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Temperature Gauge 1998 1999 2000 2001 CG Accord Coupe


gbn

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This is where my temp gauge sits. I'm used to cars sitting bang on halfway. Can anyone tell me if this is normal or maybe need a thermostat? Would like to get it running as spot on as I can cos if it's running cool it will surely be running rich and using more fuel? SMELLS like it runs a bit rich but that may be my new car paranoia!

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3 hours ago, AhsyV6 said:

All I can confirm is that I've had 2 3.0 coupes and both of their temp gauges have sat exactly where yours is now. 

For a technical response no doubt be able to elaborate. 

Good luck 

I think I'm dyslexic as I think one thing and write another....that last sentence was meant to say "For a technical response no doubt "Stu will" be able to elaborate"! 

Alot of what I write is during my daily London rat race commute (like now) and therefore not checked properly and quickly submitted before entering a tube tunnel!!! 

Glad our responses helped. 

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Hardly a technical response :lol: but in simply terms the position on the gauge should point to the D4 indicator as this is the optimal engine running temperature (180-190°) set by the manufacturer of the instrument panel and as a result some other manufacturers the position of the pointer will differ. So providing it doesn't deviate either way to much and your coolant is within specification 35% mix not 50/50, it will be perfectly fine ;)

Additionally the J30A engine isn't considered a thirsty engine and runs lean by comparison to similar engines, so naturally it will generate more heat and on the J30A engine wont always reflect its true temp' as the gauge sensor it located in close proximity to the EGR cooler passage and will likely give you a false impression :huh: and you saying your coolant leak manifests after a short journey or sitting in traffic could indicate a sticky thermostat that's why I suggested a new thermostat on another topic. I have replaced the thermostat on several coupes and the engine runs significantly cooler and has in fact has increased mpg due to lower friction within the engine...

However as general rule if your engine is operating properly and the cooling system overall is in good health, it would have little effect on fuel efficiency and the gain/loss would be negligible.

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  • 3 months later...
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My heater does not seem to give heat unless I set it above 26 C when it works fine but odes not seem to be 26 C but a bit less.  setting at say 22 only blows cold.....  I have tried with and without aircon on and it is still the same.

 

Is there a sensor somewhere that might need a clean?  Any other ideas?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

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What is the ambient temperature outside of the car at the moment Paul? I'd lay bets it's at least 26C and if it's that outside the car, it will be warmer inside! As such the Climate Control sees the selected temperature of 22C as being lower than what it senses inside the car and blows cold. Turn it up to 28 or higher and it should start blowing warmer. As long as it does this, it seems to be behaving normally. ;):D

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Hmm, sounds like it's something to do with the ambient temperature perhaps?  Then again, my wife's Civic had a coolant change earlier and it was quite warm but when on max, it was like sitting in front of a furnace. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Thought it probably was - they're quite a reliable set up and the main faults are usually lack of gas although as our cars get older, things like the reciever-dryer (which is a service item anyway), condensor, evaporator etc are all prone to leaks, especially the "O" rings that are sued in the joins but one really common thing is the LP Service Port valve leaking. It's a glorified tyre valve core, different springing and seal material to cope with the refrigerant but very similar.

Easily renewed with a certain tool, weather (and memory) permitting, tomorrow i'll do mine and take some photos, maybe even a video. ;):D

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49 minutes ago, PaulS said:

Well the colder weather proves it - my air con is working fine all along.....

Thinking about this more now :rolleyes: basically when I first got my car there was noticeable change from 23-26 almost a hot & cold scenario nothing gradual and subsequent coolant changes + a new thermostat the climate control is very accurate. Basically my engine ran hotter than I would have liked, the 50% mix the main dealer did prior to my ownership was my suspicion, as should be a 35% mix of coolant to water and it was taking way too long to cool down in my opinion as well. Anyway if the available coolant temperature is to high the unit will keep the valve closed longer until the temperature selected meets a recognised position on the valve to start opening letting more hot coolant into the heater matrix to meet the desired temperature, so it acted like one extreme to the other.

Hopefully that makes sense ;)

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Makes perfect sense to me Stu! I've also spent a lot of time working in the plastics industry, specifically thermoforming where animals called PID Controllers are widely used for process temperature control. If memory serves correctly, PID stands for Proportional Integrator Differentiator, the last two parts referring to Calculus operations in mathematics to compensate for variables outside of "normal" pre-programmed control. in other words they could write a basic program for a controller to run a 400W heater band on an injection moulding machine but if the machine went down (say a hydraulic failure) and the PID controller was "borrowed" to go on a different machine that had 800W heater bands, the basic control program wouldn't work properly - in fact it would behave exactly like your Climate Control did when you first got your car.

The PID got round this by working out how long it took the heater to reach the desired temperature, how long to cool down, how long to bring the temperature back up after falling 3C below the set point and how long to cool down after going 3C above the set point. It then applied differential factors so that the heater band integrated with the others on the injection barrel - clever eh?

Back to your heater/Climate control, if the set point was 25C let's say and the ambient temperature was 22C, it would need to open the heater valve to get the temperature up. As the coolant was hotter than it should have been (and probably hotter than the system sensed but more of that in a mo) then it would allow what it thought was the right amount of hot coolant through (like the basic program in the controller above) but was in fact too much heat through.

Then it would have to cool down again. By the time it had cooled sufficiently to open the valve again (according to what it was sensing in the main coolant flow) it was in fact a lot cooler so had to open up the heater valve for longer to compensate. Hence cycling one extreme to another with nothing in between.

You mentioned several coolant changes later it now works properly - those coolant changes would have cleaned and flushed the system as well, making it more efficient and less prone to "hot-spotting" which would also contribute to hotter coolant running through the heater matrix. Now it can flow better it maintains a more even temperature throughout the system and as such is able to control the cabin temperature more accurately.

Gone into some quite deep electronics theory there that i thought i'd forgotten, sorry about that! Hopefully the more "plain English" bits explain what i was getting at! ;):D

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  • 1 year later...

Hi, Honda heads, after changing the radiator and the thermostat  2 months ago,  my temp gauge still rises to halfway temperature within a minute, is this normal ?? I have felt the top radiator hose and its screaming hot and the water/coolant levels seems ok nothing drastic, I have driven a couple hundred miles since the change and never noticed anything performance wise or mechanically dangerous happening, so I assumed this was normal, just want a little insight? 

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Hello fellow Honda nut, it does sound as if it warms up quickly and I'm assuming this symptom is from when the car stone cold when it happens? There could still be air present in the system or the coolant mix is weak (to much water) also did you use any sealers in the system prior the repairs to slow the visible leak at the time, as a full flushing of the system might be required i.e thermostat removed and flush with water?

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Yes , Hughezee this is from a stone cold start , in the winter i wont be complaining  :D my mechanic , had replaced the thermostat with one that i had purchased (new)  and told me he had topped up with new coolant ! Im not sure a full flush was undertaken or NOT !! prior to the repair there was no leak , just general upkeep and preserving ! I will speak with my mechanic this upcoming week. Were the replacing of anti roll bar bushings which i purchased on line as directed (thankyou )

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Why did you have the thermostat replaced to start with? If it is literally a minute to warm up, that's a bit too quick and suggests blocked water ways which would give reduced cooling when you need it.

Also do you know what sort of antifreeze was in there before and what sort the mechanic topped up with?

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