Civic - Honda :: 1997 - Temperature Gauge Starts Creeping Up Real Fast
Jul 3, 2013
The car I drive is a 1997 Civic EX, and if I drive it for about five minutes, the temperature gauge starts creeping up real fast. It'll go to the red if I let it, and the only thing that brings it down is turning on the heater and fan, at full blast. which is pretty miserable in summer.
I looked under the hood and found the radiator fan isn't starting up, no matter how hot it gets. So I checked the fuse - it looked good. Replaced it anyway just to be sure. No change. Then I replaced the relay switch. that didn't change anything. And I also replaced the fan motor. Still nothing.
I have read elsewhere that I should check my thermostat, but I can't see what it has to do with the fan motor not starting? also that the Engine Coolant Temperature sensor might be faulty but it is my understanding that that controls fuel-air mixtures and I just don't know.
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I have a terrible car. Honda Civic 2002 that runs alright but quakes and shudders after I start it. It also revs up for no reason at all whilst I drive around. Anyway two machanics have told me I have a headgasket leak that will cost a lot of money to fix. Two others have told me I don't or that it is so minor it needs not be messed with. The last one I saw decided I had a bad Coolant Sensor for the Computer.
I guess there is one for the computer and one, um, not for the computer. I bought both sensors and he changed them Friday. Today I took the car out and three times while I was out, my temp gauge shot up into the red hovered for a few minutes and sank back down. It has never done this before. Why this might be happening now? I am really sick of taking my car in and getting a thousand different stories, paying to fix things that are not wrong with it and watching it die a slow death.
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I drive a 2002 Honda Civic EX with about 105,000 glorious miles on it. I decided to hit the road and made a weekend road trip to pick up a stranded family member. I live in Ohio and drove Lou Dobbs, my car, to Florida. It was about 950 miles one way. All was well until I got to Florida. I hit my first traffic jam and was sitting with the windows down enjoying the Florida air. Suddenly, the temperature gauge started to climb! It got pretty close to the red but traffic began to flow at that point. As soon as I reached 40-50MPH the temp began to fall again. I picked up my cargo and headed back. Each time I would hit traffic or a red light the temp would climb without hesitation. This is without the A/C running. After I got back to Ohio, i asked a friend who knows about cars. Over the phone, he had me remove the radiator cap and reservoir cap to take a look at the fluid levels. After this though, the car has never overheated! I don't understand. Can air get into the system and I let it out by removing the caps? I can sit in rush hour traffic for a half an hour with the AC running and the needle stays right in the middle. Should I still take it in to be looked at?
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I have a 2004 Honda Civic that has about 183,000 miles.The problem is that when I start my car in the morning, the car never totally warms up when it's cold outside (I live in VA), until I press the gas pedal and rev the engine. Until I press the gas pedal, the temperature gauge stays at cold, and the heater blows cool air. I've taken it to the dealer 12 times for the same issue, but they can never find the real problem.
They flushed the A/C hoses and radiator, replaced the radiator cap, installed an upper hose, installed head gasket, water pump, and while there, the timing belt. They've also "burped" it numerous times. Also, when I have the heater on and fan on high, the temperature gauge drops as I'm going down a mountain and not pressing the gas pedal. After driving, and I stop, it also slowly drops while idling for about 5 - 10 min.
When it's warmer outside, I don't have any problems, because I don't have the heater on. This has been going on for about 1 1/2 years now, and it's starting to get cooler again, so I need to get it fixed or sell it.
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I have had my 1998 Honda Civic for about 5 years now... I bought it used. Occasionally I have noticed my oil levels have been low every 2 months or so. Oil is not being burned and doesn't leak. It hasn't affected performance from what I can tell. I have basically monitored the levels and everything has been fine. There was also an electrical issue since I have had it.
About 8 or 9 months ago, I noticed the temperature gauge was basically in the red while driving. I pulled over and noticed the oil was reading empty. I put oil in it and took it to the shop the next day. They told me the head gasket was bad and that the oil and coolant were mixing and recommended I replace the engine. I asked them how long I could manage before the car quit entirely and he said maybe a month, two if I kept doing oil changes.
