Johnny .45
Pro Hoonage Expert
It was very cold here the other morning (-15deg F). I let the car run for like 20 minutes before I left, and it was blowing warm air. I started out, and realized ten minutes later in traffic that it wasn't registering on the gauge. Still blowing warm, but not registering. I turned the heat off, and it warmed up again. It's been doing it since, even though it's warmed up to like 10deg. The heat gauge will not stay up when the heater is on. I checked the coolant, and it was pretty low in the overflow. I topped it off, didn't help. I checked it again, and it was a little low again, but the radiator itself was full. I topped it off again, but it doesn't seem like it was low enough to make a difference.
You all think the thermostat is sticking slightly open, so it's cooling the car down too much? Or maybe the fan is coming on and not shutting off? (I haven't checked to see if it was even running, yet). I stuck a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator, but I only drive a few miles every day, and it's low speed driving, so I doubt that would make a whole lot of difference. All I know is that it used to start showing good temps right about the time I got to where I was going, even if I didn't let it warm up before I left. Now it doesn't, and it's only when the heater is running as far as I can tell. Maybe that's just enough to make the difference? I know they say to run the heater when you're overheating because it helps cool the engine like a second radiator.
And could it be that it's running the wrong coolant? I'd totally forgotten until just now that my old 2005 Civic was supposed to use only Honda coolant (although others said it was just a matter of whether it was silicate based or non-silicate-based...don't recall which). If it had the wrong coolant, could it be corroding the system and causing these problems? That's a scary thought. I know I had all kinds of OVERheating issues with the old one, but haven't had any issues of any kind with this one until now.
You all think the thermostat is sticking slightly open, so it's cooling the car down too much? Or maybe the fan is coming on and not shutting off? (I haven't checked to see if it was even running, yet). I stuck a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator, but I only drive a few miles every day, and it's low speed driving, so I doubt that would make a whole lot of difference. All I know is that it used to start showing good temps right about the time I got to where I was going, even if I didn't let it warm up before I left. Now it doesn't, and it's only when the heater is running as far as I can tell. Maybe that's just enough to make the difference? I know they say to run the heater when you're overheating because it helps cool the engine like a second radiator.
And could it be that it's running the wrong coolant? I'd totally forgotten until just now that my old 2005 Civic was supposed to use only Honda coolant (although others said it was just a matter of whether it was silicate based or non-silicate-based...don't recall which). If it had the wrong coolant, could it be corroding the system and causing these problems? That's a scary thought. I know I had all kinds of OVERheating issues with the old one, but haven't had any issues of any kind with this one until now.
