Last night the temp gauge was moving up and down slowly. It showed the car was overheating then back down to normal and again to overheating.
I open the hood and the engine was HOT but No leaks and the fans are working well :thinking:
What else should I check? I have a feeling the fans are not working as they should.

 

Check coolant level, check/replace thermostat, could be water pump...

 

coolant level is good, I replaced the thermostat not long ago and the water pump was replaced 15k miles ago.

I tried to get the car to overheat but no luck and the fans turn on as they should.
Could it be the fan sensor going bad? How can I test the fan sensor on a 96 accord?

 

What kind of weather & driving conditions were you in? How far on the gauge was the needle moving?

 

It was raining and stuck in traffic in 60+F damn it was nice. 40F today lol
The needle got close to red then back down to normal and slowly back up.

 

Have you removed the cardboard from in front of the radiator? Are you positive you have the correct thermostat? How about radiator cap?

 

cardboard lol does that really work?
I got the thermostat from autozone and the radiator cap is oem new.
Should I buy a honda thermostat and coolant switch sensor?

 

Cardboard? Sure - people block off part of their radiator to keep the temps up when it's super cold and then sometimes forget to remove it when the weather gets warmer. It was a half joking comment.

If you didn't get the correct thermostat it could cause these symptoms. I doubt the fan switch is the problem.

 

Today I changed the thermostat, the fan switch/sensor, the oil, all hoses, and changed the antifreeze. All was done with oem honda parts. I drove the car hard in local streets, highway, and everything is working perfect and for whatever reason it is running very very smooth and quiet.
I will be driving over 400 miles tomorrow evening and don't want any surprise.
Thanks for the help

 

oh I didn't know the aftermark thermostat have a different temp setting from the OEM. I guess sometime is better to spend the extra $10.