I put the heat on while driving it, and the temp was normal. I took it to another shop the same week. They couldn't get it to overheat for a couple hours. The guy told me it was probably the fan but wouldn't know unless he could see it overheat. He said the fan would cause it to overheat at stoplights when there wasn't air on the engine. When the car gets hot, it doesn't get worse at stoplights and is only after I've been driving like 20 minutes that it heats up. I asked that he call me as soon as he knew what it was and I would decide whether I wanted it fixed that day or not. Then I didn't get a call for awhile, and when I called them, they said the guy was out getting the part. I felt like they were rushing so I would replace the fan. I asked if it was the head gasket because I didn't want to fix a fan if the engine needed to be replaced. They said it was not. I didn't replace the fan. They also told my husband that we could save wear and tear on the engine by putting the air conditioning on instead of the heater. When we do this, it overheats. Its only when the heater is on that the temp stays normal.
I have been driving the car for 8 or 9 months now with the heater on with no performance issues. It doesn't overheat and even when I forget to put the heat on it goes up to the red, but doesn't "overheat" with the steam and whatnot. It doesn't seem to do anything to affect the performance of the car. We have replaced the radiator cap, which had pieces falling off, and it didn't work. The check engine light came on yesterday and the code indicated something to do with the transmission.
We took it to a third mechanic today and he said I needed a new thermostat... I do not see any sort of film in the oil. We just flushed the coolant today and there was no sign of oil. I'm totally lost on what to do. I feel like the mechanics have lied to me about what was going on. They contradict each other and the little things they told me don't seem to be the case or don't work.
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This weekend I was one a trip in my '98 Civic, and I noticed some movement in my temperature gauge. It didn't really overheat; the needle never got near the red, but it did go a little higher than usual.
Normally, once the engine heats up, the needle on the temperature gauge doesn't move, not even a little. It sits right under the squiggly lines on the temperature gauge icon. However, on Friday, when I got off the highway, the needle rose into the upper part of the icon, to the part with the thermometer.
As soon as the car started moving, the needle on the temperature gauge went back to its normal spot, so I assumed it was a problem with the radiator fan and I kept on driving, prepared to turn on the heat if the needle on the temperature gauge started going up.
Saturday morning I took the car to a local shop in Jacksonville, and it turns out the engine needed a new fan and a new thermostat.
The first lesson that comes to mind is that keeping an eye on my temp gauge might have saved me an engine. It certainly saved me a head gasket. Since a head gasket or new engine would have been worth more than the car, catching this before it became a problem saved me from having to buy another car.
The next lesson is that my Civic had two things wrong with the cooling system, and yet it barely showed any symptoms. The air conditioner doesn't work I guess since a working A/C would probably have made it overheat. In any case, I've probably been driving without a working radiator fan for some time.
The final lesson is that if I had tried to diagnose this myself, I'd probably be driving around with a new radiator fan and a bad thermostat. I paid about $435 for a new fan, thermostat, and fresh coolant (I declined the cooling system flush) and it was worth every penny.
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Just did some trading for a 97 f150 4x4 extended cab with a 5.4 and auto trans. The guy I got it from told me that the transmission in it shifts real fast and won't downshift once it gets going and shifts hard sometimes. From past experiences I figured it might be the tps and sure enough pulled codes and I got the 122 code for voltage to low on it. Checked the wires with my multimeter and had exactly 5.0 volts to the one wire and when I checked the ground back to the battery had 12.xx volts when i tested the signal wire it had 1.0 so all my wires checked out but I am still getting the code. I replaced the sensor once already so I guess it is possible I got a new sensor that is bad or is there a chance that maybe my plugin to it is bad?
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I have a 97 expedition that i am having trouble with. It has front and back airconditioner. The compressor is short cycling real fast. Warm air in the front and cool air in the back. I put a can of freon in but still not cooling. The gauges are between 30 psi and 50 on the low side. The high side is between 100 and 150 psi. The ambient temp was 80 degrees.....
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The heater in my car only blows hot air when I'm driving fast. At stop signs it blows cold. You can imagine how this affects my driving strategy. What the problem might be?
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I have a 2005 Honda Civic with approximately 140K miles on it. When I am going 60+ miles an hour and try to brake, the brakes shake. Or at least that is the best way I can describe it. It makes it hard to stop well when going fast, I have to release the brake and kind of pump them until the shaking is under control. What causes this? and what needs to be fixed? I wonder if it is the way I drive or just a normal occurrence?
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My 1999 Civic (auto trans) idles fast at start up--drives itself until warmed up. Also intermittantly revs on its own at startup after warmed up. Throttle body was cleaned; problems persisted. Idle Air Control Value replaced, problem persists. Car has 173000 miles on it
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I was driving my son to Mygym this morning and everything was completely normal, but when I got onto the highway for the last 5 minutes of the drive my car started making a loud fast rhythmic thumping sound. I thought it was my tire and slowed down to stop... and then in stopped. So I went a little faster and as soon as I hit 50, it started again. I slowed down and drove the rest of the way to my sons class and looked at my tires and they looked fine to me (I have no idea what a tire should look like, but I can tell if one is very flat... I think). I also looked under the car for any obvious debris or whatever and didn't see anything.
