Car Overheating & whats this random wire doing?

[team_n(o_O)b]

Car: 95 Ek Civic
Mods: Air Pod & Exhaust

Problem: My car is overheating and spitting out coolant from the over flow tank. Both radiator thermo fans are not working either.

Steps taken to resolve the problem: Checked all fuses & all wiring going to the fans. Came across a brown rogue wire poking out from this black box (please see pictures) not too sure weather it has anything to do with the overheating though. I did a couple searches through OzHonda forums and now i think it might be a thermostat problem. So i was just wondering what you guys think it could be, before i jump to conclusions. Ive also attached some images of the brown wire as well. Any help on what that is used for, would be greatly appreciated. I'll check this post very often, so if i have left a vital bit of information out, i will repost asap.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5589/dsc01717us9.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/97/dsc01718kn1.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/2220/dsc01720no0.jpg

Thanking you in advance,
Ben

ps. I'm very new to these forums i was previously on "redline Gti" but upgraded to my civic. I'll post pics of it soon.

[bennjamin]

brownwire = old alarm wire to hood latch or something..

[TRUMAN]

could be a thermostat problem for the overheating

[destrukshn]

if your fans aren't working there's your problem.
lol.

find the thermofan switch.
which is on the thermostat housing.
bridge those 2 wires, and if your fan turns on, the switch is fualty, replace the switch.

[EuroDude]

Yeh sounds like the Thermistat.

Do an ECU error check while ur at it ~ http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8218

[team_n(o_O)b]

brownwire = old alarm wire to hood latch or something..
Thats what i thought. Also If i earth it, the boot light comes on?
Thank you for the reply.

TRUMAN + destrukshn + EuroDude
Thank you very much for your quick reply. Going to try what destrukshn said and also do the ECU Error check as pointed out by EuroDude.

Seriously thanks for the quick response. Its greatly appreciated, with the temperature these days being so hot, I'm kinda really worried and don't want to do anything that might escalate the problem. So I'll get onto it asap, and post the outcome.

Cheers,
Ben

[CRXer]

If both fans not workin than more than likely as destrukt said,plus check the ground off the switch as well,so if it doesnt work by bridging the switch plug,then try bridging just the yell/green wire in the plug to the engine block(ground),if works then,fix the ground.

And insulate that brown wire so it doesnt find a ground & run the battery flat thru the boot light.

[team_n(o_O)b]

If both fans not workin than more than likely as destrukt said,plus check the ground off the switch as well,so if it doesnt work by bridging the switch plug,then try bridging just the yell/green wire in the plug to the engine block(ground),if works then,fix the ground.

And insulate that brown wire so it doesnt find a ground & run the battery flat thru the boot light.

Thank you CRXer!
I'll give that a go, i'll give that a go. I insulated that wire as soon as i found it just to be on that safe side and made sure it was well out of harms way. Very good point.

Again thanks for all your feedback guys.
Ben

[team_n(o_O)b]

Just a quick update:
I was just asking around and some people said that i should run the air-con so that the fans kick in. Is this right? Also my dad and I are thinking of putting the thermostat in ourselves & maybe even bypassing the thermostat altogether so the fams are always on. Is this easy, i have no idea what im doing, but learning along the way, yet my dad seems to think he can easily put it in if i grab a thermostat from spare parts. Is there a website or a diagram that you guys might have that i could use to find the thermostat, in case he doesn't know where it is? I did a quick search (google & ozhonda) and couldnt find what i was looking for.

Thanks guys.
Ben

[EuroDude]

Installing the Thermostat is very easy, all you do is remove a couple of bolts (12mm I think) and remove the thermostat cover, then replace the thermostat, then put the cover back on and redo the bolts.


I think the fans work off the thermostat, so its not a good idea to remove it completely.

[TRUMAN]

Ben, u from sydney?

[destrukshn]

ben is from sydney.

[TRUMAN]

maybe Ben can take it to Hannys performance to confirm wat the problem is. pretty sure sure Robert or Peter there wont charge him for just takin a look at the problem

[destrukshn]

oh fock, i thought you were talkin about "benjamin" didn't notice that the guys name was also ben, i dunnoes where ben is from.
lol.

[TRUMAN]

hahahahahha.... no worries.. i was thinkin that as well lol....

[team_n(o_O)b]

oh fock, i thought you were talkin about "benjamin" didn't notice that the guys name was also ben, i dunnoes where ben is from.
lol.

LOL yeh im from Sydney also, West Ryde to be exact. :p
I was just wondering if you guys know of a good spare parts dealer that i could possibly get a thermostat from?

Thank you
Ben

[CRXer]

LOL yeh im from Sydney also, West Ryde to be exact. :p
I was just wondering if you guys know of a good spare parts dealer that i could possibly get a thermostat from?

Thank you
Ben

honda eastwood on blaxland rd actually had 2 parts in stock for me that nobody else had in sydney if that helps at all & u want genuine thermostat.

[destrukshn]

most if not all honda dealers will have a thermostat in stock.
=)

19301P08316
that should be the part number your after.
rrp of 54.98

[TRUMAN]

or u can try honbits in smithfield

[destrukshn]

why would you want a 2nd hand thermostat?
=/

[vtek]

why would you want anything from the wreckers if you can source it locally?

[phantom_civic]

why do u's keep on asking the same question?

[team_n(o_O)b]

Thanks very much for your input guys. You have all been a huge help. The problem has been fixed. At the moment i have shorted circuited the switch so the fans are always on, not a good thing to do, i know but its just for time being until friday afternoon when i get the switch and thermostat. Buying a new switch and thermo stat. Totaling $80 approx. Just picked it up from a local spare parts shop 5 mins up the road, which was very handy.
A big thanks to EuroDude, for the number of a good mechanic, turns out the bloke turned away my money and saved me about $200 all up. So will definitely give him a call if something goes wrong that i cant fix. Again, thanks for all your help guys. Its much appreciated.

Ben

[destrukshn]

you get aftermarket sensors and thermostat?

[EuroDude]

No worries, yeah he's generally a good mech :thumbsup:

When my civic overheated, the NRMA jammed the thermostat open temporarily with a piece of metal or nail or something, but shorting the fan will do the same thing ftw.

[iamhappy46]

Yes, the Tridon thermostat is most common aftermarket thermostat. It costs $36 and is actually a hi-flow item(Tridon often supply brand names like Mugen/Nismo/etc with 'racing' thermostats)