over heated on the freeway
 

Last night there was construction on the freeway and traffic was at a crawl. Next thing I know my 95 civic temp gage is all the way up to the red! I was in the center lane but wanted to get to the right side so it took about 5 mins to get over. I sat there for about 10 mins until it went down some, luckyly I was near an exit and a cop helped me get off the freeway. I got to a supermarket and put some distilled water in he reservoir and was able to get home with the gage back to normal.

This morning when I checked the engine the reservior was almost empty, and when I started it up with the a/c on only the right side fan went on. Is this where my problem is? I ran it for a few mins. but did not see any leaks.

Thanks
J

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

in the morning, did you check to see if you also needed water in the radiator?

i am pretty sure that both fans are to come on at the same time. they come on whenever a certain temperature is reached. sensor i think is plugged into the radiator.
need to rigg up to put 12 volts to the left-side fans to make sure that it works.

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

I just checked it and I could not see any fluid, so I added more. I didn't need to add too much more before I was able to bring the fluid level up.

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

top the coolant/water up to the correct level, keep the car running while you are doing this.
when you are happy with the level, put the expansion cap back on - drive your car til it gets to operating temp. park it in your drive, lift the bonnet and check the coolant level. if it's alright, wait by the car to make sure the fan cuts in (keep an eye on the temp gauge)

also, check to see if you have any noticeable leaks while the car is parked up

lemme know how you get on

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

Ok I took it for a spin,drove for about 5 mins until the temp got up to normal, came back to the house and let it sit for another 5 mins. No change in temp, but the fan did not come on.

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

the problem seems to be your fan then.
run the car, sit in and keep an eye on the temp gauge - if it starts to go into the red and the fan doesn't go on, stop the engine but leave the key at position 2. get a paper clip and locate where the fan is connected to the engine temp sensor (should be at the thermostat housing) - disconnect the plug from the sensor and bridge the 2 connectors with your paper clip, if the fan comes on you gotta faulty temp sensor - if it don't, fan's fooked

also, check your pipes at the top and bottom of the rad to see that they are both hot

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

I checked the tubes and only the top one is hot. What does that mean?

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

sounds like a fooked water pump or possibly a blockage in the rad - what mileage is on the car, and when has it had it's last timing (cam) belt fitted?
had a new water pump been fitted with the belt??

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

The water pump and timing belt is no more than 2 years old. there about 150,000 miles on it. Looked like the rad was new when I bought the car used.

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

I found this on another site...

"Serious overheating in heavy traffic but not in open driving is an indication to investigate the fan, fan clutch or motor or relay, or shroud. Some cars have two fans, and both should be on if the engine is hot."

This is exactly my symptoms. I guess I need to make an appointment with my mechanic.

Thanks for your help.
J

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

no problem, let me know what the diagnosis was!

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

Okay, if the top tube is cold and not heating up that means that you don't have circulation of your coolant. (obvious) So yes that means you could have a failed water pump. BUT, have you checked your thermostat? Here's what you do:

1. Put on a pot of water on the stove to boil. Go out to your car and proceed to step 2

2. Unbolt your thermostat housing and take your thermostat out.

3. Take your thermostat and drop it in the water (which should be boiling at this point)

4. Wait a few seconds and watch to see if it opens up. If it opens up quite a bit, it's not your problem. If it opens up just a little bit or not at all, then it's the problem or one of many. Better hope it's one thing! haha

5. Go to Honda and buy a thermostat. Cheap aftermarket ones are just that... cheap! and will fail long before the honda one will. I have one with 135000km on it and it's still good.

Hope that this helps. It's a lot cheaper than a water pump and much easier to fix. :)

RE: over heated on the freeway
 

if the thermostat stuck in the closed position, you wouldn't have any hot coolant going to the top pipe of the rad
if it stuck open, the car wouldn't get up to operation temp

he has no circulation, hot coolant is only making it to the rad by convection