We had our class and when I got back on the highway and accelerated to 50, it started back up again, so I slowly drove to our exit. By the time we were nearly home I wasn't even thinking about the problem anymore, but in the 45 zone near our home it started thumping again... sure enough, I was going 50. I am also wondering if it is safe to drive my car as long as I stay under 50? I have no other means of transportation and we need to go out pretty often (daily) for classes and therapies for my son.
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I just changed the engine in my 96 Honda civic, 1.6 base model. The change over went well and had no problems. When I have the car idle and it gets up to temp, the RPM's go from 2000 down to 500 then jumps to 2000 then down 500 again. When I put it into gear, drive or reverse, it stops jumping. What did I do wrong?
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I have a 98 honda civic ex with the d16y8, have replaced the map sensor and iacv and still have a fluctuating idle only when car is warm or at operating temperature. it has dc sports racing headers into a straight pipe then exhaust tip. does not have any o2 seniors on it(wasn't my choice was like that when i got it) will idle up and down between 1700 and 2200 rpm also after replacing iacv the car jerk when going at low speeds or letting off then getting back on accelerator.
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My 2005 Honda Civic has just started doling out heat when it feels like it regardless of where I set the dial. It seem that when I am accelerating or applying gas, heat is available but when I am stopped at a light or coasting downhill, cold air is all that is available. Is this a thermostat issue or something more dire?
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I have a 2004 Hyundai Accent. The temperature gauge in the car moves toward the "danger zone" only under both the following conditions:
1) Car is at IDLE after being driven for a while (15-20 minutes). 2) Headlights are ON (I've sat in the car and watched the temperature gauge move up and then back down as I turn on and thrn turn off the headlights).
*What I've also noticed is that the temperature gauge starts moving up as the radiator fans kick ON.
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1998 Honda Civic EX. This has been a great car and have got a ton of good miles on it. The problem that I am having now is with the temperature gauge. The measurement is completely all over the place while driving. While moving around town, the gauge shows the temperature VERY hot. As soon as I reach a consistent speed, the temperature drops back to normal (moves very erratically!). The gauge seems to get even hotter while idling. Another issue (may or may not be related) is the heat coming out of the vents is only working while the car is in motion. While stopped, it pumps out cold air. The temperature immediately changes when I get going again. Both problems seem to be getting worse. The car has coolant, and all other levels of fluids are normal.
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540,000 kms Canadian climate. It happened once last year at -30 C. Recently, it was very cold again and the car ran ok but no heat and the gauge was going up to hot - it never gets that high, even in hot summers. One thing - I used the block heater on both occasions and I never used other than those times. Without using the block heater it does blow warm air (-20C currently). I did note today that the coolant was a bit low perhaps from overheating the other day? Would my block heater affect the thermostat? No coolant leaks noted under the car.
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Got a '98 rodeo 3.2 with 160k. A couple weeks ago when stopping at red lights I noticed the temp gauge creeping up to the hot when stopped. This happened about 4 years ago and I was just low on coolant. I kind of figured that was the problem this time and added coolant. Then I started noticing coolant on the ground dripping from the skid plate a little toward the passenger side. The vehicle is parked on the street in front of my house so the vehicle may lean slightly to the passenger side. This rodeo is only driven during the week and then sits for 2-3 days on the weekend.
Over the last couple weeks I have noticed that it doesn't really leak during the week when it's being driven daily and if it does, it's just a drop or two. Now when it sits for 2-3 days there is a pizza sized leak under the vehicle probably about 18 inches wide. Since the overflow wouldn't hold coolant, I figured that it was cracked or had a leak. I removed the reservoir and didn't find a leak. I seen no evidence of a leak anywhere else, however since it's dripping from the skid plate, I assume that it's leaking on the front side of the engine. What to check. Seems strange that it doesn't really leak when running or hot, only when sitting for a few day.
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I have a 99 Honda Civic. A few months ago, while driving in my neighborhood at about 25 mph, the car just stalled out and died. Within a minute, it started up again and was fine. My mechanic has checked it out a few times and found nothing. It's been totally fine and just did it again today. I leave tomorrow for a trip and am a little concerned about taking it on the road.
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Right after I filled the gas tank, the car will start for a few seconds and shortly die afterwards. Could it possibly be the purge control solenoid? Right now I'm completely lost...
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