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coolant level low warning

63K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Breeweryuye 
#1 ·
I got the coolant level low warning on the SID on friday night when I started the car - too dark to check anything so ignored it. I stopped and started the car a few more times that evening after driving to various places and didn't get the warning again. Used the car a few times on saturday, sunday and monday with no warnings, then this morning get the warning again. Both times car parked on level ground.

There looks to be plenty of coolant in the resevoir, not up to the max level about 3/4" below it when cold. How close to the Max level should the coolant be when cold? And at what point do you get a warning that the level is low. How dangerous to the engine is the low level warning or is it OK still to drive the car until Friday when i have booked it in to the garage (I will be covering 70 miles between now and then).

Being a bit ignorant on all thinks mechanical I assume the coolant is there to keep the engine at the correct temperature so if something is going wrong that the temperature guage should start to rise above its normal 9 o'clock position. Is this correct or does it do something else?

The car (MY05 9-5 Vector estate) was only serviced at the start of March (1700 miles ago) and the coolant should have been checked and filled up then, to me if the warning is to be beleived then there is either a leak somewhere (no evidence on the ground under the car) or it wasn't filled up at the service, the previous year between the services it didn't require any attention. Or could it be a dirty/failing sensor as its an intermittant warning (when the screenwash low warning goes it lets me know every time I start the car).
 
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#2 ·
It could just be on the edge of triggering the switch. For such a small amount, you could get away with topping it up to the specified cold level with tap water, and see if that solves the problem. Do it in the morning when the engine is cold, and check it again the next day. Don't forget that the level you fill to is not where the writing is- it's to the line at the end of the arrow.

Tell the garage that you seem to be losing a bit of coolant- they can carry out a pressure test to determine if there are any obvious signs of leaks.
 
#3 ·
just to make sure is the fill level the line under where it says 'KALT/COLD' (number 1 below) or at the bottom of the line coming from it (number two below) that is just above the ridge in the tank. If its the top mark then the coolant is very low, if its the top mark then it was about 250ml down, I added tap water to the bottom mark, as Bubbles sugest and see if that makes a difference.

KALT/Cold
__________ this line (1)





___________ or this line (2)

I tried to draw it as best I could but the formatting won't let me do a downward line

thanks for any help given
 
#5 ·
Tell the garage that you seem to be losing a bit of coolant- they can carry out a pressure test to determine if there are any obvious signs of leaks.[/b]
Watch out if they do this! I had a similar circumstance last year, it was losing a small amount of coolant from the bypass valve (controls cabin heater) and I could not see where it was coming from. Pressure testing identified the problem, but made the leak so bad I couldn't drive more than 10 minutes before the warning came up. The dealer did not have a replacement in stock, nor did they think to bypass the faulty bypass valve!
 
#6 ·
Over a few months I was finding I was losing a small amount of coolant on my 3.0TID, like half a cupful a week. I was dreading it developing into the same saga as when I first had the car and blowing out loads of coolant, and needing another new engine which would make the car a right off. Had a friend do a exhaust gas check, negative, He also did a pressure test, it held good pressure for over thirty minutes.

Every now and again I could smell hot coolant when I got out the car
, seemed to be on colder days mainly.
One day I just dropped home on the way to a meeting, as I backed out of my drive I noticed a wet patch in the middle, quite normal when the air con is on. But air con broke the week before, burst seal on the control valve and lost all the gas, thought it was on fire
from the rear of the heater. Got out and had a look and a sniff, yes coolant. Found the valve located at the rear of the engine just above the gear linkage, wet with coolant, nasty but not cheap GM part. Peter from Euro Saab had one in the post that day, arrived next day about 30 notes +the Brown tax. He phrased it as "popular" stock item.
Not very nice to change on the 3.0 TID as everything is shoehorned in but no special tools needed apart from the standard double jointed wrists and fingers.


That fixed the leak and no more coolant loss and lowered my blood pressure for a few days at least.
 
#7 ·
Well I took the car to the garage this morning and they pressure tested the system and found no leaks so all they have done is topped the level up. If it keeps losing fluid then they will investigate further. So I will just keep chceking it regularly and see what happens.
 
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