My wife has a 97 Honda Accord we recently bought. Upon buying it I realized that as it reached normal operating temp, when it was going less than 45mph or decreasing from higher speed it would immediately increase on the temp gauge. It never overheated per day but it would hit the top notch before the H and remain there. I could crank the heat up to high and rev the engine and it would slowly cool down at lights and as soon as it picked up speed and reached 45mph or higher it would cool and drop back down to normal operating temp. After deterring the fan was bad, I replaced it. Still same problem. Fan wasn't kicking in. Tank was full so was reservoir. No leaks observed. Replaced thermostat next and that's when I learned the wiring was previously rigged by last owner or owners prior, to run with the ac. AC switched on, driving and both fans will kick in and off when necessary. Now recently I've observed that after driving, if I sit with it at idol for 5 minutes or more it will slowly move up over the halfway mark. Not a drastic creep but slowly. It took a while for me to notice. Still though no signs of leaks and hose have no give when hot.

Any suggestions?

Also, when we first bought it I filled the tank and after driving a few minutes it shut off but still had power with lights and all on. So far those issues have subsided but I do notice when warming up at first start it makes that noise like sputter almost where it feels like it's running out of gas but after a few seconds it catches and is fine. When driving occasionally it'll feel like it catches the same too but I'm also not sure if I imagine that bc it worries me. Pretty sure that's a fuel pump but please correct me if wrong there.
I did put in some gas treatment cleaner and that helped I believe but then I noticed the sputter feeling right after. Help me!

 

Sounds like this is possibly two issues, not sure right now.

First be sure there is no air in the cooling system, there is a bleeder valve on the t-stat housing.

Next, let the car idle. As the temp starts to rise, lets say it gets to half, do BOTH cooling fans kick on?

 

I feel them kick on so I'm pretty sure they do. I'll check in the morning once I know the engine has hit normal operating temp bc it won't take long. We originally replaced the radiator fan first bc the original was a bad fan. It wouldn't kick on still so instead of electrical we assumed thermostat and when I turned ac on low that's when both fans began kicking on and off. Did learn today after testing old thermostat it was actually a bad one so it needed replaced.

I'm by far not a car genius nor a mechanic but my brother is so I'll take that first suggestion and have him help me so I can learn for future references.

Now, if that comes out good and both fans are in fact kicking on are there any other reasons this would happen?

 

Both fans on Honda should turn on as soon as the a/c compressor is running. The wiring is likely not modified.

Now that both fans work with the a/c, you know the relays and power/ground to the fan motors are good.

The next step as mentioned by Poorman is to verify if the fans turn on when the temperature gauge rises with the a/c turned off.

If the fans do not turn on, the next test is the radiator fan switch that is near the thermostat housing. The switch closes when the coolant is over 199 °F, grounds the relays, and turns on the fans.

If the fans turn on when overheating, then the problem could be a number of items I'll list below. You will have to diagnose and not throw parts at it, because you could spend a lot of money on unnecessary repairs.

A bad radiator. Dirty radiator fins where you restrict air flow to cool. Scale buildup in the cooling system restricting flow. A bad water pump. Blown head gasket. Low coolant in the radiator (seems like you verified coolant level is good). Is the coolant new and a 50/50 mix? Possibly a bad temperature sending unit or the gauge in your car (seems highly unlikely from your description).

 

Both fans do kick on I verified today after driving the 25min drive to work I let it sit and idle and when it hit halfway I checked and both fans do in fact kick on and off. Now I agree on the throwing parts not only for unnecessary repairs but also bc I'm currently the only one working and my truck has a cracked radiator so money is tight.
Now, it is a 50/50 mix but not that new. It has new coolant added but I was planning on doing a flush this week when I'm off again bc idk how long that fluid has been in that car or sat. Now this radiator switch, explain that more if you don't mind? I had thought about the temp sending unit or the wiring to it being a possible problem but I'm clueless to this switch.

 

Tested them today and they do both kick on and off

 

The radiator fan switch turns on when the coolant reaches 199 °F. This turns on the fans to cool the coolant. Your fan switch is working, because the fans turned on when the temperature gauge was rising (as long as the a/c was turned off).

Was the thermostat an OEM Honda part? An aftermarket may not open at the proper temperature, but I don't think this is your problem.

Since money is tight, I'd recommend unbolting the radiator, tilt it back, and look to see if you have debris blocking the front of the radiator and blocking air flow. You can't see the front of the radiator in place, because the a/c condenser is in the way.

Cleaning the coils with something like coil clean may remove dirt that is insulating the radiator and preventing cooling. You can pick up coil clean at stores like lowes. Just don't use high water pressure on the radiator as you will bend the fins and prevent air flow.

I think flushing the system is also a good idea. Just make sure to follow the directions on the product you use. I'd probably flush with deionized water at the end a few times to remove most of the product.

 

See that's what I was saying the original post.. the fan won't kick on without the ac being on..almost as though the wiring has been rerouted to work with the ac only. If the ac is off, the fan won't kick on..could that be a bad relay or wiring break somewhere? Or could that be the entire problem?

I can definitely do the flush and checking to see if debris is causing a problem and the things you just mentioned.

 

Your replies I quoted sound like the fans are turning on/off normally. So, your fans are not turning on when the temperature gauge climbs and the a/c is turned off?

 

Exactly. AC off no fans kick on and temp gauge stays up.
AC on and fans kick on and off normally but at idle gauge slowly creeps up