alex52e Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I just bought this car knowing it had a crack in the upper radiator tank. I fixed the crack and the next day the radiator blew. I did not notice it overheating before the radiator blew. I stopped at a light and saw steam from the hood. I opened it up and saw coolant streaming out the top seam of the radiator. There was a big crack in the plastic top tank of the radiator. I replaced the radiator and thermostat and bled the system. As I waited for the engine to warm up, I noticed that the fan wasn't turning on. If I turn on the A/C, both fans come on, but turn off again as soon as I turn the A/C off. I let it cool down and then drove it around. The temp will get almost to the red (I haven't let it get any higher than that.) It goes up and down like the thermostat is opening, but it still gets too hot. The fan has come on once or twice without the A/C on, but it will almost be in the red before that happens and it doesn't always come on. The fan does come on and stay on until cooled down when I turn the car off. Any ideas?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycarsux Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 check it all. like for connections, corrosion, and damage from when your radiator exploded. then if needed replace fans, replace wires, replace fuses, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex52e Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 I checked everything I can think of for damage. I don't see any. The fans work, just not as they are supposed to, and the wiring all looks fine. I bled the system again. I had forgotten to turn the heat on. The fan still never came on. I shut it down when the temp gage got to a little over 3/4. I was seeing bubbles in the radiator at times. I wasn't sure if it was air in the system or if it was created by the coolant "bouncing" up and down in the radiator. Should I just let it run until the bubbling stops? If so, I guess I would need to turn the fan on using the A/C if it gets too hot. I also noticed that the lower radiator hose was almost cool as opposed to the top which got real hot before I shut it down. Since the fan switch is on the other side of the thermostat, it is looking like the thermostat is bad. Does anyone have any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16bhonda Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 just wire an auxillary switch running to your fan. then you can turn it on whenever you want. my friend did that in his ls integra and it worked fine. and didn't you say the thermostat was just replaced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex52e Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 just wire an auxillary switch running to your fan. then you can turn it on whenever you want. my friend did that in his ls integra and it worked fine. and didn't you say the thermostat was just replaced? I can easily enough put in a switch, I've done it before. The problem is my wife drives the car now and then and I can almost guarantee that she would forget to turn it on! Yes, I did replce the thermostat, but I've known people and read posts where people have had gotten bad thermostats that were new. I'm thinking that might be what happened to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycarsux Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 there could be bad particles getting so hot in the fluid and creating gases. thats what the air bubbles are possibly. are you sure you completlely bled the system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16bhonda Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 i have a working thermostat i'll send you for free if you want it. it's from my 99 civic, so i don't know if it would work it's just been sitting in my cupholder for about 5 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycarsux Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 i have a lot of change in my cupholder probably like $15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16bhonda Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 i have a lot of change in my cupholderprobably like $15 real helpful post man alex, i'd say try at least one more thermostat. if you do the switch idea, and your wife is going to drive the car, just flip the switch when your done with it so the fan kicks on whenever she starts it. or tell her that she can't drive it unless she can maintain proper control of the switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycarsux Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 lol thats like sounds controlling to say to your wife but nonetheless it is a good idea. i back it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex52e Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 Here is how I bled the system: I filled the overflow tank with coolant. Then, with the heater set to max but not turned on, and the engine off, I opened the bleed valve. I then filled the radiator until the coolant coming out of the bleed valve was a steady stream. At that point, I closed the valve and ran the car with the radiator cap off. I let it run until the temp gage was about 3/4 of the way to overheating. The upper hose was very hot, but the lower one was barely more than cool. At no point did the radiator fan come on. I shut the car off. I plan on getting a new thermostat from Honda. I read a post from someone else that said they went through 3 thermostats before buying one from the dealer. As soon as they put in the dealer one, they were good to go. A thermostat shouldn't be that much more from a dealer so I'll go that route. I'll post the results after I get it put in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex52e Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 Well, I went and bought a new thermostat from Honda this afternoon. I put it in this evening, bled the system and waited for the fan to come on. After what seemed like forever, the thermostat was obviously working, the fan came on. I drove it around for about 20 minutes and everything was fine. The temp gage stayed rock steady at the middle of the normal range. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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