Rep Power: 0

Hello everyone,

I have a 1992 Civic DX that is having some issues with cooling. After driving for a decent amount of time, there is steam coming from around the radiator and overflow reservoir. I haven't been able to figure out exactly where it's coming from, but it seems that water might be leaking from the reservoir cap/hose, and hitting something hot, turning it into steam.

I was running it earlier today, and I noticed that neither the radiator fan, or, what I'm assuming is either the auxiliary or oil cooling fan, were running. I know some aux/oil fans don't run continuously, but I'm almost positive the radiator fan should.

It's really odd because I'll drive let's say 15 miles to my girlfriend's house, park for a couple hours (plenty of time to cool completely), and drive 15 miles home later, and it blows off steam then. I don't understand why it wouldn't on the first 15 mile drive?

Also, my temp gage sits at a little under half most of the time, but I notice after I've been driving it long enough to expect the steam, it'll rise to half, or almost 3/4. It'll also sit a little under half while I'm driving, and jump suddenly to 3/4 when I come to a stop (which makes sense because the air would be cooling it when I'm moving).

I was wondering if anyone has had this problem before, or has enough knowledge to offer some insight as to what it may be exactly. My guess is either the loose overflow reservoir cap/hose, the non-operational fans, or a combination of the two.

If anyone knows where to find a good service manual for a 1992 Honda Civic DX, that would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 
Rep Power: 812

try a honda oem thermostat and radiator cap first. then a fan sensor if the fan does not come on when the outside temp is 80F or higher and the car is sitting still at idle. a broken fan rarely causes overheating on a civic unless you are in stop and go traffic and its 90F outside in the summer. when the car is moving, the fans are hardly needed at all. radiator and thermostat do all the work of cooling.

 
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UPDATE:

So I did some messing around and it turns out that the leak is in the coolant overflow reservoir cap. I took it out, filled it with water, and turned it upside down with the cap on tight, and water came out at a steady pace. So problem solved there; I ordered another reservoir.

Also, the second fan that wasn't working that I assumed to be an auxiliary or oil cooling fan turned out to be a condenser fan. It works when I turn my AC on.

Unfortunately, I still have one other problem. My radiator fan isn't getting power. I checked the fuse and it is in good condition, so I undid the power connector for the fan, turned the power on, and tested it with a multimeter and got nothing.

I am unsure about what to do about this. It sounds like it could be a short in the wire harness, but I don't know. Any ideas? Thanks.

 
Rep Power: 367

checked you fan switch? it delivers power only when the engine goes above certain temp.

 
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I haven't been able to check it because I can't seem to find it. Where would it be exactly?

 
Rep Power: 367

 
Rep Power: 0

It's the thermoswitch, right? What is the TW sensor? Where is it exactly? It looks like the lower left front of the motor if we're talking about the TW sensor, or the lower left back if we're talking about the thermoswitch. If that's the case, I'm gonna have to jack the car up.

Also, when I remove it to test it, I am going to need to bleed the cooling system after I reinstall it, correct? What is the proper way of doing this? I can't seem to find any solid information online. Thanks =]

 
Rep Power: 367

i would have similar questions... Mine is different, i have the 7th gen...