Civic-EG.com Forum 3.3.1

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 1:34 am #281237 Hello everyone,

My name is Ray

I just bought a 1995 civic with 215000 km , new timing belt and radiator.

From the test drive it seems fine, so after the purchase I took the car for a 2500km trip.

When the car drives on the high way(100-120km/hour) outside temp is about 0 degree(Canada), everything is fine, but when it off the highway, stops, or idle, or slow traffic, some time even 60km/h, it gonna overheat

So I check the coolant, shows low.

Because it is a civic cx model so no ac, cold start, after 5 mins, water temp got normal level, but cooling fan still wont turn on.
then take for a test drive for 5 mins, everything is fine, but fan still wont be on.

So my question is, from all the symptoms, do you think

1 need a new thermostat.

2 cooling fan may broken

3 may just a simple coolant flush will do?

4 or because of the thermostat broken so the fan wont be on ?

Or what do you think

I am on really tight budget now, so I am trying to save every penny as possible


Thanks a lot, and please help

[Ajax1989]

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 1:59 am #281241 On the thermostat housing is a swtich (it says engine coolent temp. but that is incorrect)


Ok with the key on engine off.. unplug the harness from the switch and jump the harness like this


what this does is test the relay,fuse,fan and the fan swtich itself

so if you jump the harness and the fan kicks on then you need to replace the fan switch..(you will hear the relay click)

if the fan doesnt kick on check the fuse and the relay if both are good(fuse just pull and look.. you should hear the relay click when jumping the harness) then i believe your water pump maybe bad or bad wiring somewhere

i hope this help!

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:15 am #281260

On the thermostat housing is a swtich (it says engine coolent temp. but that is incorrect)


Ok with the key on engine off.. unplug the harness from the switch and jump the harness like this


what this does is test the relay,fuse,fan and the fan swtich itself

so if you jump the harness and the fan kicks on then you need to replace the fan switch..(you will hear the relay click)

if the fan doesnt kick on check the fuse and the relay if both are good(fuse just pull and look.. you should hear the relay click when jumping the harness) then i believe your water pump maybe bad or bad wiring somewhere

i hope this help!

thanks a lot

but what you saying is it should be the problem with cooling fan but nothing to do with the thermostat?

[Ajax1989]

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 4:12 pm #281316 i dont believe its your thermostat.. but you can always take it out and put it in boiling water.. when you do that you should see the pintel move, which means its good


but 1st check the fan switch.. its real esay like 5 mins max

keep us posted

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 4:19 pm #281319 x2 the fan switch is cheaper to replace and its easier to check with a paper clip. if it was the thermo you would be over heating on the highway. so its more the fan or switch.

your car is your story, dont let someone else write the book.

91 s10 (sold)
92 civic si with jdm b16a (Sold) http://civic-eg.com/viewtopic.php?t=13460
99 civic lx (current) viewtopic.php?f=63&t=30348

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:12 pm #281370 UPDATE

call me stupid or whatever, maybe I am, I just can not figure out how to disconnect the switch.....


So I took the car for a good half hour test drive all in city, stop and go, idle, red light, 50 zone, 80 zone, all kind of condition. its about 0 degree outside, and the temperature acted just fine, no overheating at all.

And i check the fan consequently, about 5- 10 min what ever i get a chance to stop at a parking lot, never saw it spinning. Is that normal or just because it's not overheating so the fan wont be turned on?


Anyway, my coolant shows low, you guys think that might be the real problem ? or still the fan?

[Ajax1989]

- Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:17 pm #281372 Probably both.. and u unclip the connector

[teal_dx]

- Tue Nov 15, 2011 3:53 pm #281528 Have you properly topped off & bled the coolant system?
If so and your coolant keeps getting low, you need to figure out how the coolant is being lost.
1. leak from a hose or heater core. Look for coolant leaking under the car, in the bay or in the passenger side of the center console if it is a leaking heater core.

2. Burning coolant due to blown headgasket, warped head or cracked block. White smoke from exhaust and a sweet coolant scent in the exhaust is a sign.

3. Air pressure being pushed from the combustion chamber into the coolant passage through a leaking head gasket, replacing the coolant with air. This puts air pockets in the coolant system and will cause coolant to be forced into the overflow tank until it overflows, often combined with overheating.

Do you have:
- coolant in your oil aka "milkshake"?
- traces of oil in your coolant - can be a light oily film on the surface of the coolant after you drain it or more extreme case is "cookie dough" inside the radiator cap?

Do Not PM me your technical questions. Post them in the forum!
My 1992 SOHC Turbo Hatch
My Youtube Channel: 6th Gear Garage

- Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:07 am #281608 update

Filled up the coolant by a honda tec, and did a seafoam( not really tons smoke), till today that's another 150km after that.no more overheating, but still haven't seen the cooling fan run yet. Since I won't do another 2700 km trip soon, so I just gonna leave the car as is, see what's going on. Maybe because the cold weather in canada the fan just not needed yet


Anyway thanks for all the help guys. If anything comes up, I will keep you guys update.