93 Civic Temperature Reading Low
 

Hey Guys,

Hope you guys can help me out. I recently bought this civic and just noticed that the temperature reading is quite low. The gauge seems to rise to only about 1/4-1/3 of the way. The heater works nicely and it takes about 5 mins for the gauge to rise to the 1/4-1/3 mark and it just stays there. Only slightly rises a bit if I turn off the heater. Coolant level is good and it doesn't leak. Only slightly rises a bit if I turn off the heater. Any idea what can be causing this? And is this serious?


Update: I went to a parts store and sa told me to remove coolant fan fuse to see if temp rises. Temp still doesn't rise, trying to figure whether it's the thermometer or sensor.

how is the condition of the thermostat?? BTW, hondas run cool, when i first got mine i was surprised it ran between 1/4 and 1/2.

Update: Changed the thermostat, still no difference. Same reading as before (meter right under the boat looking thing on the gauge). Tried turning off the fan to see if there would be a difference and once again, no difference.

thats where it should be right under the "boat thing" like 1 or 2 ticks. So don t worry your good :D

mine has always run cold too.. even is I beat on my sol it never gets past 1/2.

But shouldn't the temperature rise if I turn off my fan?

How is the condition of the coolant?? Sometimes the incorrect mixture can cause problems..

fan should only go when at operting temp and then shut off again. But in cold weather I doubt it will rise much. Wait till it gets real hot and give it a try lol

Man your worrying about nothing.
You only need to worry when your temp goes through the roof.

I have the same problem. If my car is on a stand still, I would have nice heat and the temperature shows 1/4. However once my car is moving the temperature drops to C and no heat. Any help.

if you are really worried get an aftermarket water temp gauge

Based on your explanation of symptons, i think you may have a thermostat failure..

Explanation:

While the temperature of the car is at operating or below operating temperature, the thermostat will remain closed to ensure coolant does NOT flow through the radiator to get cooled.

Once the temperature goes up above operating temp, the thermostat opens and allows coolant to flow through the radiator.. As that increases the fan comes on to further cool the coolant down, by blowing additional air through the radiator.

Now, most thermostats have a fail safe, so if they fail, they lock themselves in OPEN mode to make sure the car doesn't overheat.

So imagine that your thermostat is now stuck open and coolant is constantly flowing through the rad.

So, when you are standing still not a lot of wind is flowing through the rad to cool the coolant. However, once you start driving, you're getting much more air flowing through the rad to cool down the coolant. Hence, cold when driving.. It's worse being in the winter because the air is so much colder and cools down the coolant much faster.

hope that make sense.

hey man, i got the same thing. my temp doesnt go any higher than 1/3 or so. if im pushing down the highway it will rise just a tiny bit under half otherwise 1/3 way up. my brother had a civic same deal. thats normal. as long as u get hot/warm air your good :)