Overheating while at idle
 

I have a '92 DX, and when I'm stuck in traffic, the temp guage starts creeping towards H. While moving, the temp guage is stuck in the center.

So far I've replaced the thermostat, flushed the radiator, and replaced the sensor on the thermostat housing.

This weekend I noticed that the fan in front of the radiator dosen't come on. When I turn on the A/C, the fan on the engine side of the radiator turns on.

Is there another temp sensor that I'm missing, which tells the fans when to come on? Or do you think the fan itself is bad?

Thanks for any advice.

try hardwiring the fan right to the battery, that'll tell you if it's your fan or your sensor.

check to see if the fan is turning on. Also check the radiator and fluid level

The fan relay may be working but not working correctly. They are usually under the hood on the firewall but check the manual to be sure of where it's at on this particular car.

The A/C fan is working, but the other fan isn't. Are both fans run off the same relay?

I've replaced the coolant, and it's topped off.

I thought I read about a second temp sensor, that turns the fans on/off. If there is one, where would it be most likely located?

I may try to wire the fans directly to the battery, just to see if it'll engage.

How would you check a relay to see if it's working correctly? I thought either it worked or didn't?

Lloyd, I recommend you buy an auto parts store manual for your car. Everytime I buy a used car, I buy both the Chilton and Haynes manual for it. Well, unless only one of the two exists. My brother used to own a 96 Kia and there was neither available. These books will let you know where everything is most of the time. The way I discovered a relay was wrong with the Chevy was taking the risk and buying the part(could not return it for refund). It turned out that it was the problem. It cost $6.95. It happened again almost a year later and I replaced it and it never went bad after that again.

i had the same problem with mine but it was the sensor in the termostat housing that was broke. if you replaced that one then try hard wiring it like greenlanter said. u might just need the fan motor

You might want to check the fan relays located in the main fuse box inside the engine compartment. There is another sending unit that threads into the thermostat housing.

Mine does the same thing. I plan on wiring the fan to a switch.

its more than likely your thermostat is stuck open or broken, check that first.

I've replaced both the thermostat and the sensor that is in the thermostat housing. I thought I had read somewhere of another sensor on the radiator. Thats the one I'm looking for.

Thanks for all the help.

on the B6 there is a second temp sensor on the front right hand side of the engine. There should be a wire coming off of your fan relay to this sensor. Give that a try.

Also I was having the same problem with my car, but it turned out that my ignition wouldn't flip all the way back to the accesories position after I started the car. I just have to turn it back that little bit by hand. How to test this is to try and turn on your wipers when your engine starts to overheat. If you wipers won't come on that might be your problem.