1992 honda lx, why does the tempature gauge go up, then down, can this be a big problem?

Answer 1

My 89 accord had a cracked overflow tank, so when the water would expand and go into the tank, it would be lost and not get sucked back into the radiator when it got cool, so... Check the water level first. What may be happening is, if it's low, warm/hot water goes by the sensor and causes the temperature indication to rise, and as soon as a void goes by, the temperature goes down. Strange as it may seem, the sensor doesn't measure hot air very well. The other thing may be that the thermostat is sticking, the other may be that the connector at the sensor may be loose and make/break contact when you run over bumps, lastly, you may have a bad gauge (unlikely). On a side note.. a fuel injected honda sometimes revs up and down at idle for the same reason (low water), the idle control valve uses hot water to control cold/warm idle.

Answer 2

It can if it goes too far UP, I wouldn't worry about the DOWN though. Try replacing your thermostat, that is cheap and may solve the problem?

Answer 3

Sounds like your thermostat is going out easy $10 fix try that,

Answer 4

the radiator is another consideration,my toyota did the same thing ,come to find out a 1/3 of it was corroded away,didnt leak,but it didn't cool well either,just another thing to check.

Answer 5

ur gauge mabey wrong...how does ur car act when this happens? u can usually tell when ur car is over heating. it will loose power, steam out of radiator, little performance when u accellerate..

Answer 6

check the temp sensor. or the temp sending sensor. if that does not work then try to check if the head gasket is gone....