Questions about overheating, coolant and diagnosis?
Posted by Fiendish@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 9 comments
Hi!
I was driving delivery and my car(07 Honda Fit) overheating light came on. I turned it off and let it cool down, then drove it carefully and slowly home. I hope I didn't hurt it then.
The next day I checked and saw no coolant in the radiator and not much in the reservoir so I got some coolant and filled the reservoir to the level marked as max and filled the radiator directly as well. The radiator seemed to be full so I turned the car on and just idled for 15 minutes. It seemed to be good so I tried driving just around the short block and it overheated again.
I waited for it to cool down and checked the level in the radiator and noticed it wasn't at the top anymore. I didn't notice any coolant leaking from the bottom of the car(although I might have missed a small amount because I spilled a bit when I was refilling the radiator.
The second time I added coolant I ran out of coolant before it filled to the top.
I idled for 15 minutes and it overheated again just idling.
Do I need to buy another can of coolant and fill it to the top again?
Could it be leaking somewhere inside the car but not onto the ground?
I checked the oil, nice and brown, no milky whiteness. No loud noises or anything weird sounding.
The heater all of sudden blows cold air also.
Any tips or advice would be amazing thank you, I would love to not have to take it to the shop since I am very poor.
AdFabulous3959@reddit
Your coolant is going somewhere and when it gets low the heater starts blowing cold due to no hot liquid in the heater core. Fill the system where you are sure it’s full then short drive and check for leaks if you don’t have a pressure tester
Fiendish@reddit (OP)
I did this, and it did seem to have a small leak that stopped leaking once I stopped the car. The car also overheated right at the end of the short drive even when I didn't test the AC. Any advice?
AdFabulous3959@reddit
Fill it up again put the radiator cap on as well as the heater and let the car idle for a bit. You need to find that leak. Probably going to have to sit there with a flashlight looking for a drip. Make sure you watch the temperature though because it’s going to want to overheat.
Fiendish@reddit (OP)
i found dripping immediately this time before i even finished filling it, but i cant really get in there to see exactly where it is
AdFabulous3959@reddit
You could fill it up put the cap on and squeeze the radiator hose and find out where the leak is starting from. Car off and cool to the touch. Look under the car, around the radiator etc…
Fiendish@reddit (OP)
ok, thank you
i did find it dripping a few times now from the bottom of the front of the car, so i should be looking inside the hood and all around the engine right? or just the radiator hose?
Fiendish@reddit (OP)
thank you so much, yeah i was thinking maybe if the coolant is super low then i need more than a gallon to cover the engine block or whatever too, plus I wasted some spilling and putting some in the reservoir
JMSTEWARTJAX@reddit
Google "coolant capacity" for your car.
Fiendish@reddit (OP)
It's 1.4 gallons, is it possible I was really running on so little coolant that almost a full gallon didn't fill it?