Top radiator hose is HOT, radiator is steaming

check out the water pump, see of its circulating the water

Check the water pump and the thermostate.

check the oil and see if it looks like a mocha, creamy looking... Is the vehicle smoking? Is the radiator hoses holding way to much pressure? Try to fill the radiator with water and leave the cap off..... look for bubbles, if it warms up and bubbles are present or smoking when hot with radiator cap on and hot or creamy oil..... Head gasket....

Hondas are very tough cars and will run hot right up until a radiator hose ruptures. You need to make sure that there is not a problem.
When your Honda says it is hot, make sure the radiator fan is running. If not, it can be a bad fan or fan relay.
Next, turn on the heat full blast and make sure that you have allot of heat coming into the car. If not, even though your overflow tank has fluid in it, your radiator may be dry. This can happen if your radiator cap is bad. Check the fluid level in the radiator itself, but don't pull the cap until your car has cooled down at least an hour to reduce the risk of getting burned by steam.
If it stops reading HOT when you have full heat on it could be either the thermostat or a plugged radiator. Change the thermostat first since it is the cheapest fix.

If a coolant temp sensor is not working, the fans will not activate, and fluid will go overboard the reservoir, and the temp gauge should have an abnormal reading. Happened to my 1998 accord that the top plastic tank above the radiator had a small leak right where it meets the aluminum honeycomb. It leaked only when hot, and evaporated right away, leaving no traces. Start the car and let it idle for 5 min, and then open the hood and check if the fans are coming on, and if you can see bubbling coming from the radiator top assembly.

Hi there,

Firstly - DO NOT run engine, when guage reads hot, as this will cause costly damage to head gasket & alloy engine head.

The fact that guage takes 1min to read HOT, would confirm the guage IS working properly.

So, other components which are likely to cause hot readings (in this order) are:

- lack of coolant (or leakage somewhere): is there sufficient green coolant at the correct level? Top up mixture to correct level. Repair any leaks.

- collapsed radiator hose: when engine is cold, start engine, then quickly watch both upper & lower radiator hoses to see if either begins to flex inwards (collapse). Replace if either hose is collapsed.

- bad/incorrect thermostat rating : when replacing thermostats, you must ensure it is of the SAME temp rating (they all differ).

- Incorrect Temp sensor rating: the ratings of this sensor must be within manufacturer's spec's.

- bad waterpump: the engine relies on the waterpump to distribute the coolant throughout the entire system. If waterpump is faulty, coolant will not flow quick enough, causing overheating.

If you still believe all of the above components are OK, then have your cooling system "pressure tested". This test should be done, before looking further at other electrical components.

Cheers,

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it seems as if there is a clog in the radiator, flush out coolant system and see if this helps.usually when top hose is hot and bottom hose is cold there is a clog somewhere in system. check radiator and make sure coolant is circulating. hope this helps carl,

make sure your over flow/add coolant bottle is clean...check that the hose from bottle to radiator isnt clogged...also fill add bottle fluid level between add and full mark

if you go to your local library most do carry the manuals and you can copy the info you need.
difficult.. yes. extremely difficult...no
if you decide to do it make sure you use 1/2 drive breaker bar on crank pulley if your lower timing cover cannot be moved far enough to access the water pump mounting bolts. also make sure you don't turn the timing gear when removing the belt or replacing it.
hope this will help you.

it is most likely your heater core