When I drive at least 10 miles and get in traffic my temp gauge goes up to about 3/4 and sometimes more than that. When I drive through my neighborhood it stays normal then when I get home and let it run for about 2 mins it starts to go up.
get a bottle of water wetter at auto zone, etc. it works... thats if youre whole system is fine but just cant handle the heat...global warming affects everyone.
^Yeah that's the problem, the car is running hot because of global warming Just fix that and your car will run fine.
My money would be that your engine coolant temp switch is going bad. Until you get it fixed just run the A/C all the time and it should not overheat if it is in fact the temp switch.
Have you opened the radiator cap to see how much antifreeze you have? You might have a leak.
__________________
1988 Prelude S - victim of an 80mph backflip
1991 Prelude Si - sold
1989 Accord DX - impounded
1998 Prelude SH - totaled on 3/29/12
2006 CRF150F - sold
2006 YZ250F - sold
^Yeah that's the problem, the car is running hot because of global warming Just fix that and your car will run fine.
My money would be that your engine coolant temp switch is going bad. Until you get it fixed just run the A/C all the time and it should not overheat if it is in fact the temp switch.
How much more did you have to put in? Have you driven since then?
__________________
1988 Prelude S - victim of an 80mph backflip
1991 Prelude Si - sold
1989 Accord DX - impounded
1998 Prelude SH - totaled on 3/29/12
2006 CRF150F - sold
2006 YZ250F - sold
Try to locate a leak in the system. Look for anything wet in the engine compartment, check all hoses for cracks, and make sure you don't have any air in the system.
well my radiator doesnt seem to be the problem. there was some antifreeze coming out of the overflow bottle but that was when i was just sitting in the garage.
Fans are really funny. One day, I wanted to test that out myself, so I started it up, and just let it sit. It hadn't ran since the night before so it was completely cooled down.
The needle moved slow as hell since it was just idling. However, when it got to normal temp, the needle stopped right where it should and NEVER, at any point went above it.
Whats weird about that, you ask? Well, it took 5 minutes to completely warm up. Then after it was warm, I let it sit until the fans come on. I wait 2 minutes, then 5, then 8. Finally, after running for 13 minutes after complete warm up, 18 minutes total(wasted sooo much gas for nothing), I get tired of waiting. The fans NEVER turned on, and my car never got any hotter than it should(needle never moved passed normal).
Sorry, but I really can't say why, but that's just the way it is, at least with my car.
Typically, the thermostat won't open up until the engine is warmed up. Once it does, it allows the coolant to circulate. It's possible it got stuck closed, or just doesn't open fully. I once had a rad that got clogged and allowed only partial flow resulting in over heating at red lights but fine at higher speeds. I could tell it was clogged simply by placing my hand on the fins - parts of it were pipping hot while other parts were cool. Had to replace the rad.
I would seriously consider inspecting coolant lines. In particular the hose with hot coolant leading to the rad (top hose of rad). If there's a leak you don't always see liquid coolant as it can evaporate quickly, but you WILL see residue which is oily and slimy to the touch. Sometimes it only leaks when you let the car cool, the cold night air can place extra pressure on the system. And with every leak there's possibility that it'll suck in air, which can cause all sorts of cooling problems. Have you bleed the air out of the system? Also, check the bottom of the engine, by the crank pully. A faulty water pump may be leaking coolant as well.
Some here have suggested turning the A/C on to force the fans on. This may be a good idea although the A/C compressor puts extra load on the engine which is bound to create more heat. When this sorta thing happened to me it was in a car without A/C. What I did to cool it off at a stop was turn on the heater. It actually acts as a second radiator. When you turn on the heater a valve opens up and coolant runs through the firewall and behind the dash into a mini-rad, which heats up the air and is then blown into the passenger area. This worked surprisingly well for me, although it really sucks when it's already 33C outside and you're blowing hot air on yourself! But hey, it sure beats blowing a head gasket!
Which brings me to my next point. Don't fool around with this. Fix it fast or you may blow a HG (if you haven't already). Even if it is blown, you don't want to risk warping your head.
alright well today i drove about 7 miles and it was fine but when i parked my gauge went up a little maybe to the top of the symbol. didnt seem bad. i was driving home on the freeway it got up little less than the top of the symbol. got into town it went up more but stayed pretty constant. then got home parked and let it sit, it got up to two lines under the red. the fans didnt come on until i turn the a/c on. i turn the engine of and just let the fans run they didnt seem to help at all. so ya????
Someone asked if you checked for coolant in the engine oil, or oil in the coolant. When you're idling for a while and then drive away, do you see white smoke come out the tail pipe? Do you find that your coolant mysteriously disappears over time? You may need to do a block test (aka combustion leak test) to either rule out or confirm a broken head gasket, cracked block or warped head.
Your new t-stat could be bunk. It happens.
Aside from that, check all your hoses. I had over heating problems once and I couldn't figure it out. Eventually a hose blew while I was driving and I lost all my coolant on the road. Not a good way to find the leak. :-) Luckily I was able to pull over immediately and repair it with my swiss army knife (filled it up with tap water from some unknown person's garden hose! ) and drove away.
Questions are asked for a reason. Now here are a few extras:
1. What brand of thermostat was put into your car? If you don't know, find out.
2. Have you checked your coolant level (in the radiator) since your last trip? If not, check it.
3. What symbol are you talking about? The temp gauge (like most every other analog gauge) uses bars to determine level. Optimal temp is dead center of the guage or halfway up. Use that as your reference. For example, "the temp guage went up 3 bars above center".
__________________
1988 Prelude S - victim of an 80mph backflip
1991 Prelude Si - sold
1989 Accord DX - impounded
1998 Prelude SH - totaled on 3/29/12
2006 CRF150F - sold
2006 YZ250F - sold
Someone asked if you checked for coolant in the engine oil, or oil in the coolant. When you're idling for a while and then drive away, do you see white smoke come out the tail pipe? Do you find that your coolant mysteriously disappears over time? You may need to do a block test (aka combustion leak test) to either rule out or confirm a broken head gasket, cracked block or warped head.
Your new t-stat could be bunk. It happens.
Aside from that, check all your hoses. I had over heating problems once and I couldn't figure it out. Eventually a hose blew while I was driving and I lost all my coolant on the road. Not a good way to find the leak. :-) Luckily I was able to pull over immediately and repair it with my swiss army knife (filled it up with tap water from some unknown person's garden hose! ) and drove away.
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Just fix that and your car will run fine.
) and drove away. 
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