tylerdietzenbach

So my car will randomly pop up low coolant. the radiator is full to the top. I took the sensor off and cleaned it all out but the problem still occurs. Now the thing is, when the light comes on. my engine temperature gets up to the 210 mark and even a little farther. it has NEVER gotten up to 210 before and i doubt its ironic right when the light comes on its "reading hotter" Could this be only the coolant sensor? or could there be a water pump issue of some kind.. I"m confused

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

if the coolant is still full, it could be that the thermostat is stuck and not turning on the fans. the coolant sensor only shows the level, you can take that off and clean it, its on the passenger side near the top of the radiator. i had a coolant leak that i couldnt find for a while until it got bad, turns out it was coming out from underneath the WP pulley

blk/slvr02ss

iTrader: (21)

Yes it could be the T-Stat or air bubbles in the system that need to be bleed out.

tylerdietzenbach

I guess i wasnt thinking of thermostat.. and I have already cleaned the sensor. it doesnt leak anywhere. I've had the car for a year and its been at the same level since i bought it. Is it possible the thermostat gets stuck randomly? in the past on other cars I have owned, once they're stuck, they're stuck. One more thing, the overflow tank dipstick was moderately gummy.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This isn't uncommon - especially in hot weather with the A/C on. You probably just didn't notice it before because your attention wasn't on the gauge.

Bottom line - if the sensor is coming on and fluid is over the sensor, the sensor is most likely shot. You'll see folks recommending just to unplug the sensor, but IMO - its really important. It saved me from a melt-down when I had a bad water pump. (The pump was putting so much air in to the system, that the radiator became half-full of air.)

Maybe, the pump is bad also - but the most likely cause is just the sensor.