Temperature warning light is bugging me

[VR6Seeker 0]

Hi all, ive only purchased my vr6 yesterday and when driving it tonight ive noticed the temp light coming on and flashing at me. The gauge is reading approx 90 -100 most of the time.

 

Can anyone plz tell me wots going on coz ive brought the car home and im a bit worried about it.

 

Thnx in advance

[jwiwchar 0]

The light flashes when the coolant level is low. Make sure you have enough coolant in there.

[VR6Seeker 0]

i topped it up when i bought the car but maybe i have a leak, il have to check it out in the morning. Thnx

[G60 0]

also flashes when its very full.. on my car anyway.

 

i had a slow coolant leak that i just fixed.. but before i fixed it i would overfill the coolant a little to compensate.. if i went over bumps with it overfilled it would flash on.

[VR6Seeker 0]

ok, so if the temp gauge is not reading to high i dont need to panic right ? i should just check my coolant level ?

[Bruno 4]

ok, so if the temp gauge is not reading to high i dont need to panic right ? i should just check my coolant level ?

 

Not always true. It depends upon the engine management system and dashboard pod version you have. Wierd. So the warning lamp may flash when one of the active (not passive) systems has raised an alarm. An ordinary switch like the coolant level should not be enough to make it flash, ie it should just turn it on without flashing.

 

If this is a post 93 VR6 there are a number of problems you need to check out.

1. Make sure the 3 temp sensors at the front right hand side of the engine are working (helps if you have a multimeter because you can watch their resistence change)

2. Make sure that the fan comes on, at a decent water temp. There is a failsafe where if the relay does not kick in when the temp trigger is on, the light flashes on the dash. So check that.

3. Make sure that the thermostat allows water thru. If it stays closed then the engine is still cooking and you are only running a secondary cooling system. Check that the car heating works, and that you can blow really hot air thru into the cockpit when that lamp starts flashing. If its lukewarm or cold, you have to check the thermostat. Also check the hoses.

4. Make sure that you dont have a leak around your electric water pump. Its a common problem and this often throws one of the above three sensors (I think its the middle one).

5. Make sure that the fan relays work, ie the slow and fast mode are triggered. Fast mode is operated with the engine running. Slow mode usually kicks in when the ignition is off and the engine is still hot and needs basic cooling.

 

Make sure you have the right VW antifreeze when you are topping up coolant. There are two types and they dont mix.

 

Just go thru the steps slowly and methodically and you should get there.

 

:roll:

[VR6Seeker 0]

Thnx for ur help.

 

I noticed today that there was a small amount of water leaking from somewhere round the left hanside of the engine bay (only when running) and that my coolant level had dropped alot.

I topped the level up and the light stopped flashing but after driving about 60 miles tonight it started flashing again. I checked my level and it was fine.

 

Any ideas on wot the prob could be ? Is the water pump on the left side as you stand facing the car ? could this be the problem ?

 

Many thnx in Advance

[Bruno 4]

I noticed today that there was a small amount of water leaking from somewhere round the left hanside of the engine bay (only when running) and that my coolant level had dropped alot.

 

It may be the mechanical water pump, I dont remember clearly but I seem to remember it being at that end. If you are using VWs antifreeze, you may be in luck because it produces a trace, when it hits dry air at steam temperatures, that looks much like lines of snow. These should lead u back to the source.

 

If you cant tell, blast the engine bay absolutely clean, wait for a day and look again. In any case, if you've followed the steps given previously, you should be pretty close.

Remember that a flashing light is not produced by a simple switch, its kicked off by the ECU, as an indication that other sensors are saying you should be looking more closely at the risks to the engine.

Nothing to worry yet, but be meticulous. These engines really dont like being dry!