My car was in an accident last april where the bumper, radiator, compressor, etc was all replaced. ever since the repair, ive been having ac issues where the cold air would only turn on for a breif moment before stopping. The engine has also been overheating sometimes if i sit idle in a parking lot without the AC on. i replicate the problem by doing this:
1) turn the car on and AC on, cold air is blowing in.
2) drive the car around for a few minutes until the ac stops blowing in cold air, usually 2-5 mins.
3) drive a bit more with the ac off with ac off.
4) park the car and leave the AC off, car is idle.

after parking the car and having it run for about 10-15 mins, i see the engine temp rising slowly. recently, my car started to overheat and smoke from this. I had to open the hood to cool, where i saw the coolant boiling in the tank. after about 20 minutes of letting the engine cool, i saw almost all the coolant flushed onto the ground in front of the car. Once i turned the car back on after letting it cool down, the ac will blow in cold air again for a bit until i start driving.

I took the car back to the repair shop and they said they checked everything and it was all fine. i personally believe this is BS and they didnt do shit. the insurance company even had a guy come check it out and he thinks its due to "aftermarket wiring" being my subs, intake, or angel eyes i guess.

ANYWAYS, i would like to get some info on this, been having a lot of trouble with it lately, especially with the weather getting hotter. all this btw, is really only seen when the weather is warm or hot, usually 70's and hotter. i had absolutely no problems in the winter.

thanks in advance.

 

As far as the overheating problem, I have seen this before. It is caused by an inability for the cooling system to hold pressure. This is often because of a small (unnoticeable) leak, typically on the lower radiator hose or some inconspicuous spot. Chances are, the repair guy gave it a once-over and didn't really check for cracks in the hose(s) or that they were sealing properly on the fittings. Are you using Honda/Acura coolant?

 

yupp im using acura coolant

 

Ok good. Let the car heat up to operating temp. You should hear the fan kick in twice before it is at temp. Do you hear the fan? If not, there's the issue. If so, shut the car off. Then look around for any steam or drips or even any wetness on the fittings or hoses etc. Give the hoses a squeeze, if it's up to temp, they should be pressurized. Make sure you don't see any cracks. Definitely don't let her overheat though, it could be detrimental to your engine. Last thing to note, and I'm sure you know this, there is no way your wiring is causing the issue, unless you did some hack job and messed up the fan switch etc.

 

thanks a lot man, ima try all this out tomorrow afternoon, il prob have my uncle look at it as well at his shop. yeah the whole wiring issue was BS, i knew it was just a stupid reason to decline the repair. il update with wat i find by the end of this week.

 

should the fan in front of the radiator turn on even without the ac or temp on in the car? the fan only turns on when the ac is turned on, not when its off...

 

fans should come on with out the ac on. if they dont the car could be over heating due to no air flow. find the coolant thermal switch, unplug it jumper the connector. fans should come on imediatley. if they dont you have a wiring problem on the cooling side(not the ac component side)
if fans come on after youve jumped the connector replace the thermal switch. also make sure you remove all air from the cooling system. could be a pocket of air traped at the thermal switch.
good luck

 

any idea where the coolant thermal switch is? and also what do u mean by jumper the connector? and how would u remove all the air in the cooling system?

 

if im not mistaken, the switch is located on the driver side lower portion of the radiator. in other words the left lower side of the radiator. and "jumping" the wire i mean unplug the connector and on the harness side use a paper clip/wire etc to join both sides of the connector. by doing this the fans should come on right away if the car is on or key on engine off.
to remove air turn car on, ac off, heater to max high and mode face vents and let the car idel till fans come on twice. turn car off and use a rag or towel to open the radiator cap (be vert careful) and top off with acura coolant.
good luck

 

The troubleshooting chart in the factory manual reads:
Engine overheating:
1. inspect water pump
2. check for broken drive belt
3. check drive-belt auto-tensioner
4. check thermostat
5. check for coolant leakage
6. check for crap plugging radiator fins
7. check for damaged/deformed fan shroud
8. check radiator hoses
9. check radiator cap
10. inspect fan motors and relays
....

There are troubleshooting charts for the various electrical components in the cooling system, but I wouldn't start looking in that direction until you get there. I'd follow the troubleshooting list and start with the pump.

 

It sounds like a water pump issue. At least that's what experience tells me. Buddy of mine had a similar issue in his Integra years ago. Same symptoms anyway. Also, the a/c problem is related, but has nothing to do with the cause. When the coolant temp reaches a certain level the pcm turns off the a/c compressor and won't allow it to engage. Also, an air bubble at the coolant temp sensor wouldn't cause this problem. If there was a bubble at the temp sensor the gauge would report the temperature of the air, which would still be high, on the dash. Fans would still come on and the a/c compressor would still shut off, but they'd do so at a different coolant temperature. Fans will always be on when the a/c is on to ensure air flow across the condenser.

 

thermal switch controls the engagement of the fans(ac off)
e.c.t. controls the guage movement. provides a reading to pcm
he said fans dont come on when ac is off. on with ac on.
if the water pump didnot work(broken fins) the car would over heat its ass off a few minutes after ac is on,yes even if the fans are on.

 

Just to prepare you for it: if the car has overheated to the extent that you are describing you are probably looking at a head gasket change.

The car will probably be driveable but it could get bad quickly if things really start to go. I drove my old Legend for two years with a bad head gasket. Just needed to fill and bleed the system every couple of days.

 

Yeah I also hate to say it but if you got to the point of it smoking then you already have done some damage. Even if you see the temp guage moving up slightly from where it is supposed to normally be there is a problem and you need to get to a safe place and turn the car off immediately.

 

yeah well watever the issue is, the insurance company is gonna have to fix it since the collision place did not do a thorough job and is now saying its not their fault, hopefully i can find the problem this weekend when i get it checked out