Overheating problem

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Alright... so randomly my coolant reservoir has started boiling, hissing, steam coming out... but no overheating... strange... so it escalates into overheating... I get curious, pop open the hood, idle the car for a moment... and realize the fan doesn't turn on... now i'm not too sure if that has anything to do with the reservoir boiling... but they do seem slightly related... so my list of problems is:
a) Reservoir boiling.
b) (Electric) Radiator fan not turning on.
c) Overheating (which goes away when i'm moving... or i blast the heat)

So I was wondering what kind of possible solutions are out there... first thought was thermostat or water pump... any other ideas? or possible ways to narrow it down? Any suggestions would be great... Looking for as little possible downtime as it is my daily driver and only car.

EDIT:
Probably should mention it's a 92 Civic Hatch with a B16a2 in it.
Around 100k on the motor... year old half rad

[Weapon_R]

Sounds like a head gasket problem. Try running a compression test to tell you/.

[SilverBoost]

Well I had a Rad that was totally fucked years ago and needed to be replaced. Had to keep the heat on to keep the car from overheating. (I was a student what can I say) So your rad could be fucked.

If your fans aren't coming on at a set temp (96 degrees on mine I beleive) then you might have a thermostat problem or an electrical problem.


I'm pretty sure you don't have a HG problem because that has nothing to do with your car bubbling the resevoir over suddenly. At taht point you'd already most likely be blowing white smoke out of your exhaust and your cyclinders woudl be full of coolant. I had a HG go 2 years ago and it didn't have the symptoms you desribed.

[tapout]

if its that here are some things

1 cooling fan switch.

2 tempeture switch.

3 plug thermostat.

4 water pump if its gone you should hear a whining sound.

1&2 are the main things to look at if they are toast then your fan wont turn on.sometime you can have air in the cooling system & could couse this. i would test your fan 1st then go with step 1&2 they are 40$$ each from auto value & very easy to put in.

last but not least like weapon said you just mite off blew your head gasket let hope not.if you need any tips how to bleed your system let me know good luck

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Figured it out guys... thanks alot... it was some loose wioring on the fan itself... big relief... cheap fix... free!

[SilverBoost]

free is always the best way to fix something. :)

[the_new_santa1]

lol...aint that the truth...;)

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

so ya... didn't really go away.. i think its spitting steam because it has too much water... and i the fan wont turn on anymore... so i put in some more coolant today... and it seemed to of stopped spitting... :thumbsup: but the fan is still acting up... i think it may be a relay or some loose wires... any suggestions?

[Goggle]

loose fuse? I'm not even sure what a car is so I'm probably way the hell off

[gp36912]

go online and find a electrical diagram of your fan system, and check the ground and power wires, along with your relays, fuses etc. you may have a break in one of your wires from the sounds of it.

[glennc]

Id check your fanswitch first. If its boiling, its hot enough for the fan to come on. Check that, check all connections for fan, and go fom there.

[SilverBoost]

Have you checked your thermostats yet?

Check it all out man, before you invest too much in one area that may/may not be the problem.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

see, its not overheating when its boiling... thats the funny thing... and i have absolutely no idea HOW to check all of this... otherwise i would of.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

it seems it was suggested that the rad cap itself is blown... or possibly the thermostat is locked open... as the radiator fluid that heats up, should not be releasing ALL pressure into the reservoir to vent off like that... any ideas? yay/nay?

[90Tegra]

get a new fan, or if its not the fan either get the relay or the switch.

[barbarian]

If the coolant is really low, the engine will heat up, but the radiator will not. The fan sensor is on the coolant in the radiator and thus the fan will not start.

Go get a $25 infrared thermometer from Princess Auto and measure the temps.

What does your temperature gauge show?

[88CRX]

are you sure your head gasket is still good?

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

new rad capsolved all my problems