Overheating questions.....
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Tampa, FL
Overheating questions.....
...on a '91 Prelude. I know this is a little off topic, but I'm kinda scratchin my head here. My car only seems to overheat when sitting in traffic (or parked), once I start moving its fine. Turning on the heat has little/no effect. The needle shoots straight to the red area and stays there until I start moving again.
I got home and started investigating. It seems the radiator fan isn't turning on when its supposed to -ie when the engine gets too hot. However, if I turn on the A/C, both the A/C fan and the radiator fan (its the one on the right facing the engine) COME ON. They will stay on for a while until the temp. gauge starts to fall again (not back to its normal position, but below the red area) and then they will turn off. I leave the on (no difference whether its set to hot or cold) until the car gets too hot again and it will keep turning on. But just not when I'm NOT running the A/C.
And here's the kicker. As soon as I turn off the engine the radiator fan COMES ON and stays on until the engine cools off. It's as if just the radiator fan will only come on when the engine is hot and when the car is turned off.
I'm sorry, but I can't make any sense of this. Does anybody have any ideas? TIA guys, trying to not to have to spend any money on this car by having a mechanic charge me for scratching his head. This is my beater I drive in winter (or long road trips in the summer), so trying not to let it nickle and dime me, especially since I already have a new car payment.
I got home and started investigating. It seems the radiator fan isn't turning on when its supposed to -ie when the engine gets too hot. However, if I turn on the A/C, both the A/C fan and the radiator fan (its the one on the right facing the engine) COME ON. They will stay on for a while until the temp. gauge starts to fall again (not back to its normal position, but below the red area) and then they will turn off. I leave the on (no difference whether its set to hot or cold) until the car gets too hot again and it will keep turning on. But just not when I'm NOT running the A/C.
And here's the kicker. As soon as I turn off the engine the radiator fan COMES ON and stays on until the engine cools off. It's as if just the radiator fan will only come on when the engine is hot and when the car is turned off.
I'm sorry, but I can't make any sense of this. Does anybody have any ideas? TIA guys, trying to not to have to spend any money on this car by having a mechanic charge me for scratching his head. This is my beater I drive in winter (or long road trips in the summer), so trying not to let it nickle and dime me, especially since I already have a new car payment.
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 30,113
Likes: 5,451
From: Bondville
You may want to have a switch direct wired to the fan so you can turn it on from inside the car. The progression I would check would be
1. check fan switch
2. check thermostat
3. check radiator cap ( I have had this cause a car to overheat)
4. flush cooling system
5. check radiator for blockage
Basically start with the smaller stuff. I had an 85 crx that I bought as a winter beater that was overheating and I went thru all this. It ended up being a warped head. I put about 8k miles on it that way I just had to make sure I kept checking and topping off the coolant level. Good Luck
1. check fan switch
2. check thermostat
3. check radiator cap ( I have had this cause a car to overheat)
4. flush cooling system
5. check radiator for blockage
Basically start with the smaller stuff. I had an 85 crx that I bought as a winter beater that was overheating and I went thru all this. It ended up being a warped head. I put about 8k miles on it that way I just had to make sure I kept checking and topping off the coolant level. Good Luck
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