So here’s my problem…yes, I’ve searched and all have come up with issues which I’ve already looked over myself.
Things done: topped off and bled coolant with heater on. removed and tested thermostat which was changed about 30K ago along with timing belt and water pump. Thermostat passed. Ran car without thermostat and problem persisted.
My coolant temperature gauge rapidly shot up and read way past the maximum yesterday while i was driving home on the freeway (not at a stop or slowing down WHILE I WAS DRIVING) and i turned on the heater rolled the windows down thinking i was low on coolant or my water pump was acting up. The gauge still didn’t budge not even a mm so i shut the car off and coasted to the nearest exit, luckily my home exit. The next day i checked,topped off, and bled the coolant in the radiator and started the car again. The gauge once again shot up to past max even though the car was still warming up. O_o this confused the heck outta me. I then unplugged the water temp sensor to clean it and then plugged it back. My fans do not come on either and i don’t believe I’ve ever heard or seen them come on before and didn’t have any overheating problems in the past.
hmm… ok i jumped the radiator fan to the battery and ran it for a little bit and then started the car without the thermostat again. It seemed to be fine the temp needle was a little below the center of the gauge and was not overheating… WTF?! did the problem just magically go away? I also engaged VTEC and it was a little boggy upon engagement. I’m going to wait till the car cools down and then put the working thermostat back in and hopefully everything will work… O_o don’t you love our old cars. HAHA
I took off the Temp sensor plug and sprayed it with WD-40 and cleaned it with a Q-tip. Then I removed the thermostat and tested it by placing it in a container and heated it till boiling and it opened within spec right before boiling, tested working properly. Ran the car without the thermostat and bled the system for 20min which the overheating problem still persisted. I then installed the working thermostat and bled the system again where the overheating went away. Not sure what made it go away but i believe its a gauge problem.