Engine only warming up on idle.

[eeko]

Hey guy's got a weird thing happening with my civic which doesnt seem normal..

At night when its cold, i can drive for 20 minutes straight not hitting any stops or traffic lights and my thermostat heat level is still at the very bottom...

If i hit a light or two it sometimes warms up as i idle (1 quarter high), but never the normal heat level i get during the day (a bit below half).

If the car is already warm at night from hitting stop lights etc, my gauge quickly goes down when i just continuously cruise.

Im thinking a temp sensor? If anyone has any advice and any idea on how much it would cost it would be appreciated.

Thanks

[trism]

No. It means that the thermostat is stuck open.

[eeko]

No. It means that the thermostat is stuck open.

what do i do trism? you always have an answer

[simmy]

what do i do trism? you always have an answer

replace thermo

[trism]

Precisely.

Replace the thermostat, and while you're at it, flush and replace coolant.

[CRXDEL501]

here you go...


http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthr...ge-EG-ED-EK-DC...

[gnx1987]

Hey guy's got a weird thing happening with my civic which doesnt seem normal..

At night when its cold, i can drive for 20 minutes straight not hitting any stops or traffic lights and my thermostat heat level is still at the very bottom...

If i hit a light or two it sometimes warms up as i idle (1 quarter high), but never the normal heat level i get during the day (a bit below half).

If the car is already warm at night from hitting stop lights etc, my gauge quickly goes down when i just continuously cruise.

Im thinking a temp sensor? If anyone has any advice and any idea on how much it would cost it would be appreciated.

Thanks

Do you want to know how they came to that conclusion and why they're so sure?

Do you know what your cooling system is doing to make it do that?

Just asking cause sometimes it's interesting to know these things. Makes you appreciate how complex yet simple an engine is.

[dougie_504]

As per trism, thermostat. Always start here. Easy job and cheap item to replace. Do it soon too, because your engine will wear down more if it's running cold and you'll use more petrol.

[trism]

Do you want to know how they came to that conclusion and why they're so sure?

Do you know what your cooling system is doing to make it do that?

Just asking cause sometimes it's interesting to know these things. Makes you appreciate how complex yet simple an engine is.

Good questions here for sure for people who dont understand why.

An engine operates in its most efficient range when the water temperature is at about 75-90 degrees.

Any colder, and the fuel doesnt burn properly, the engine thinks its still in cold start mode, which is a richer mixture, so itll use more fuel and cause more engine wear.

Hotter, and it starts popping gaskets, warping heads etc.

The job of the thermostat is to regulate the coolant flow. Without a thermostat, or in your case, a stuck open thermostat, the water is always circulating through the engine and radiator. Radiator does its job and acts like a heat sink, cooling the water down.

When youre idling, theres no airflow, so it allows the coolant to heat up to the normal running temperature. As soon as you start moving, the temp drops because the water cools back down.

If the thermostat jams shut, then the coolant cant circulate into the radiator, cant dissipate heat and therefore it overheats.

[senna]

Must be super common, mine has recently started doing this too...

[trism]

Yeah, its is a common problem.

[senna]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to trism again.