CivicJR22

when driving, i turn on my air on warm and i notice my temperature gauge is rising all the way up to the red!!! i was like the the *&6% is going on!?!? anybody have any ideas of what is goin wrong?

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Either your needle was put on wrong and is giving you the appearance of the wrong temp, or you really do have a cooling problem.

When your temp gets up toward the red, I would plug a gauge into your odb2 to check what temp the sensor is reading your coolant at.

If in fact it is hot, you got a few choices... first, did you replace the coolant yourself- did you use a premixed 50/50 solution or just straight coolant? Straight coolant burns after it hits a high temp, the mixture doesnt.

Does it only get hot at a stoplight, or a standstill? ...check to make sure your fans come on. Park the car, turn the AC on, they should spin. Fans for cooling should only turn on when the coolant hits 195-205 degrees, which is pretty hot. If the fans turn on, your switch is fine.

If you do all the aboves and turn up blank for answers, I'd all it the thermostat.

Others please give some input, as its been a few years since I had my cooling problem.

CivicJR22

thanks for the info... as for when it gets hot its only when i turn on the hot air.. regular driving if fine no temperrature rises...i think first thing i will try is to check coolant...

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

If your turning the hot air on, it should help cool it off since its pulling the heat into the cabin... Odd. I'm not a pro at diagnosing the temp issues anymore even tho I knew that thing inside and out when I was having a problem. I shoulda made a write up. Snap.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

This is mind boggling..are you sure it is only when you put your heat on that your car overheats, that doesnt really make much sense?

On second thought it could be the thermostat like Triz said. If the thermostat isnt hot enough it wont open. A bad thermostat could take higher or lower temperature to open. In your case it would need a higher temperature to open. When you turn your heater on, your coolant temperature goes lower causing your thermostat to close more causing your car to heat. Its just a theory, but its worth a try, its only a $5 part.