1996 Honda Accord running hotter than normal

D0SITMATR

MEMBER
1996 HONDA ACCORD

Engine Cooling problem
1996 Honda Accord 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 157k miles

Hello, my accord has an interesting problem. It runs hot but it is speed dependent.
@ 45 mph, it runs normal (between 1/4 and 1/2), unless I run the AC, then it runs about 1/2 gauge.
@ 55mph it will run a hair above 1/2, regardless of if the ac is on or not.
@ 65-70mph it runs about 3/4's of the gauge, and if I slow down to 55mph it drops again back to temps.

Ive dealt with cars that have had both bad water pumps and/or low flow in the cooling system for others reasons, and this simply doesnt really act like what Ive seen before, but then again, I have never owned a honda before.
Ive ruled out a headgasket for now as there are none of the signs at this point in time, but again, no experiences with a honda so.

3 Replies

HONDA TECH 1818

MECHANIC
536 POSTS

Check the cooling fans make sure they are working, if they are working normal I would replace the thermostat first.

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Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 AT 1:14 AM

D0SITMATR

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8 POSTS

Thank you kng
as far as I can tell, the fans are working, but I had to replace 1 recently, about 3 wks ago, so maybe the other one is starting to go bad now?
I thought about the stat, but was kind of hoping to avoid it as Ive read these are a pita to replace, guess I'll look into that along with a flush at the same time.

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Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 AT 7:59 AM

D0SITMATR

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8 POSTS

Ok, so I checked and both fans do come on, the t-stat has actually been removed by previous owner. The most recent incident happened about 2 weeks ago, the car was running fine, not overheating and had the AC on (turns both fans on immediately, so I tend to run it with AC on) anyways, all of a sudden, the AC starts blowing hot air and the temp gauge shoots up to 3/4, but doesnt exceed that. I pull over anyway and let it sit for 15 mins, crank it up and the gauge doesnt climb above 1/4 almost the entire drive home, about 1.5 miles from home, the gauge shoots up again, so I stop and sit for a min, but since Im so close to home, I decide to just put the heat on and get home. I turn the car on and the temp gauge doesnt climb above 1/4 again. Keep in mind, the car literally only sat for maybe 1 minute, and the fans are still blowing when I crank it back up. The gauge never climbs above 1/4 the drive home. But at random times while driving it since then, it will act the same, gauge shoots up, turn it off, back on and its fine.
Bad temp sensor?
Bad rad?
Would a coolant flush maybe resolve the problem?

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Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 AT 11:39 PM