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kerrinmay

Coolant Light Flashing

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Some of you may have read about my recent problems re: water pump/head gasket etc. Well, the dealer replaced my coolant expansion tank as this seemed to have a faulty level sensor. Everything was fine until yesterday again when the coolant light starting flashing after I'd started her up. I checked the coolant level etc and everything seemed fine so I thought stuff it and drove her, keeping a constant eye on both coolant and oil temps. On my return just from my Christmas shopping trip the light didn't come on but then again this morning it was flashing again, but later on in the day it wasn't.

 

Has anyone else ever had this sort of problem? I guess I'll have to go back to the garage, but can't be doing with that all just now.

 

What does the coolant light really tell you? Is it just connected to this level sensor or does it come on based on other problems?

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

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What does the coolant light really tell you?

The sensor in the header tank is purely a low level sensor. When it thinks the coolant is too low - the light comes on.

 

It's possible that you have a short circuit in the wiring somewhere ?

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Well that makes me feel much happier, so at least if I know the coolant level is fine, then I don't need to worry about the warning light. I was wondering if there is a problem with the wiring somewhere or maybe it just doesn't like cold mornings?! As it only seems to be coming on for the first journey of the day at the moment!

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Yeh man ive had the exact same problem, ive swapped a few tanks about and its still happening so i figure it must be manky wiring somewhere, basicly if your water is at the right level just ignore it :mad:

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On my old VR6 I had the same problem,checked everything all was OK.Turned out to be a loose connector block at the rear of the instrument panel.Could be worth checking if all else fails. :wink:

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Finally decided to let the main dealer have another look as if it was another faulty coolant tank then they could jolly well replace it for free again.

 

Anyway, spoke to them earlier and they say it isn't the sensor in the tank, so they've decided to flush all the coolant through and replace it and see how it is. They are also talking about doing another compression test.

 

Surely if the level is fine but the light is flashing then it has to be wiring or sensor, and if they say the sensor is ok then it must be the wiring/connectors. Don't think doing a compression test is really the answer.

 

Anyway, it's supposed to be ready for me in about 1/2 to collect so if it still isn't fixed then I'll get the VW specialist chap that's doing my engine mounts on Wednesday to take a look and I won't be taking it back to the dealer again.

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The coolant light supposedly comes on when you have low water but they always seem to play up.

 

A trick I know is to remove the cap and run a smear of vaseline around the seal. sometimes the seal dries out and when you put the cap back on it snags and causes the system to loose pressure and your coolant evaporates away and the level drops.

 

its why you put a smear of oil round a new oil filter seal, sounds weird but it helps it seal and stops it snagging.

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Apparently there was some scale or something that had come through the system and damaged the sensor and it's been properly flushed through now and is supposedly ok. However, I haven't actually got the car back as when I went to collect it yesterday, they had just discovered another problem relating to work they had previously done!

 

When revving the engine, there is a nasty sort of chaffing/rubbing noise coming from the cambelt area so they need to strip it all down again and take a look. At least I'm not being charged for any of this work, and they gave me a lovely Hyundai Accent to drive! The only problem with this is that I have the car booked into another garage tomorrow so hoping I get it back in time. :roll:

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The only problem with this is that I have the car booked into another garage tomorrow so hoping I get it back in time.

 

LOL, thats Corrado ownership for ya!

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Apparently the two cambelt covers were broken! They have replaced them free of charge.

 

They broke them taking them off then or didn't fit them ack properly... hopefully its all sorted now and you can drive it!

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Hope so, but it's off to a VW specialist tomorrow for engine mounts. Hopefully it will be much nicer to drive after that. I'm hoping that it makes quite a big difference. At the mo, you have to be quite gentle with changing gear etc, otherwise the car jerks quite a bit! I'm hoping that this will be smoothed out after the new engine mounts are fitted. Since I've had the C (middle of Oct) I've not really been able to accelerate and change through gears quickly, so hopefully this should sort that out. I'm not expecting to be able to just drop the clutch, but I would like to be able to do some quick gear changes with it!

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