Burp system or low coolant, or both.
quick coolant question...
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Cambria CA
quick coolant question...
say that 3 times fast... 
ok so.. I start my day off driving 30 miles to school and I park and head to my first class. After class I start the car up and the "low coolant" pops up. I restart the car and its gone, I begin to drive and it pops up again. It was about 40 Degrees F. outside. Then I get onto the highway and it goes off. Never saw it again from dinner..to home 30 miles back.
Any thoughts on this one guys? never had this happen to me before. shouldnt the light stay on if i need coolant?
guess it wasnt so quick... sorry
ok so.. I start my day off driving 30 miles to school and I park and head to my first class. After class I start the car up and the "low coolant" pops up. I restart the car and its gone, I begin to drive and it pops up again. It was about 40 Degrees F. outside. Then I get onto the highway and it goes off. Never saw it again from dinner..to home 30 miles back.
Any thoughts on this one guys? never had this happen to me before. shouldnt the light stay on if i need coolant?
guess it wasnt so quick... sorry
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,531
Likes: 35
From: Lecanto Florida
Yep, just went thru that with mine. Was getting "low coolant" on and off at different times. Finally one day at a night Christmas parade the weather turned cold and deceided to put the heater on....only cold air, froze by butt off. Got some great advise from this forum on how to burp the system and everythings been great for the last 6 weeks. Plenty of hot air and no blinking "low coolant" light. 
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,348
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From: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
Originally Posted by Shawn_65
shouldnt the light stay on if i need coolant?
As coolant heats up, it expands. If the coolant is just slightly low, it will often expand enough that the sensor then sees it as NOT being low. Hence, the intermittant light. (my VW does this a lot)
Cure: top up the coolant and find the reason it got low.
Larry
code5coupe
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Cambria CA
shoot, the coolant light came up again.
can anyone tell me how to burp the system?
I've noticed that my "low coolant" light doesnt come up at startup like the owner's manuel says it should. Could this be bad wiring?
can anyone tell me how to burp the system?
I've noticed that my "low coolant" light doesnt come up at startup like the owner's manuel says it should. Could this be bad wiring?
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,531
Likes: 35
From: Lecanto Florida
Originally Posted by Shawn_65
can anyone tell me how to burp the system?
Fill up overflow to cold line. Take radiator cap off and start engine. You might have to take a few ounces of coolant out of the radiator so it doesn't overflow while running. Let it run until you can see thermostat open up and collant running. Have 50/50 mix ready. Reach over to the throttle body and turn the butterfly so the engine gets up to about 2000 rpm. The water in the radiator will drop down out of sight. Keep up the revs and with other hand pour the 50/50 mixture into the radiator till it reaches the lip. Still keeping the revs up, grab the radiator cap and screw it on. That's it. Some say you might have to do that a couple times but once was enough for me.
Another point. They told me to jack up the front of the car while doing the above, which I did. Supposedly this gets the water way back into the back of the engine and puts the high point at the top of the radiator.
Last edited by CREWZIN; Jan 22, 2006 at 09:53 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Cambria CA
Cool I have an L98 so this shouldnt be too much trouble for me. I wont be able to jack it up, but my driveway is a little sloped. but..where is the thermostat located...heh sorry for the stupid question 
wish I had a helms manuel. I guess i can just look for the coolant to cycle. thanks again for all your help guys, I probably made this out to be a lot more than it is. My overfill tank already reads cool, so I shouldnt have to add any in there right?
wish I had a helms manuel. I guess i can just look for the coolant to cycle. thanks again for all your help guys, I probably made this out to be a lot more than it is. My overfill tank already reads cool, so I shouldnt have to add any in there right?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria CA
Originally Posted by Shawn_65
Cool I have an L98 so this shouldnt be too much trouble for me. I wont be able to jack it up, but my driveway is a little sloped. but..where is the thermostat located...heh sorry for the stupid question
wish I had a helms manuel. I guess i can just look for the coolant to cycle. thanks again for all your help guys, I probably made this out to be a lot more than it is. My overfill tank already reads cool, so I shouldnt have to add any in there right?
wish I had a helms manuel. I guess i can just look for the coolant to cycle. thanks again for all your help guys, I probably made this out to be a lot more than it is. My overfill tank already reads cool, so I shouldnt have to add any in there right?
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Cambria CA
Originally Posted by 86PACER
It's located under the throttle body where the upper radiator hose connects. You won't be able to visually see it open. Start the car and let it idle to get hot. By squeezing the upper radiator hose with a rag around your hand, you'll know that the thermostat is open when the hose does not feel hard anymore. That's when you add more coolant while raising the idle like mentioned above.
that makes life a lot easier, thanks pacer