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Engine Temperature Indicator Reaching Red Level!

DarkThinker

DarkThinker

Platinum Member
My daily driver is a 1996 Honda Accord Coupe, it doesn't seem to me that the engine is cooling properly.
I started to notice this not so long ago, when I am driving on the highway or at high speeds, the temperature indicator drops to half value, still a bit hot for it's usual levels, however when I am driving at slow speeds, or at a stand still, the indicator skyrockets to red level! I parked my car left the engine running and opened the hood, and sure thing both fans are not spinning, then I started hearing a strange sound (maybe due to the heat), I immediately rushed inside and shut the car down, however right after I turned off the car, the right hand fan (it has two side by side) kicked in like it usually does after I shut the engine off.

It seems to me that it may be a faulty thermostat, however I am not experienced enough to know for sure. I checked the engine coolant, and it is at proper level in both radiator and reservoir.

I don't know if the second fan relies on the thermostat in it's operation or not. Would it be a bad thing If I were to bypass the thermostat and went straight to the source? If so, how would I go about that (what to look for exactly)?

I don't want to fix it where I am ATM, because I would have take time off at the company and I don't want to do that, we have an important project to finish up, secondly I am driving back home Friday at noon (167 mile trip) and I want my car to survive the journey, once I get home, my friend is a mechanic he'll take care of the rest.

Thanks in advance.
 
It could well be the thermostat. If it's not opening, or not opening soon enough, the car will start to overheat, but since the coolant's not getting circulated through the radiator the fans (which have a temperature sensor) won't kick on. However, once you park, and the heat gets a chance to radiate from the engine to the fan, they might get warm enough to turn on for a while.

I wouldn't drive it in that condition...or at least, I wouldn't drive it for longer than the few minutes it takes to heat it up to a normal temperature. Too much chance of overestimating what the engine can take and ending up with permanent damage.

I suppose you *could* do medium-speed highway if the day isn't too warm and there's enough wind blowing through to cool the engine directly, but I advise strongly against it.
 
Originally posted by: jagec
It could well be the thermostat. If it's not opening, or not opening soon enough, the car will start to overheat, but since the coolant's not getting circulated through the radiator the fans (which have a temperature sensor) won't kick on. However, once you park, and the heat gets a chance to radiate from the engine to the fan, they might get warm enough to turn on for a while.

I wouldn't drive it in that condition...or at least, I wouldn't drive it for longer than the few minutes it takes to heat it up to a normal temperature. Too much chance of overestimating what the engine can take and ending up with permanent damage.

I suppose you *could* do medium-speed highway if the day isn't too warm and there's enough wind blowing through to cool the engine directly, but I advise strongly against it.
Click to expand...

Yes I do realize that, I guess I will be taking time off tomorrow if I can't figure out how to bypass the thermostat from now till morning (it's 12:00 AM ATM)

I guess luckily for me, my commute is 7 minutes!
 
Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Yes I do realize that, I guess I will be taking time off tomorrow if I can't figure out how to bypass the thermostat from now till morning (it's 12:00 AM ATM)

I guess luckily for me, my commute is 7 minutes!
Click to expand...

Replacing it would be just as easy as bypassing it, and almost as cheap.
 
Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Yes I do realize that, I guess I will be taking time off tomorrow if I can't figure out how to bypass the thermostat from now till morning (it's 12:00 AM ATM)

I guess luckily for me, my commute is 7 minutes!
Click to expand...

Replacing it would be just as easy as bypassing it, and almost as cheap.
Click to expand...

That's not the issue for me, it's time I just don't want to take time off work unless I really have to, so if I can go down to the parking lot and rewire a couple of things at night and avoid issues and time wast during the day that's the goal. Otherwise I wouldn't care really, I would just take it to the nearest mechanic for an easy fix.
 
Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Yes I do realize that, I guess I will be taking time off tomorrow if I can't figure out how to bypass the thermostat from now till morning (it's 12:00 AM ATM)

I guess luckily for me, my commute is 7 minutes!
Click to expand...

Replacing it would be just as easy as bypassing it, and almost as cheap.
Click to expand...

That's not the issue for me, it's time I just don't want to take time off work unless I really have to, so if I can go down to the parking lot and rewire a couple of things at night and avoid issues and time wast during the day that's the goal. Otherwise I wouldn't care really, I would just take it to the nearest mechanic for an easy fix.
Click to expand...

The thermostat is a mechanical part. Not as simple as a wire splice, unfortunately.

I suppose you could band-aid a solution by wiring your fans to run all the time, but that might even be a disadvantage at high speed.
 
Turn on your air conditioning.In Hondas turning on your air conditioning should turn on both cooling fans.Unless your a/c is totally dead.
 
Originally posted by: milesl
Turn on your air conditioning.In Hondas turning on your air conditioning should turn on both cooling fans.Unless your a/c is totally dead.
Click to expand...

As soon as I read this I headed immediately to my car in the lot, and sure thing that takes care of the fans not turning on, both of them are on with the AC on. That should be good enough of a solution to get me back home. I remember a while back, I turned on the AC and the heat took a dive, I brushed it off as a coincident I didn't know it turned on the fans.

Thanks a lot milesl and jagec 🙂
 
Not the thermostat. There is a thermoswitch that should control when the fans come on. In many cars this is screwed into the radiator (or near the radiator in the cooling system) somewhere. The circuit for running the fan after the car turns off is separate from the circuit that will turn the fans on when the car is running.

It can't hurt to change the thermostat too, but in this case it's vastly more likely that it's just the thermoswitch. Unless the thermoswitch is somehow integral to the thermostat, it should be much cheaper and easier to replace.

ZV
 
The fact that the one fan runs when you turn the ignition off might just be a feature of the fan controller. For the electric fan kit I put on my truck they can come on for up to 30 seconds after the ignition is turned off if the temperature setpoint is reached. If the car is sitting still and the fans aren't coming on it is probably the temperature probe as Zenmervolt suggests. Mine looks like a silver rifle cartridge and I had to insert it between the fins of he radiator near the inlet from the block.

Good luck.
 
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