Low Coolant warning
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,398
Likes: 3
From: Jacksonville, FL
Sometimes they just go bad. You can try taking it out and cleaning it, replace it with a new one, or just unplug it to keep the light off. My car doesn't have one, think they took them off our cars in 2K?
Originally Posted by HotWhipT/A
yea....I unpluged mine. No light ever again.
thats bad... my low coolant light came on the other day... didnt think anything of it because it went off eventually... today I checked the coolant, by opening the radiator cap... wow.. I was way low..
turns out I had a small coolant leak on coming from the rear block offs when I did the LS6 install...
If I had disabled that sensor, I would have never have known it. Replace the sensor, dont unplug it. they are there for a reason.
are you checking it on the coolant overflow dipstick or are you opening up the radiator cap and checking there?
check both (when the cap is NOT hot) and see whats up.. if both are fine.. then replace the sensor
check both (when the cap is NOT hot) and see whats up.. if both are fine.. then replace the sensor
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Originally Posted by GR33N GoblinM6
are you checking it on the coolant overflow dipstick or are you opening up the radiator cap and checking there?
check both (when the cap is NOT hot) and see whats up.. if both are fine.. then replace the sensor
check both (when the cap is NOT hot) and see whats up.. if both are fine.. then replace the sensor
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Originally Posted by SSTowerman
But the level is fine and the temp gauge is fine too. Is it a bad low coolant sensor? Will resetting the ECM help?
Thanks
Thanks
98's are acurate...
so basically.. you're saying ditch it... so not only will you NOT know you have low coolant, but you wont know how hot you are running if you are low.. before its too late??? not smart..
If you had an aftermarket temp guage then I would agree.. in this case.. no.. replace the sensor
so basically.. you're saying ditch it... so not only will you NOT know you have low coolant, but you wont know how hot you are running if you are low.. before its too late??? not smart..
If you had an aftermarket temp guage then I would agree.. in this case.. no.. replace the sensor
Originally Posted by GR33N GoblinM6
98's are acurate...
so basically.. you're saying ditch it... so not only will you NOT know you have low coolant, but you wont know how hot you are running if you are low.. before its too late??? not smart..
If you had an aftermarket temp guage then I would agree.. in this case.. no.. replace the sensor
so basically.. you're saying ditch it... so not only will you NOT know you have low coolant, but you wont know how hot you are running if you are low.. before its too late??? not smart..
If you had an aftermarket temp guage then I would agree.. in this case.. no.. replace the sensor
Just because the factory guage in the dash on the 99+ models doesn't work, it doesn't mean that the sensor isn't telling the PCM exactly how hot the coolant is. It's the guage that is not really telling you anything. Nearly every algorithm in the PCM has engine coolant temperature as one of the parameters. Removing, or even unplugging this sensor is definatly not an option, but this is just FYI, not really related to the thread.
If your coolant is low, it will usually be leaking somewhere, which you'll see/smell long before the light comes on. My damn coolant level light came yesterday while I was hauling nuts down the highway, and the bitch has been unplugged for 2 years.
Hey Blur...
I completely understand your point
.. but i think you might be misunderstanding mine..
I know exactly the difference between the coolant sensor and the level sensor...
my point was this... if he(not the computer) doesnt really know what the temp is in the car.. and he wont EVER know how low he coolant really is.. that is not really good. If he had an aftermarket temp sensor or a 98 car.. i wouldnt be as addemant about this, because he would at least see his temps rise from low coolant.
that dummy gauge sucks.. if you're over heating, it wont start pegging over until you get to 240*F+ (which happened in my 00 car) I, like you, disabled my coolant level sensor.. was driving on the freeway to Las Vegas... coolant went low (no way to tell while you're on the highway).. temp pegged over... If i would have had a level sensor.. it would have warned me long before I lost all my coolant and had to pull over from overheating.
So my suggestion was.. get an aftermarket temp gauge if you unplug the level sender, at least have some type of alternate to rely on.
I completely understand your point
.. but i think you might be misunderstanding mine..I know exactly the difference between the coolant sensor and the level sensor...
my point was this... if he(not the computer) doesnt really know what the temp is in the car.. and he wont EVER know how low he coolant really is.. that is not really good. If he had an aftermarket temp sensor or a 98 car.. i wouldnt be as addemant about this, because he would at least see his temps rise from low coolant.
that dummy gauge sucks.. if you're over heating, it wont start pegging over until you get to 240*F+ (which happened in my 00 car) I, like you, disabled my coolant level sensor.. was driving on the freeway to Las Vegas... coolant went low (no way to tell while you're on the highway).. temp pegged over... If i would have had a level sensor.. it would have warned me long before I lost all my coolant and had to pull over from overheating.
So my suggestion was.. get an aftermarket temp gauge if you unplug the level sender, at least have some type of alternate to rely on.
Originally Posted by GR33N GoblinM6
Hey Blur...
I completely understand your point .. but i think you might be misunderstanding mine..
I know exactly the difference between the coolant sensor and the level sensor...
my point was this... if he(not the computer) doesnt really know what the temp is in the car.. and he wont EVER know how low he coolant really is.. that is not really good. If he had an aftermarket temp sensor or a 98 car.. i wouldnt be as addemant about this, because he would at least see his temps rise from low coolant.
that dummy gauge sucks.. if you're over heating, it wont start pegging over until you get to 240*F+ (which happened in my 00 car) I, like you, disabled my coolant level sensor.. was driving on the freeway to Las Vegas... coolant went low (no way to tell while you're on the highway).. temp pegged over... If i would have had a level sensor.. it would have warned me long before I lost all my coolant and had to pull over from overheating.
So my suggestion was.. get an aftermarket temp gauge if you unplug the level sender, at least have some type of alternate to rely on.
I completely understand your point
.. but i think you might be misunderstanding mine..I know exactly the difference between the coolant sensor and the level sensor...
my point was this... if he(not the computer) doesnt really know what the temp is in the car.. and he wont EVER know how low he coolant really is.. that is not really good. If he had an aftermarket temp sensor or a 98 car.. i wouldnt be as addemant about this, because he would at least see his temps rise from low coolant.
that dummy gauge sucks.. if you're over heating, it wont start pegging over until you get to 240*F+ (which happened in my 00 car) I, like you, disabled my coolant level sensor.. was driving on the freeway to Las Vegas... coolant went low (no way to tell while you're on the highway).. temp pegged over... If i would have had a level sensor.. it would have warned me long before I lost all my coolant and had to pull over from overheating.
So my suggestion was.. get an aftermarket temp gauge if you unplug the level sender, at least have some type of alternate to rely on.
I would get a nice temp guage in a 99+ car no matter what, but I don't have that problem........
.....unfortunatly I have alot more...
Originally Posted by GR33N GoblinM6
so not only will you NOT know you have low coolant, but you wont know how hot you are running if you are low
