Ok so my wife's Accord started to run hot last week when temps reached 119'F. Probably running a bit hot before last week but didn't notice until the extreme heat arrived.

After driving the car short distances and then being stuck in traffic or parked and running the car starts to overheat. When driving on I-10 or thru town the temp will go back down to a normal reading.

Starting the car cold it idles with no fans on until it warms up and then one of the two fans does start and then of course shuts off when the temp decreases.. The second fan will then start as it gets hotter and continues to run along with the first fan and both continue to run until the temp decreases.

With the A/C running both fans stay on. I have no leaks and the coolant level is full. I did find the cap for the overflow tank was cracked so I replaced it with genuine Honda parts.

At first thought it would appear that I have some kind of a flow problem as the fans and fan circuit appear to be working properly. The car has 170,000 miles on it and I don't recall the anti-freeze ever being changed and/or the system being flushed. The thermostat and hoses are all original but appear to be in good shape to the naked eye. I am thinking maybe the radiator could possibly be plugged and/or the thermostat could be buggered up. Then again maybe the water pump is crapping out, I don't know but it is the original also. As a matter of fact the only thing I have ever had to do other than the normal bs is changing out a broken door lock cable. I did take it to the car wash and spray down the condensor just to make sure that there wasn't any dust/dirt preventing proper air flow. I do not have any anti-freeze in the oil.

I am thinking of taking it to a local radiator shop for a flow test as I don't know where to start and figure this would be a good place to start.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have the signature option so my info is listed below.



2005 Honda Accord EX
4DR L4 170,000 miles

 

Have you kept up with the scheduled maintenance for your vehicle?

http://www.troubleshooters.com/tautomot.htm

 

Sounds like one of the fans is on the way out.

With the ac off and the car running - both fans should start at the same time.

 

The automatic transmission fluid has never been changed and I don't recall the radiator coolant ever being changed but other than that the car has been well kept.

The only thing the shyster honda dealer has ever done is change the oil and replace the car battery when needed. A few years back when doing an oil change those clowns notated that the oil drain plug was very hard to remove and told my wife that the oil pan was stripped and needed to be replaced. What was really wrong was the drain plug bolt was stripped. I replaced the bolt myself and no problems at all since.

 

I will look into this a bit closer, thanks for the heads up.

 

It can be a faulty radiator fan switch, which is located at the bottom of the radiator. Check the connector to the fan switch too.

For the 2003-2005 4 cylinder Accords, both relay coils (radiator fan relay and A/C condenser fan relay) are grounded by either the radiator fan switch or by the ECM/PCM. Grounding the relays energizes their coils, which applies battery
voltage to the radiator and A/C condenser fan motors. The fans will run until ground is removed from the relay coils.

 

Btw: If the coolant has never been changed, I would get that changed regardless after the problem is resolved.

 

So this is what I have done today. I went to Checkers/Hi-Lo/O'Reilly and purchased a new radiator fan switch, 2 gallons of blue coolant (Beck/Anley) and the Spill Free Funnel used in a youtube link posted below.

Following this thread:
https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...sh-4cyl-52179/

I drained the radiator with the engine off and warm. I replaced the radiator fan switch and also replaced the overflow tank cap and elbow which were broken. I then filled up the radiator until it was full and left the Spill-Free funnel about 1/3 full. I then started the car with the heater on and after about 5 minutes the thermostat opened up and sucked in almost all of the remaining coolant. I let the car run another 10 minutes, it never reached a high enough temp to trigger the fans so I turned the car off, removed the Spill-Free funnel and replaced the radiator cap. I then ran the car another 10 minutes and then the fan on the front right (passengers side) turned on, the front left (drivers side) didn't turn on so I tapped the motor housing with a 10" crescent wrench and the fan started to turn slowly, I tapped it some more and it appeared to go to full speed. Not sure if it was coincidence that it came on when I started to tap on it or if the motor is crapping out as poorman suggested earlier.

Anyways it is 108'F today and I drove it around town and let it idle for 5-10 minutes with full A/C when I was inside store and it hasn't run hot yet.

I plan to order an OEM fan motor and replace it when it comes in just to be safe.

Thanks to eveyone who has posted I really appreciate it. If there is anything I am missing please post.

Here is the youtube link as talked about by PAhonda in the link above.


I also used info from this link.

http://www.justanswer.com/honda/217j...-radiator.html

 

Yes, that fan motor is on its last leg....sometimes it might work and keep the car cool - other times it won't and with high temps like you have this leads to overheating. Get a new motor as soon as you can.

Didn't follow the links - so a dumb question to be sure. Did you set the heat to "max" to be sure all of the air in the heater core and such will get out?

 

I ordered the OEM replacement cooling fan motor this morning. It should be here by Thursday.

Yes I turned the temp control **** to as far right as it would go which gives maximum heat and let it run for quite awhile so I should be good. It was 113 here today and when I went into the store I left the car running with the A/C turned off. When I came out 10 minutes later the car temp was still below the mid-point and the condenser cooling fan (passenger side) was on but not the radiator cooling fan so I rapped on it and once again it started. So huge thanks to you poorman for the heads up.

I see by your avatar either you or someone close to you appears to be a marine. So from one marine to another I say Semper Fi !