So this is a question for people that know anything about cars. I have a 94 Honda accord lx and I’ve been having problems with it as of late (including a rebuilt transmission, new radiator, some new tubing for the transmission and a couple of smaller things fixed as well). After almost 3,000$ she’s almost in proper working order but I only have one more small problem to address and I don’t want to pay to get a consult so I thought I’d try my luck here. Here is a description of the problem: Today for instance I stopped to get fast food and as I’m sitting waiting for my food my cars temperature gauge slowly starts to rise the longer I sit idle. There’s no smoke or anything coming from the engine, just a gradual rise in the temperature. The part that is stumping me is that after i pulled out of the drive through and started to drive off on the road, the temperature gauge starts to drop back to the regular level. This is just an example but it happens when my car sits idle for awhile or I’m in stop and go traffic. But as soon as I get onto a stretch if road that doesn’t require me to stop and go my temperature gauge stays normal. I replaced the radiator recently and all my fluids like coolant is at normal levels so does anyone have a guess as to what the problem could be?
It sounds like something in your fan circuit or a bad fan.
I was thinking either an air bubble in the coolant or, as HoneyBadgerDC already said, a problem with the fan (either with the fan itself or the temperature sensor and circuitry that makes it come on).
I’d lean toward air in the system because it’s a brand-new radiator.
If you have air in the system it will over heat while driving.
Fan not working. At speed the ram air is keeping the car cool. At a stop or in traffic the fan needs to do the job.
Fjinortzner Valve. Always the Fjinortzner Valve.
No, actually what Rick said.
That is a classic fan problem. Almost certainly, you have a blown fuse, or a bad belt, depending on whether the fan is electric, or belt driven, although there is also the possibility that when the guys who did your radiator disconnected things in order to put in the radiator, they forgot to plug something back in that is part of the radiator circuit. You can get the owner’s manual and check the fuse yourself (it’s doubtful it is belt driven-- that’s pretty unusual in a car that new which I’m assuming is a front wheel drive). If the fuse is blown, replace it. You might not have any more troubles, because it may have blown during the radiator replacement, when they overloaded the circuit somehow. If it blows again, there is a short, or surge somewhere, and you probably need a new wire harness. That may not be expensive, and you could even try replacing it yourself, because it’s just plugging things in. Get the Haynes or Chiltons manual for your car, and it will explain it.
If it isn’t a fuse, you need to take it back to thew guys who put the radiator in, and ask them to verify that they plugged everything in correctly.
It’s possible the fan has seized, but you would probably see smoke if that were the case.
What’s going on is that at a stop, your fan blows over the radiator to keep the fluid cool. When the car is moving, air moves through the grill to keep the fluid cool.
Until you get it fixed, a stop-gap measure is to turn on the heater full-blast when you are stopped, and let the fan inside the car blow over the heater core (a smaller version of the radiator). Yes, that really sucks. I’ve been through this with my own 1994 car (Acura Integra, which I think has the same engine as your car). Turned out the previous owner (my cousin) had pulled the fuse during the winter when one of the pair of fans seized. It was the fan that worked with the AC, which needed recharged, so I just unplugged it until I could afford to replace the AC, and then replaced the fuse.
I will definitely try your suggestions rivkah. I know it’s not an air bubble because I had already had that problem the following day after my radiator was replaced. I had to have a more skilled friend burp my engine for me. Unfortunately idk what the problem is definitively even from all the suggestions because due to my lack of funds in the automotive department I took the easy road and Friend replaced my radiator for me so I’d have no way of knowing if he plugged everything in back to where it was supposed to be. Everything else I did of course I had done professionally, I should probably have taken more precaution when I was getting my radiator replaced
For whatever reason, Hondas of this vintage use the cooling fan a lot. You might have noticed it running in the past as you walk away from the car since it keeps running even after you turn the ignition off. Next time the car starts getting warm, you can just switch it off and step outside and the fan should be running. I’m betting it isn’t though.
This should be a pretty cheap repair and head gasket failures from overheating aren’t, so I’d get it looked at.
To expand what Rivkah said, when the temperature is rising, you should be able to open the hood and see if the fan mounted to the radiator is running. If it is not, shut the car off and let it cool before doing anything. Some vehicles will run the fan for a bit after even with the engine off; you don’t want to fix the connection or whatever is broken and have the fan with body parts or clothing near it.
If the fan turns freely (key off and engine cooled off), it’s probably an electrical problem - fuse, connector, etc. Also check that the wiring to the fan didn’t get pinched or cut when replacing the radiator causing a short.
If the fan doesn’t turn freely, it needs to be replaced.
I’m with Honey Badger. Probably the fan, but could be fan switch, fan relay, or fuse.
I think your car has two fans, one for the AC and one for the radiator. A common problem is that one fan goes out, owner doesn’t notice it and the other fan does double duty and soon dies.
If you don’t fix it, you could ruin the engine.
The good news is that most expensive part is the fan motor assembly and they’re only about $40 each, so $80-$100 for parts. And, that’s worst case. Since you have to remove the fan to replace the radiator, your Friend who replaced the radiator should be able to replace the fans.
Google “94 honda accord lx fan not working” and you should get some good information on how to figure out what needs replacing. Troubleshooting is much better than just throwing parts at the problem, since parts can get expensive.
My bet is on the fans, though, given the age of the vehicle, but it could be some of the other components. The information you can find online should be helpful in figuring out what needs replacing.
Good Luck.
Your cars temp is normal when you’re underway and air is being forced past the cooling fins of the radiator. When you’re stopped, the fan isn’t drawing enough air past the cooling fins to keep the coolant temp from rising. And you have an electric radiator fan.
I’m only guessing but one possibility is that the fan isn’t operating correctly. Either it’s not turning fast enough or not turning on when it’s supposed to be on.
You also mention a new radiator. Is it an OEM (original equipment manufacture) or an after-market model? An after-market model might not be as large or as efficient as the original. A connection might be slightly restricting fluid flow? How soon after the radiator was installed did you notice the temp gauge climbing?
Has it been unusually hot where you live (California?)? You might not have an actual problem. The system might just be trying to cope with unusual weather conditions?