93 accord temp gauge rising when car is idling

[Pawl]

I was sitting in my driveway and looked down and the temp gauge was on hot. I brought the rpm up to 3000 and the temp gauge came back down to normal. As soon as I let it idle it goes back up. I looked under the hood to see the 2 fans running but the gauge is still on high. When I drive the car around the area the temperature gauge goes back down immediately. As soon as I come to a red light it starts climbing up to hot only to go back down to normal once I get the car moving again. Any ideas?

[jgr7]

Is your fluid ok?

[Pawl]

Thanks guys. I just checked my over flow container which was full but I never checked the radiator until I browsed through another thread and saw someone else suggest it. Duh? My radiator was low. Thanks Guys

[rather_b_boatin]

Why did radiator go low? Any white smoke out your tailpipe? Pull a plug and check condition.

[Pawl]

Car was stolen last xmas 2008. I got it back in March 2009 and parked it in front of my house. I decided to sell it just yesterday so it has sat a long time. So I checked the reservoir the other day and it was full but I never checked the radiator.When I drove it for the first time for a distance is when it started showing a rise in the temperature.Maybe through some evaporation, it might have been low last Dec 2008 when it was stolen, the person who took it drove it 1000 miles so it all added up to needing some more. I did not add a large amount. Plus I actually sold the car today. I did tell the buyer to call me if they had questions. I still want them to have a good car. Worst case scenario I could always fix the car for them here at my house because I am retired, honest and I want them to be happy with it.

[rather_b_boatin]

Thats awfully nice of you to offer to fix but with that you may never be rid of it. The reason I was asking is that a low radiator level is usually the 1st indication of a blown head gasket (very big job) especially if it was overheated. Good luck!