2005 Acura EL Temp gauge going up and no heat?

Tiny
MZEITOUN
  • MEMBER
  • 2005 ACURA EL
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 215,000 MILES
So this car used to have no heat on stop signs and red signals 2 months ago. All until it started to over heat 3/4 of the way up only when stopped. I bought a new thermostat 190 and installed it and filled the radiator with fluid. Gave good heat and temp was under control but only for 2 days. Now we are back to square one. I looked for heavy leaks but found no heavy leaks. I saw minor drops of antifreeze on the fan. Haven't seen the fan come on for a while even when engine is hot. I dunnu, it might be coming on when I am not looking. I tested the fans and they are working. I tried burping the engine. So I thought I fixed the situation by changing the thermostat but I didn’t. It was still over heating and giving heat only when it wants. I am sick of this car problem. Now I drive for about 15 minutes and then it starts going crazy and temp rises.
I would be driving and it would be giving medium heat, even though at times it gives extreme heat in car, and the temp would be stable to below the mid level, and out of nowhere, the medium heat will start to fade away until it starts blowing cold air and shortly after the temp gauge starts bouncing up up up wtf?
What should I do next? Would it be water pump? Or relays? Or pressure in the Rad? Or hole in Rad? What does it sound like?
I have a strong feeling it might be the water pump but I hear no noise and I need to investigate further leaks from that area.

Much appreciated
Monday, December 7th, 2009 AT 9:45 AM

8 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi mzeitoun,

What is the level in the radiator when engine is cold?

You mentioned the fans did not work, if the temp goes up, they MUST work. Check if the fans or controls are faulty.
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Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 AT 6:57 AM
Tiny
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Really I cannot tell the level because the plastic container is not showing the lines properly to how much antifreeze there is. All I can tell is when it is running, I fill the radiator up and it reaches the top and if I wait a little bit it will go down and refill etc.

I jumped the fans and they worked with the jumped wires. I looked at the relay and tested the control terminals and they clicked. I don't know if the power terminals were working. They showed a "0" on the ohm meter so I don't know if they are good.

Updates: Apparently, when the car starts to overheat and what not, I fill the radiator up and burp it a little and it works fine. I've done that twice so far and car runs with regular temperature. I suspect in a day or two that it wikll overheat on me and no heat nemore :( so I believe there is a small leak somewhere but I cannot tell. Beside the thermostat, I can see an oilish fluid surrounding the thermostat area. It is not dripping or anything but just on the surface?

Anything in particular I need to do for more info on figuring the mystery of this thing?
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Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 AT 11:01 AM
Tiny
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Start engine with radiator cap off.
Turn heater to maximum.
Top up radiator if it goes down.
Continue until the coolant stabilises. This is for bleeding the system of aqny air trapped in system.
If too much air is trapped, turn engine off and wait a while before restarting.
The reserve tank level is notimportant, just ensre there are sufficient coolant in it and it is better to overfilll slightly rather having insufficient coolant.

After bleeding the system and if the reserve tank level does not go down and instead goes up after some driving, the head gasket is failing.

If the reserve tank dries up, you have a leakage somewhere and a pressure test would be required to
diagnose the source.
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Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 AT 3:05 AM
Tiny
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Alright,

I will do exactly that today and will let you know. Just for your info, so far car is not overheating and there is plenty of heat in the car. Good thing. Hope it stays like this now.

I took it to a mechanic of some sort and had him take a quick peak at the engine. He, right off the bat, determined my head gasket needs changing just because there was some oil around the thermostat and on the engine as I mentioned before.
Maybe I should have it looked at by several mechanics. Will let you know.

Thanks.
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Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 AT 11:48 AM
Tiny
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My car is over heating again while I am driving. When I stop my car, temperature goes back to normal but when I drive it over heats.
Basically here is what is going on exactly: I drive to work, turn on my vehicle, drive about 7 minutes with normal temperature and blowing heat inside vehicle, after 7 minutes heat gets cold and temperature starts rising, when I stop the car it goes back normal. It does this for about 5 minutes and then heat starts blowing again and temperature is stable. This cycle repeats. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? I am so frustrated.
I changed thermostat, I checked radiator and jerked it for air bubbles. It has been going on for a while now. What the hell.

Alright,

I will do exactly that today and will let you know. Just for your info, so far car is not overheating and there is plenty of heat in the car. Good thing. Hope it stays like this now.

I took it to a mechanic of some sort and had him take a quick peak at the engine. He, right off the bat, determined my head gasket needs changing just because there was some oil around the thermostat and on the engine as I mentioned before.
Maybe I should have it looked at by several mechanics. Will let you know.

Thanks, [/quote:d0192de3cd]
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 AT 4:29 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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If the coolant level in radiator is low after driving around and bleeding done correctly, you most probably has a bad head gasket.
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 AT 10:39 AM
Tiny
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Hi there, Thanks for your reply.

Now last night, I had a friend mechanic look at it and he filled it with antifreeze. Now it is running just fine with no over heat and with plenty of heat. He looked beneath the car and said he found no leaks what so ever and all was dry. He tried to pressure test it but he didnt have the right tools so hopefully today he will be checking it again.

Apparently he came up with 2 possibilities. Either heater core. Or Gasket. So which one is it? He says if it is getting hot 7 minutes after driving there must be vapor in there to cause that temp to go up.

So what is it now u think?
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 AT 10:48 AM
Tiny
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You have a problem with coolant losses and if the reserve tank is also getting low, then it could be the heater core that is leaking as you are not able to find any leaks in engine compartment.

If the reserve tank is overflowing while the radiator is depleting, then you have a bad head gasket.
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 AT 2:00 PM

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