Overheating?

CDsDontBurn

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Two weeks ago, I did the Leakless gasket fix on my 6GA with success. The initial reason why I did it, aside from the obvious leaking of coolant, was because my engine temp had shot up despite the fact that I had just added coolant a few days earlier because of the leak itself.

So I do the fix and all is well for the test drive and on my way to work the following work day. On my way home from work though, my engine temps shoot up. They reach 419F!! I freak out, pull over, wait a little bit but the temp never comes down and the radiator fan never turns on. I call my wife at her work and we switch cars (her work is on the way home from my work).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bdQNV8ZS3eieJ8kE8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UU6RGg5vdiM2bxGw8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hSwuZWK1Joqqzp9U9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cetDKiSo86nZiWEj8

Turns out, the issue was a CEL, P0117, which is coolant sensor related. The other CEL on the screenshot is a different issue, lol.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oAmRVq7TAkc6pGLd9

So I replace the coolant sensor as well as the fan switch sensor as the radiator fan wasn't turning on when reaching 195F like it's supposed to.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8jbfJh9UedWPj4Tj7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eXiVjKLSHpguyS8h6

I burp the system again because some coolant was lost. I do my test drive and monitor my temps. All is good. 221F was the highest it got during my test drive.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SL2fnsNw3Svtw9wr5

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pRAVppcPZKuXdJDw5

So the next day (yesterday), my drive to work is perfectly fine. I monitor temps with my Torque app and temps stay around 205-ish. The temp gauge stays exactly where it's supposed to be at, 1/3 of the way up as well. After work, I monitor my temps again, and the drive home starts off great. However, at around half way home I have this 3mi long 6% incline of a mountain to drive up. Half way up the mountain, my temp gauge starts to climb up. I look at my temps and they're going up. The hottest they got to was 239F and was bouncing back and forth between 239F and 235F for a good minute. Mind you, I had turned off the AC and turned on the heater to help control the temps and bring them back down. It's 105 out right now....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5M4xHf7WBbjuFWym9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x1GqeXWvn4iwTjq37

https://photos.app.goo.gl/t1DTrJr83UHhwGzE9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eNoyPMmJpsWBrupJA

Turning on the heater ended up working and brought the temps down to 231F

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FE1BFgTd9LHcNzQYA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7Lh48jNsGVGRDWkYA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/V4fQFW1pAbrNp27dA

When my temps settled down a little bit, after the hill climb, I turn the AC back on and the temps stay below 230F.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RpoZSe8T9S2RxDVg7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/awNCC8FrBKRRipiq9

My first question is, what's going on here with my car? Is there something that I'm missing with what I've done here that would cause my car to behave this way? Is there something else wrong with my coolant system that is causing this to happen? My old coolant didn't have any muck on it so it doesn't make me think that there is any sort of blockage. A friend of mine has suggested possible head gasket issues, but the car isn't exhibiting any signs AND the J30 / J32 engines rarely - if ever - have any head gasket issues.
 

Enne

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I've noticed keeping the A/C on (regardless of where the knob is set to as far as cabin temperature) actually keeps the coolant temp more level. Sorry if that doesn't help much but it's just something I've noticed when running the Torque app.
 

CDsDontBurn

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Turning off the AC is recommended when an engine is overheating as it is less strain on the engine because it's one less component for the engine to rotate.

Turning up the heat when the engine is overheating is the immediate recommended solution when an engine is beginning to severely overheat as it will allow for heat to escape through the heater core thus bringing down engine temps much more quickly.
 

andrewtl96

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+1 on running the heater when it gets hot. I have a scangauge on my car, and when I turn the heater on it can cool off 5-10 degrees in minutes.
 

andrewtl96

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Also, my cooling fans come on like clockwork at 204*, but Im an F23.
The only time I have seen temps above 220* was last summer going up the the grapevine in 105* heat. It got up to over 235* for about 10 minutes, but it cooled off to around 200 after the big hills.
How old is the radiator and thermostat? Maybe the thermostat is sticking.
 

CDsDontBurn

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When I did the leakless gasket repair (link in my OP), I changed out the thermostat with a new OEM one.

Radiator is about 6yrs old, but it doesn't show any signs of any gunk buildup. Radiator / coolant system was last flushed when I did my timing belt back in early 2016.

Coolant I use is Prestone 50/50 as it is silicate free and silicate free is the main requirement for older Honda engines like ours.
 
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