Hey there, I have a 1992 accord lx, auto, . The coolant temp gauge goes to normal, about 45 degrees, and then starts togo up to show that the car is overheating as soon as I start driving it down the road. It fluctuates a little up, down, and eventually goes all the way to overheat. I've had the radiator replaced, thermostat, hoses, cap, and all coolant switches(sensors) including the one in the thermostat housing, upper hose housing, block and sending unit. I've also had the system pressure tested and tested for the hydrocarbons or whatever for a bad head gasket. The shop also tested the coolant temp toand fro from the block and the readings are normal. And then I hooked up another instrument cluster and drove it, and the new gauge does the same thing. Can anybody help me, this is becoming costly and is driving me up a wall. Thanks.

 

Just to make this clear, the shop measured the coolant temperature and it is ok?

Are you losing any fluid? Are the upper and lower hoses about the same temperature when the engine is running?

 

Yes, the coolant temp was normal, in andout, one was higher than the other, the shop ran it for about 30 min to test that, they say, The fans seem to work properly, both run when A/C is on and only one will run normally, although I think it takes to long for the normal fan to come on., I'm not losing any fluid, I'm not 100% sure of the hoses but they both seem pretty hot, when running. thanks.

 

BOTH fans are suppose to come on at the same time when the coolant reaches a certain temp ( t-stat open, ) ..listening to you ,, there is 1 problem right there ,, 1 of the fan is not working and i would have to asume it might be the 1 on the pass side of the car
.I am amazed that the shop did all this checking and did not chk the fans ,, BOTH,, for proper operation,How can they say the fans seem to run properly and you are saying that only 1 works ???, it kind leves a sour taste in my mouth about this shop already ..
So which is it ?? do BOTH fans run after t-stat opens ?? or only 1 works ??
If only 1 works that might be your problem tight there ..

 

Desert, wouldn't there be enough air flow to cool down the radiator when driving?

He mentioned that the temp goes way up when he starts driving.

 

PA ,,,
you would think that there should be enough air flow,, but also it depends how fast he drives ,, i have seen this same issue and with the main cooling fan not working car have been overheating especially in city driving ,,,,
I would repair the non working fan first ( it needs to be done either way ) and then chk it out again..

but if according to him,, shop checked the coolant temp and it was all ok,, one would think that it has to be an electrical issue .. But shop also told him that fans work ok and he stated that ONLY 1 fan works ..
So ,, is this a reputable shop ?? or is he giving us mis informations ??

 

Is it possible that the car just takes a while to get up to running temp? I know it's cooler in Oregon than NYC!!!

This sounds like more of a sensor and guage problem than an overheating problem. When the shop tested it, did they drive it? Would it be possible to hook up a seperate sensor and guage to check it against the car's while driving?

 

1992 Honda Accord LX, Hey, thanks guys for all the feedback. I'm gonna double check the fans , but I'm pretty sure that only one comes on during normal operation. Yes, this is a reputable shop and they think that it might be electrical, but I'm running out of moolah for a $95/hr shop. They also thought that the radiator was definetely the problem so I don't know about they're troubleshooting. Also , I don't know if thishas anything to do with it , but just before this temp gauge problem I was under the hood and noticed that the distributor was loose enough to turn by hand. So I timed it, the old fashioned way, and still no help. I told the shop this and they didn't think it had any thing to do with the temp problem. Thanks.

 

$95 / hr is real steep. My regular mechanic is $60 and my more technical one is $75. Even my tranny specialist isn't that expensive! I'd expect that prices are higher where I live also.

BTW - if they told you that the rad was DEFINATELY the problem and it wasn't, I wouldn't back them as being reputable, especially after all of the other things that they tried.

Is this definately an overheating problem or is it possible that it's just the guage/sensor.

 

if radiator is plugged or partially plugged it would also cause to overheat while driving ( no air flow) but i did not mentionit cause you said you replaced the radiator already ...
chk those fans , if only 1 works . i would fix that first and go from there . it needs to be fixed regardless..

Falkore my friend,, as for your idea of taking too long to heat up causae car is in Oregon,, I might go with that if temp was below or around ZERO ,, not in the summer time ..