Hello all, I recently bought a 99 Camaro SS M6, 85k miles. While not new the 4th gen scene, this is my first Ls1 and my first M6 as well.
Well heres the tech question,
In the upper left hand corner a warning light comes on occasionally. Its near the tach at about the 2500 RPM mark. It looks like a jar with an arrow pointing down at some water. Im assuming this is hydraulic pressure. Is my vehicle trying to tell me something is up with my clutch?

 

im pretty sure thats your low coolant light.

 

Yep, wait til the car cools and check your coolant level in the radiator - the sensor sometimes just fails - if the levels are correct, no overheating and it continues to come on you can disconnect it to keep the light off, or try cleaning/replace it. Believe a new one lists for about $50 at the dealer.

 

Thats definitely the low coolant warning light. If the system doesn't have enough coolant available the light will illuminate to remind you to add some. If you don't, you run the risk of the car overheating.

Just add some premixed 50/50 antifreeze to the coolant reservior umtil its filled up to the proper level. Prestone came out with some new antifreeze that mixes with all makes/models/colors, and its cheaper than dexcool. I've used it before, and it seems to work fine

 

Good answer...

 

At 85,000 miles it could easily be a dirty sensor. If you check your fluid and it looks fine, here's what to do next:

Pop your hood and look for your coolant level sensor... passenger side of the radiator directly next to the battery. On the bottom corner of the radiator (also passenger side) you will have a drain. Get a clean bin and catch the fluid as you drain the coolant out below the level of the sensor.

Remove your battery (this may not be absolutely necessary, but it sure helps). Disconnect the sensor and proceed to cuss while working on prying the retaining wire loose so you can remove the sensor. Once removed clean all the residue off the sensor internals. Nothing crazy here- I used a clean towel and wiped the stuff out. Q-tips may be ideal as well. Once done, plug the sensor back in, but the retaining wire in place, and replace the battery.

Our cooling systems are pretty susceptible to getting air in the system, but here is good advice from the www.installuniversity.com site. Unplug the coolant hose that enters the driver's side of the throttle body. Pull the cap off the (cool) radiator. Pour the coolant back into the radiator... you may hear air escaping the system through the hose for the throttle body. As you get close to the end slow down and pour until coolant starts to come out of the hose... plug it back into the throttle body and put the spring clamp back on. Pour the remaining coolant into the radiator until it's full and replace the cap.

This proceedure works for many people if not all. Buying the replacement sensor from the dealership will run you about $65, so it's worth trying to clean it.

At 85,000 miles you may want to consider completely emptying your coolant system, flushing, and refilling with fresh stuff. You can see more information for everything but the sensor cleaning at www.installuniversity.com under Install Documents... 160 degree thermostat swap. Their method for filling the system worked great versus I always fought with air bubbles before.

Alternatively you can unplug the sensor, tie it out of the way of the fan and belts, and never have to worry about the idiot light again. It will NOT trip any codes and later years of the F-bodies deleted this sensor completely. I simply wanted the piece of mind knowing my idiot light would still work as intended. Good luck!