cb7wagonPL
after i drain the old coolant and get the bleeder part done do i leave the car running with the radioator cap off and add coolant as needed. wanna make sure ill do this right. thanx again

You should be able to keep the cap on and fill through the overflow reservoir. Keep an eye on it for a few days, add mixture to keep it at MAX when hot.
A few pointers if you're interested:
1. Use coolant safe for HONDA's (aluminum block)
2. If you replace the thermostat don't cheap out, buy one from a dealer or a good rad shop (ask them if it's a piece of shit, they should tell you)

btw. Honda does it right, the gasket on the thermostat and the bleeder on the housing are excellent examples of good engineering.

[HondaFan81]

I do not believe your car has a thermostat or coolant fluid condition problem. As you stated, when the car is running, it is fine and at normal operating temperature and this may be because your car is moving and air is hitting the radiator and increases cooling effiency.

However, when you stop/idling, your engine temperature increases. This is because you have no air hitting your radiator at a ram-air like effect. What is supposed to happen is your radiator fan is supposed to kick on and help with the cooling and it appears it is not. You said, a fan kicks on after you turn the engine off, well that is because it is based on a timer which is a separate entity/part that triggers that (ie. A/C thermoswitch...which seems to work fine).

I believe your problem is the thermoswitch for the radiator fan. It is located on the thermostat housing, where the lower radiator hose connects to your engine. This is what should activate your radiator fan, but it appears not to be working.

I just looked up this information in my Helms manual for a friend, because he had the same issues with his H22 swap into his Accord. He demonstrated the same exact problems & characteristics...his name is Aero3685 and you can PM him if you want.

Nice detailed description on your problem, thanks for being clear on it. Hopefully I helped. Let me know what you find.

[HondaFan81]

If you it's about time to change your thermostat, I would for preventative maintenance, but if it's been replaced not long ago....leave it alone. Also, if you NEED to change your coolant at this time, do so...if not leave that alone as well. I am almost 100% positive these are not your issues at all. If they were, you would not be at normal operating temperatures while driving around like you said you were. If the thermostat and coolant fluid do not need your immediate attention, don't waste your time on them.

If you need tips on thermostat and/or coolant change... PM me or AIM me at Accord EX SE. I'll help ya, or just get a Haynes manual ($14) and/or use a Helms manual if you have one (but you don't need it for just this)...they are more expensive.

I also doubt it's your coolant level, unless you are EXTREMELY low on it, I'm talking no fluid in reservoir and low in the radiator itself....at that point you should be shot I think you take better care of your car then that, right? I hope.

[alb_accord]

well if he has a leak there is no way to know how much fluid he has on the radiator.
i don't think its the fans because i got the same problem.
he is low in the coolant.

[HondaFan81]

Originally posted by alb_accord
well if he has a leak there is no way to know how much fluid he has on the radiator.
i don't think its the fans because i got the same problem.
he is low in the coolant.

I read back on his posts, he never stated he had a leak in his coolant system. If he did, his car would overheat always (if bad enough), not just during idling/or stopped.

Other people have stated they think he may have a leak.

Another thing, thermostat now-a-days are fail-safe and therefore if they fail, they fail in the open position. So if anything, your car would run cooler then normal because it's always circulating through the radiator and at intial start-up will take longer to warm up because it is no longer circulating within the engine passages alone to warm up quicker.

[cb7wagonPL]

thanx guys for the numerous replies! i wanted to do the flush today but its raining so its gonna have to wait till tomm or friday. I checked and there are no leaks alb. Also no smell indicating that im burning coolant. Ill do the flush anyway and if that is no help the thermoswitch should solve the problem. Ill let you guys know how it turns out. thanx again