Bahamanurse1

I Drive a 2001Acura TL 3.2L V6. Recently i've noticed that the car over heats while in stop and go traffic or when it idles too long. I have recently changed the radiator cap and a bad lower hose. The thermostat was removed and never replaced about a year ago because of over heating issues. I have had the codes scanned after check engine light and tcs lights came on. The code ironically said that low operating engine temperature and bad O2 sensor. Any ideas about what's going on with my car? Please help. [CODE][/CODE

Mikehxbx

Check your fans and corresponding fuses.

Seabright

Overheating at idle sounds like a fan problem. Not so unusual. Search the site and there are several threads related to identifying and fixing fan problems. Could be something different, but I would start there. Also - you need the thermostat for the engine to run properly.

Bahamanurse1

Fan kicks in. But AC fan not working need a relay fuse.

01tl4tl

you need- today- before further diagnosis = a Genuine Honda 2 stage thermostat, and when installing the DOT on it goes to the top

is the radiator clogged inside? what about the space between ac condenser and radiator- clogged with leaves or dirt??
Is the system full in rad and res bottle at correct level when cold? hose inside res cap is attached firmly?
Did you burp the system per owner book- its more than just idle and wait till bubbles appear! typical acura special procedure~
Note heater must be on full hot with cabin fan on high during rad burping, the heater is a mini sized rad!

Need both rad fans working, driver side is primary cooling, passenger side comes on with ac and when needed in severe temp spikes!
Odd to have a relay fail but anything is possible! Fix that right away

01tl4tl

lack of thermostat will cause false codes on engine temp and mess with signals going to the ECU
The TL runs at 1-2 lines below half all the time, ac on or off, mountains, valleys,
32 degrees outside or 110F!, always runs the same!
Change means something bad is happening and you need to fix it right away!
Driving a year with no thermo -to ignore a temp problem,
be lucky its not blowing white smoke from blown head gasket by now!

01tl4tl

OP= ever replace the water pump? that's due at 105kmiles or 7 years whichever is first.
Many run thousands and years past that = at own risk of total engine destruction!!

Do you lose coolant? is res bottle system working- some coolant transfers over to bottle just after shutdown and sucks it back over by morning - so res is at cold level again

Describe situation a year ago that prompted the thermostat removal

Bahamanurse1

Thank you everyone. I will replace the thermostat ASAP. It was initially taken out by the mechanic when the car ran hot one day.He also told me i did'nt need it. Afterwards, it still ran hot. Then he disconnected the heater hose and told me i didn't need that either. We replaced the waterpump about 2years ago. I am goingbto follow the suggestions in this order. Replace thermostat. Then flush, then burp the system. PS. The radiator is full of coolant and the resovoir is at the normal level.
Thanks Everyone.

01tl4tl

Should have fresh coolant with the wp- 5 years is the max you want to use it
Was there a heater core leak? that needs to be part of the system and is an odd choice to remove from system when overheating!
Just when you need a bunch of cold fluid to drop the overall fluid temp...and its not available

Loosen bolts at top of rad supports, ck between the 2 radiators for debris blocking airflow
Fan(s) Operation- that has to be good with sensors working right
see other threads on what does which when

Bahamanurse1

Yes, there was a leak in the heater hose. Will also check fir debri between th radiator. I will also get the heater hose repaired.

01tl4tl

do you mean the heater was bypassed due to a leak in one of its main hoses from the engine? no leak at heater core itself was found?
before the heater was disconnected, ever a sickly sweet smell inside the car, and mystery wetness on the passenger front floor carpet?

I suspect you have a bad Fan Sensor A, common part wearout, maybe other problems = but start there.
On the 01 its located on back side of radiator- passenger side lower corner, it screws in- and a wire plugs onto connector on tip of it
That will cause the main fan to not run at idle-lights when its needed, then it runs 5-10 minutes after you get home and shut engine off!
When overheating at stops and no loss of fluid- My 1st suspect is that sensor, just look at the many threads on the subject on here!

01acls

^ I think you've mistaken about the sensor A at radiator. There's no sensor at rad on a TLP only on TLS.

01tl4tl

oops my bad- all these years we have talked about this Sensor A on here as the
1st suspect, and no one mentioned P cars were different!

Diagram shows A located on thermo housing,,is that a 99 diagram? or for all type P?

01acls

^ Diagram is all 2g TL, whether its a P or S.

99 has the Temp Gauge Sending Unit as noted in diagram.

Type S has an extra Fan Switch C in the middle of the lower rad tank (bottom of the rad).

To recap the TLP has A & B Fan Switches as noted in diagram.

The TLS has A, B & C Fan Switches. A & B as noted in diagram and C located at the bottom of the rad.

01tl4tl

ok - odd that in 8 years no one has ever returned saying- hey I didn't find that thing!

but its still Fan Switch A that is the more common of failures- symptoms include fan running 10 minutes after shut-down, assuming coolant full and correctly burped.
Is that still correct?

01acls

It is odd that no one has said anything about not finding switch A at rad. Lol

I would be in agreement with you on the likely suspect of Switch A as being the more common defect. However, it's become apparent to me that some Switch A diagnosis may be false due to low coolant from seepage or systems not being burp or improper burping procedures.

Likewise, I would error on the safe side and replace the thermostat as cheap insurance against over heating. Especially if it's not been change in years.

Same goes for the rad cap and aging hoses.

Unfortunately we are all guilty of these things. And we are reactive instead of being proactive. Duf!

Severin

Is the radiator fan single speed (on/off)? I was overheating last month and had to give the fan a toss to get it spinning, at which time it ran at half speed. Next day, it was running full speed again by itself; probably no brushes left and combination of heat.
Replaced the fan with an aftermarket anyhow.

01tl4tl

2 speed

make sure new fan is pulling air thru , not blowing it forward
Can be installed with the 2 wires swapped on some manufacturers - reverse them and all is well

Agree with 01acls- start with rad level - res bottle working-- system properly BOOK METHOD burped, then look at fan sensor A
Thats a good method for any TL overheat issues