Coolant warning light

[ped]

Hi,

Sometimes the tiny red warning light on my temperature gauge doesn't go out after the engine starts. If I turn the engine off and restart, it goes out. All the other lights go out fine. The car is cold.

Anyone know why? Should I worry? Is it easy to fix? Is it a sign of impending doom?

The car is a 98' 2.5

Thanks

Ped

[Loren]

Hi,

Sometimes the tiny red warning light on my temperature gauge doesn't go out after the engine starts. If I turn the engine off and restart, it goes out. All the other lights go out fine. The car is cold.

Anyone know why? Should I worry? Is it easy to fix? Is it a sign of impending doom?

The car is a 98' 2.5

Thanks

Ped

Have a look here.

[ped]

Thanks loren,

Not sure if it's doing any of those things though. I don't think it flashes at all, just stays lit. The engine is stone cold. I'll double check the next time it happens.

Thanks

Ped

Edited June 17, 2005 by ped

[Loren]

Could be a bad sender if it doesn't go out after starting (cold).

[roger_mck]

The light on my '99 went on when the coolant was low - only sometimes though - I don't recall any flashing. It appeared when the coolant level went maybe one tablespoon below the full mark.

[ped]

Thanks fellas,

Got the light to do it again at the weekend. It doesn't flash but stays lit. After restarting it goes out. I think Loren could be right and it's just a bad sender.

Does anyone know how difficult the sender is to change? Can I do it myself?

Ped

Edited June 20, 2005 by ped

[natzee]

Ped,

I had this experience before with my 97. I did ignore til one day, the light start flashing and then smoke comes out on the air vent. All the coolant were scattered all over. It turns out the water pump failed. You might want to check your water pump and make sure it is not leaking coolant when the engine is running. To access to this you need to remove the carpet between the seat and the cover. This is the area where you want to change your belt.

Hope this help.

-Nat

[deliriousga]

Have you disconnected the battery recently? When you reconnect the battery, you have to turn the key to on without starting the engine for 1 minute minimum then turn it off for 10 seconds minimum before starting the engine. That allows the computer to regain all of the settings it looses when the battery is disconnected. :thumbup:

If you have disconnected it recently and didn't go through the procedure, disconnect the battery for a couple of minutes and then reconnect it and run through the routine.