Honda Car Forum

...a good speed.? I had the radiator, temp.sensor and hoseclamp replaced about 6 months back and had an oil change 1 month back. Wonder what is causing the problem since the temp. goes up(sometimes even close to the maximum) whenever I stop at a red light or am parked but goes down quickly whenever I am driving at a good speed. Any way to self-diagnose the cause? Thanks! Update:Here are the symptoms observed:I started from a cold start and let it idle (revved it a few times in the middle) for 30 mins.-Temp gauge climbed up after a while to 1/3(which is the normal reading) and stayed there. Revving engine didnt change temp gauge. -No white smoke was observed from exhaust and no steam coming from radiator. -A few water droplets were observed at exhaust.-Very slowly temp.gauge went up to 1/2 and stayed there.-Both Fans were not turning.-Turned AC on full blast, AC was giving cold air as usual but none of the fans turned on.And I kept hearing 'click-clunk' noise after every 5 minutes. Temp gauge did not change.- Changed temp. slider to maximum to turn heater on full blast. Heater worked fine and gave hot air as usual and temperature gauge came down a bit. -When heater on, the radiator fan started up and continued running till heater switched off. AC fan still not running but no clicking sound now. When heater turned off fan stopped after a while.

First off its a cooling issue. It could be a plugged themostat such as when your driving it opens up. Second thing is maybe the fans kick in when your driving and or the air being pushed into the vechile is enough to offset the heat created to keep it at a level heat. Either way I would suggest looking to make sure your fans are working 1. Second thing is to make sure that your radiator is functioning with no leaks and also check to make sure if you've put in a new thermostat lately that you put the right freaking one in.

Have your cooling fan checked to see if it is working properly. You should hear it run when the temp. is up near the top for sure if not get it fixed or you will damage the engine.

take it to a car dealership or auto zone.

It's your thermostat. Take it to the shop, not an expensive repair.

thermostat - it's a manual device that regulates the flow of coolant. About a seven dollar part. It's always what the problem is. The temp goes down when you go faster because of air cooling.Check it out. Good luck.

I agree that it is definitely your cooling system and probably your fan or your water pump. For some reason the car is only cooling itself by the wind created by movement instead of by coolant circulating through it or the fan blowing cool air on it. Try lifting the hood while it is running for a few minutes and see if the fan spins. If it does then replace your thermostat like the others suggested.

i own a repair shop and i think whats happening to it is the cooling fan isn't coming on when it should,this will cause it to over heat at a light or a long stop,it has a relay switch on it that might have went out,,either that or the temp switch that kicks the relay in has gone out on it,,you may have to take it and have it checked to be sure,,but its a cooling problem for sure,you might not want to drive it a lot until you get the fan working on it,,if it gets hot enough it can cause some major damage to it,but id take it and have it checked out real good just to be sure that was all it is wrong with it,good luck i hope this help,s.

Sounds like the electric cooling fan is not coming on, the coolant temp sensor does not control the fan, it tells the computer how hot the engine is so it can adjust air/fuel. There is another sensor usually called the fan switch and is usually located on or near the radiator that does tell the computer when to turn the fan on.. There is also a relay for the fan that could be bad, you will have to refer to a manual as to the location for that, but it allows the fan to turn on and off. When you find it, you can check it with a test light to see if current is going thru it. If not the fan itself could be bad, it has an electric motor that sometimes does go out. This is a common problem. When Driving, the wind going thru the radiator cools the antifreeze. When idling, there is no air flow if the fan isn't coming on. Try turning on the AC if so equipped,(even if it doesn't get cold) sometimes the fan has a separate wiring for AC that will bypass normal operation and turn the fan on. Or on some cars there is two fans, one that works for th AC and one that works just for the engine.

It has all the symptions of the main cooling fan no working. Honda fans take a long time before they turn on, Quick check, if you A/C is working, is turn on the A/C and see if both fans turn. The fan on the pass side is the main cooling fan.