My girlfriend just bought a 1997 Honda Accord... now neither of us know much about cars but I've been having to put a pitcher of water in the radiator about every week or two. Today it was pretty hot and I noticed the temperature started to get really high when I was stopped and dropped to normal when I started to accelerate. When I got home I let the car cool down and had to put about a pitcher of water in it again. Is there a reason why we are having to put water in it so often? And one more thing... could only having one radiator fan be part of this problem?

 

Are your fans working? Sorry, is your fan working? When your car is stopped no air is cooling the radiator because there is no displacement of air. When you are moving the air is cooling your radiator. Also known as ram air. If it is, are there any obstructions preventing air from entering your grill? This is true if your fan is not working. Otherwise it is your thermostat.

 

Adding water dilutes the coolant which causes more heat to be generated (coolant also keeps it from overheating).
Try adding antifreeze instead of water.
A true test would be to drain the coolant (all of it) and then fill with the proper amount and correct mixture of coolant.
Check for leakage and also overheating (after driving the car until it is fully warmed up).