Overheating? - Honda Prelude Forum

PChapman55 · 05-17-2008, 02:14 PM

Hey guys I'm new here, so forgive me if this has already been addressed. I have a 97 Prelude and live in the Phoenix area. I realize it gets pretty hot around here, but pretty much any time I put the AC on, the car temperature will shoot up pretty quickly if I'm not on a highway or moving pretty constantly. Any ideas? Thanks.

hondatune32206 · 05-17-2008, 06:04 PM

Check your coolant and thermostat

Solid · 05-17-2008, 06:29 PM

Are your cooling fans coming on at all?

PChapman55 · 05-17-2008, 06:54 PM

Coolant and thermostat are fine as far as I can tell. I THINK the fans is coming on while I'm in traffic. I feel it click on (a little vibration), but it seems to come on/try to come on multiple times, though not all in a row (a few minutes in between). In my own completely uneducated opinion, I'm guessing it's the fan.

Solid · 05-17-2008, 06:56 PM

Park with the hood up, stand there and wait, then see if the fans are kicking on correctly.

PChapman55 · 05-17-2008, 07:12 PM

1 of 2 came on but didn't stay on. It came on after a couple minutes then shut off for a minute, then came back on. The other fan did not move.

Solid · 05-17-2008, 07:44 PM

Do you have a multi-meter or some other way to test voltage? The fans or fan switch may need to be replaced.

TruNinja619 · 05-17-2008, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PChapman55

1 of 2 came on but didn't stay on. It came on after a couple minutes then shut off for a minute, then came back on. The other fan did not move.

As far as the fans going on and off goes, thats normal and good. As far as 1 of the 2 fans coming on, it should be both fans coming at the same time.

Start the vehicle, turn the AC on, and check to see which fan is not working. I'm assuming the AC fan is not coming on, which is not good b/c that fan cools the other part of the radiator.

PChapman55 · 05-17-2008, 07:48 PM

Sitting in the driver's seat, it's the fan on the right side. I'm not sure which fan that is.

Solid · 05-17-2008, 07:52 PM

^Also check the connection on the fans, but sounds like that one may be dead.

TruNinja619 · 05-17-2008, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PChapman55

Sitting in the driver's seat, it's the fan on the right side. I'm not sure which fan that is.

Alright. Under the hood, there's a fuse/relay box. open it and check to see if fuse 47 is not blown (best way to check fuses is w/ a test light, but if you don't have one, just eyeball it). You could also have a bad radiator fan relay as well, which can prevent the fan from not turning on. If the fuse is good and the raditor connector is connected, might want to try and swap that fan relay with a known good one.

hondatune32206 · 05-18-2008, 10:44 AM

Wouldn't the main radiator fan be sufficient cooling for it? The other smaller fan is for the AC condensor

TruNinja619 · 05-18-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondatune32206

Wouldn't the main radiator fan be sufficient cooling for it? The other smaller fan is for the AC condensor

No, b/c if you think about it, if one fan is not operating while the other one is, you have 1/2 of the radiator not being cooled when it should be. Its possible that you can get away with it when you're driving in cooler climates, but he's in Phoenix and it gets real hot down there. So you need those 2 fans coming on and off *NSYNC (lol).

I've experienced this with my Koyo racing radiator on my 4th gen.

hondatune32206 · 05-18-2008, 12:04 PM

Hmm, well I'm gonna try it out because I'm doing a turbo set-up right now and the condenser fan is in the way so I just removed it. Well see I guess, should be done in a week or so.

pyro_maniac55 · 05-18-2008, 12:33 PM

is it the stock radiator or is it a replacement, cause if you get the ceap generic replace you'll have this problem not enough flow

TruNinja619 · 05-18-2008, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondatune32206

Hmm, well I'm gonna try it out because I'm doing a turbo set-up right now and the condenser fan is in the way so I just removed it. Well see I guess, should be done in a week or so.

If you're going through that route, what you might want to consider is buying a half size radiator (civic radiator).

*sorry for the thread jack to the OP.

hondatune32206 · 05-18-2008, 01:57 PM

Would a stock civic rad supply sufficient cooling compared to the huge prelude one? Wouldn't I have to go with aluminum aftermarket?

pyro_maniac55 · 05-18-2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Would a stock civic rad supply sufficient cooling compared to the huge prelude one? Wouldn't I have to go with aluminum aftermarket?

i just know that there is a specific rad for vtec engines, so if it was from a vtec civic it sould work but other wise it will probably overheat especially if you get into vtec

hondatune32206 · 05-18-2008, 07:53 PM

^ I don't have Vtec

TruNinja619 · 05-19-2008, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondatune32206

Would a stock civic rad supply sufficient cooling compared to the huge prelude one? Wouldn't I have to go with aluminum aftermarket?

I would go w/ a aluminium racing radiator for the civic personally. On honda-tech, there's a radiator called Mishimoto (sp) that works well and is at a good price.

There are civic owners out there that have boosted H22a motor in their civic that run their half-size radiators, and they'll testify that they do not overheat.