1995 Honda Accord RPM's and overheating

CASSANDRA1978

MEMBER
1995 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
182,000 MILES

Ok so the car ran fine and then all of a sudden the car started overheating and the rpm's jump all over the place. Doesnt seem like the fans ever kick on which I dont know if that would cause the rpm issue or if they are even related. Here is some history on what we have fixed and replaced on this car in the last month. The heater core has been changed, the fan switch has been replace. The thermostat has been replaced the radiator has been replaced as well as the cap has been replaced twice now since when this started happening it broke the spring off the cap for some reason. Im thinking about just replacing the car but I would much rather fix it. Any ideas?

5 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Hi cassandra1978,

Thank you for the donation.

Do you have coolant losses issues?

Does the cooling fans comes on when the AC is turned ON?
Did you test if the cooling fan motors are in working condition?

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Friday, March 5th, 2010 AT 7:23 AM

CASSANDRA1978

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4 POSTS

The fans do not come on at all except when directly wired to the battery. We have tested both motors they are both good. And yes MAJOR coolant loss issues. The fans worked until this all started happening so I dont know what happened to make them stop

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Friday, March 5th, 2010 AT 7:53 AM

KHLOW2008

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The cooling fans are actuated by the fan switch located on the thermostat housing. Power is supplied via the fan relay in underdash fuse box.

Unplug the fan switch connector and bridge the terminals. Turn ignition on and check if the fan comes on.

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Friday, March 5th, 2010 AT 1:20 PM

CASSANDRA1978

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4 POSTS

The fans and the switch are both good we just replaced the switch and the fans both worked just fine after that. Would a blown headgasket cause the rpms to flucuate and the car to over heat without having water in the oil?

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Friday, March 5th, 2010 AT 1:44 PM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Yes, if the head gasket is bad, it can cause the symptoms described.

When the head gasket is bad, compresison leaks and this would cause erratic idling but if you have coclant losses, it would also cause the same symptoms.

When repairs are carried out on the cooling system, bleeding must be done to purge out the air in system failing which the Fast Idle Thermovalve ( FITV ) and Idle Air Control ( IAC ) valve would not work correctly and cause surging.

Get a pressure test to determine if the head gasket is bad.