Hello,

I just had the timing belt of my '94 Accord LX replaced at the shop yesterday. I drove 30mi to work today on the highway and upon getting out of the car, I noticed a hissing/sizzling sound from under the hood. Popped the hood to find coolant boiling in the reservoir and spewing out a little. This happened at the shop right after the job, and the radiator fans were working fine.

Any idea what's going on? Also, should this be an immediate concern?


Thanks!!

 

Yes, should be immediately addressed. It could be as simple as worn out radiator cap. Also could be a leaking head gasket, or bad thermostat.

Did car overheat while driving?

good luck

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The car didn't overheat nor was there any smoke/smell when driving.

I spoke to my coworker and he pointed out that the "boiling" could simply be air bubbles. Now that I think about it, I assumed it was boiling because of the bubbling.

Any chance he could be right? Either way, what's going on with my car? I'm just trying to get a better understanding of the situation.


Thanks again!

 

Possibly the shop failed to re-fill the coolant system after belt job (water pump was removed, I assume)

 

Bubbling in reservoir usually means one of two things; water was released from radiator that has temp > boiling point generating bubbles, or head gasket fault allowing exhaust gases to enter cooling system. Both conditions will cause system to overpressurize and radiator cap will vent coolant/gases to the reservoir.

good luck

 

First, DID THEY replace the water pump? Or have any other excuse to drain your coolant?

If the shop wasn't accustomed to Honda cooling systems, they may have left air in your cooling system. Maybe air in the heater core if they didn't open that up.

When it's cooled off, repeatedly squeeze the radiator hoses. If there's air in there, you'll hear & feel the liquid sloshing around. Let us know...

Air left in there isn't too serious & we can instruct you how to deal with it. But you need to rule that out, because the other stuff suggested above is more serious.

 

I brought my car back to the shop yesterday and after inspecting it, the mechanic replaced the radiator cap. The one that was on there was broken, and so far it seems to have fixed the issue.

Any thoughts?

Strangely, I have a new (possibly unrelated) problem: the dash lights don't turn on when I turn on the lights. I toyed with the brightness control and after a while, it flickered and stay on, but turned off intermittently.

Any idea what might cause this?


Thanks!!

 

Radiator cap was one possible fault causing bubbling in the reservoir. Glad it was as simple as a radiator cap.

Dimmer has a variable resistance (rheostat) that may be dirty/damaged. Sometimes can be fixed by removing and cleaing w contact cleaner or WD40 to remove carbon dust that causes intermittent problems. May need a new dimmer.

good luck

 

Thanks for the info! How do I get to the rheostat to either clean or replace?

 

Dimmer assy is pried out of dash w/ screwdriver and electrical connector removed.

Suggest you look at Online Manuals post in DIY forum and download a manual. This item is detailed in manual.

good luck