Overheating and erratic idle

[SlowEm1]

I have a 2000 Ex with a del sol b16. I went for a drive yesterday and the above mentioned happened. It was running perfeclty fine the day before, so i have no clues. How do you know if the fan is not turning on. Or could this be the thermostat. I've had these problems with Hondas before, but it never affected the idle of the the car Thanks in advance...

 

[RonJ]

Step 1: Check whether the coolant level is low in the radiator and reservoir. If so, top off with coolant, and then bleed the cooling system. While bleeding, check for any coolant leaks from the radiator, hoses, and engine.

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Bleeding the cooling system:

1) Park the car on an inclined driveway with the front end higher than the rear.

2) Push the dash heater lever/knob to MAX heat.

3) Follow the directions in the diagram below (hint: the bleed bolt is located where the upper radiator hose connects to the engine):

 

[SlowEm1]

Thank you sir, and it most deff. is the radiator. Along with all the othe downfaults of a "nigga rigged" frankensteined car. The computer gave out 6 cell codes. The fusebox is not sending signals to some places. The alternator is wired directly to the battery to charge it. Ughh. Thank God im getting a nice check from school. Hopefully i can run into a nice shop who can undo the damaged done this car wire up this b16 correctly and get it running how it is supposed to. 2 civics, 2 b16's and neither running. This is GAY.

 

[Docta2002]

Dont mean to steal ur thread SlowEM1 but its related....

RonJ, long time..... anyways, my car started overheating about a week ago. After I drive for about 20min the temp needle goes 3/4 of the way up, NEVER to the red and it'll stay there. If I put on the fan with hot air coming out, it helps lower the temp a bit (like just above normal temp)

So I checked a few times the coolant level and its fine, the reservoir tank is filled.... So I took off the thermostat, took a drive and it still overheat about 20-30 min later during normal driving. Which leaves me to believe it must be an electrical problem or a problem with the temp sensor, IDK.

That little temp sensor on the side of the head is new (about 6k on it) but the wire that plugs to it was cut so i had to mend it (Im pretty sure I did a good job so I dont think its this)... Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks man!

 

[RonJ]

Dont mean to steal ur thread SlowEM1 but its related....

RonJ, long time..... anyways, my car started overheating about a week ago. After I drive for about 20min the temp needle goes 3/4 of the way up, NEVER to the red and it'll stay there. If I put on the fan with hot air coming out, it helps lower the temp a bit (like just above normal temp)

So I checked a few times the coolant level and its fine, the reservoir tank is filled.... So I took off the thermostat, took a drive and it still overheat about 20-30 min later during normal driving. Which leaves me to believe it must be an electrical problem or a problem with the temp sensor, IDK.

That little temp sensor on the side of the head is new (about 6k on it) but the wire that plugs to it was cut so i had to mend it (Im pretty sure I did a good job so I dont think its this)... Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks man!

Does the engine overheat while driving or only when idling?

When the engine is overheated, is the lower radiator hose still cool while the upper one is hot?

Does the radiator fan run when the engine is overheated?

Do you mean temp sensor under distributor or temp switch on thermostat housing?

By the way, don't let the engine temp rise above the halfway mark. Otherwise, the engine may be damaged.

 

[Docta2002]

The fan works perfect. There's no thermostat anymore so both are hot (but not too much). I meant the thing under the dizzy... It's still happening so I avoid driving as much as i can cause I dont wanna mess it up. I think I'm just gonna run a thermometer in the bay and when it overheats, see if my thermo will change as well... idk wat else to do.

 

[RonJ]

1) Reinstall the thermostat. It does more harm to the engine to run without it.

2) Thoroughly bleed the cooling system to see if the problem goes away.

3) Replace the radiator. Maybe it's partially clogged and reducing coolant flow through it.

 

[Docta2002]

I replaced the little temp sensor under the dizzy and still running w/o a thermostat.... it overheated after 20min or so so it cant be that sensor. I just got my old radiator back (aluminum dual core) and I'll install it tomorrow and I'll put the thermostat back on tomorrow as well. I'll do the flush and let you know what happens. thanks again RonJ

 

[Docta2002]

alright RonJ, I talked to my boy who knows somewhat more than I do and he looked under the oil cap and there was some white pasty/oily stuff there.... He told me it could be a blown HG....

Now that I think about it... a while back I was leaking oil, alot. I thought it was from the HG so I replaced my Cometic w/ a cheapy one.... a week or two later I find that the oil leak was from the sensor right above the oil filter (when I built the motor I only hand tightened it, yeah dumb! I know) screwed it in tight and no more oil leaks.... but then the overheating started....

Long story short, it's my HG. Now it makes sense why I was seeing little black flakes in my coolant (it's that black coating on the HG). So Imma change it next week. Thanks for the help man!

 

[RonJ]

Good luck.