Noticed a few days ago that my temperature gauge gradually goes up after my car auto shifts about the fourth time (it's a 96 civic a/t w/ vtec engine for those wondering). A few days earlier I had my water pump changed and the problem started after this. I saw in a few older threads there was mention of a sender or something probably being disconnected. Thing is I'm sure it has to be connecting because the temperature reads unlike the other posts I've read. When I accelerate, the temp gauge goes toward H and when the car shifts gear the gauge drops again but then again it goes the other way around after a while, when I accelerate it's fine and when I brake the gauge goes up. It's really strange, but I DO remember my distributor being moved slightly for timing purposes during my water pump replacement. Could the sender thing just be slack or would it actually be something else? I noticed oil at the top of the tranny before cleaning it, it seemed to come from the solenoid at the top of the tranny but after I cleaned the tranny I drove around for a few hours and I haven't seen any oil resurface as yet. It's very confusing.

 

Why do you think the temp gauge is malfunctioning?

Check the coolant level in the radiator when the engine is cool. Top off if necessary. Was the cooling system bled after the water pump was replaced? Does the radiator fan run when the engine is hot?

 

1) I don't have a clue but it seems related to my tranny seeing as it mainly happens when auto-shifting.

2) Radiator seems clogged but I have no clue on this. I opened it and the level is at the very top, started the car and it basically spouts the coolant out. Duno if this is normal seeing as my car's been fixed so many times I duno what is what but I'm not used to it staying topped off so duno on that part.

3) No the system was NOT bled after water pump replacement, but I did that myself. However, I wanted to go ahead and drain the radiator and completely flush it. Did that last month but I figured since I changed the water pump that I should again.

4) As you may not remember in another post, I mentioned that my radiator fan is connected to another wire so that it runs when the car is on. I am supposed to take my car to the electrical shop sometime within the next two weeks to have this checked though I doubt I will get to because otherwise it would be stuck in the shop til February seeing as most shops are most busy from October. Therefore, as long as the car is in the on position, the fan is on to answer that question.

 

Is your thermostat new? Why was your waterpump replace?

 

Is there white smoke in the exhaust? Is the engine losing coolant?

I recommend that you repeat the cooling system bleed. Slide the heater lever to max heat then follow precisely the steps in the diagram:

 

No there isn't any white smoke and no the engine isn't losing coolant. Bled the system yesterday. No change. first off it seems that my engine oil leaked out so it's low....I assume so because I know that can contribute to overheating, as well as the oil light blinked for 2 seconds a few wks bk. I need new valve grommets because i see signs of oil on three of them, the valve gasket is fine but I will change them all at once anyway.....there seems to be a leak from the sensor on top of my tranny as well but I need help on that......Also, the radiator fan doesn't work (I checked the fan motor and that works so the fan is not the issue). A while ago I had a friend check and he found a break which he fixed. But it still doesn't cut on, I saw mention in another post with radiator fan problem mentioning the thermo-switch is there a diagram or something to know exactly what it is? because I'm sure I won't know from just looking. Also, I am planning to take the car to a radiator shop because it's just building up pressure and spouting the coolant back out. For the most part the car isn't running hot other than when I go up a hill or accelerate for a long period of time. Can someone please shed some light on this?

 

Theres a switch on the thermostat housing to control the fan. Unplug it and put a jumper wire between the two pins in the plug (on the harness side). Turn the key on and the fan should start immediately (if not, check the fuse and relay, I think they are both in the under-hood fuse box). Test-drive with the fan on all the time and see if it doesn't overheat. If it doesn't, replace the switch.

 

Alright, I just took a look and found it but I am certain that it WILL overheat, it's just the fan that isn't turning on so it may be this switch you speak of. First thing in the morning I will jump the pins. Thanks mk.

 

Watched the car for a few days, the fan actually DOES work. It's just that it only kicks in when there's overheating. I guess my car's radiator has been hardwired for so long that I forgot that's what happens. Also turns out there's actually two bleed holes on my car which I never knew and I only bled one when I did a radiator flush. My uncle bled the other today and the temperature is relatively low now and doesn't seem to overheat anymore, but I'm gonna monitor it for a few days. As for the mysterious oil leak on the tranny he said it may be the distributor seals or somewhere in that area.

 

Might also be a leaky oil pan gasket. First try retorquing the bolts. The distributor O-ring is very easy to replace.