Low Coolant Light came on today. Pics

5.0Torx · May 17, 2011

Greetings,

I had a "Low Coolant" light go off yesterday in my new '94 GT. The car is bone stock, I just bought it last week. I am not new to 5.0s - have had a '93 5.0 fox for 6 years and still have it - but I am new to 94/95 SN 5.0s. Anyways, I didnt have time for a lengthly diagnosis so I threw all the extra coolant I had in the overflow tank and drove off. I think it was honestly too much, because when I got home later that day, it was dripping out of the cap. Please see below and advise. I apologize for my dirty engine bay, I havent had time to detail it yet.

This is what my fan / plug look like. I have researched the overheating issues on 94/95s and have seem some pretty awful looking plugs. Mine seems to be in decent shape, yes? The car has just 60k miles on it(!).

This is the CCRM, yes? Why in the world did Ford program the low/high speed fan settings at such high temps?! I have seen my temp gauge get to the A or L in "NORMAL" on the gauge. If you flip the AC on, which, if I'm not mistaken, turns the fan on high speed @ <48 mph, you'll see the gauge gradually get down to the N or O in "NORMAL". This is also where the gauge rests if you're on the highway, AC or not.

This is the temp sensor for the gauge, yes? Where is the ECT?

This is a pic of the lower radiator hose, from under the car. I squished the hose with the engine off and felt the spring. Didnt feel broken to me.

This is my upper radiator hose. It gets hot and doesnt swell up or anything abnormal.

And no dripping/leaking/pooling of anything on the timing cover...

Sorry for the awful picture, but the oil was changed by the dealer I bought it from. I checked it and didnt see any "chocolate milkshake", i.e. coolant in the oil.

Lastly, this is the radiator cap. Is 16psi correct?

So there you have it. Any theories on why the coolant light went off?

Thanks in advance!

ratio411 · May 17, 2011

Gonna follow this one.
My son's 94 consumes water, but there is absolutely no trace of where it is going.
No wet carpet, none in the drive, on the engine, out of the exhaust, traces on the plugs, or in the oil.
Yet he goes low in a few days.

00gtricereater · May 17, 2011

ratio411 said:
Gonna follow this one.
My son's 94 consumes water, but there is absolutely no trace of where it is going.
No wet carpet, none in the drive, on the engine, out of the exhaust, traces on the plugs, or in the oil.
Yet he goes low in a few days.

ratio411, does your kids exhaust smell sweet? if so he needs a head gasket. if there is no dripping/leaking of coolant outside of the motor it is most likely getting through the head gasket and is burning off in the motor.

WhiteCobra95 · May 17, 2011

Sounds like a bad sensor to me. Was the coolent level actually low when the light went off? There are two fill levels, one cold and one hot. The level in the tank will rise when the engine's hot and pull back into the system when cold. If you top off the tank cold, it's going to puke out when it warms up. Only fill it to the proper marks and recheck it. if The light still comes on, you probably need a new sensor from the dealer or somewhere like LMR.

94GTCoupe · May 18, 2011

There are 2 metal prongs at the end of the overflow bottle cap.
The coolant completes the circuit,if there is no coolant,it opens the circuit,triggering the low coolant indicator.

If there is crap built up on the metal prongs,the coolant cannot complete the circuit.

Try cleaning the 2 metal prongs.

toyman · May 18, 2011

That sensor is the ECT sensor not the dash gauge temp sensor. The gauge sensor is on the driver's side in the intake below and behind the distributor and is a single wire press on connection. Low coolant only measures the coolant level in the reservoir. You really want to keep the level between the marks. When the engine cools coolant from the reservoir is drawn back into the system. If the reservoir empties it will draw air into the system. This is not good and often creates over heating issues.

To ratio411, I can almost guaranty the leak is in the rad core or side tanks and is evaporating fast enough when hot that there is no visible wet spot. Have the system pressure tested cold and you will definitely find the leak.

ProKiller · May 18, 2011

what Richard said. he hit the nail on the head for both cases. Torx, the factory gauges are not accurate by any means. if you really want to know what the temp is you'll have to go aftermarket. if you don't like the high speed fan setting, wire in a manual switch. easy to do and gives you better control. if you search you kind find write ups.

ratio411 · May 18, 2011

Toyman/RiceEater:

No smell in the exhaust.
I know that smell all too well!
I had a lower radiator hose sucking shut on me going down I-10, middle of nowhere.
Blew one head gasket. Changed it on the shoulder of the road.
Drove 15 miles, blew both head gaskets (didn't know about the hose yet).
Changed both on the side of the interstate... and installed new lower hose.

The Stang has a new radiator and hoses.
I have a pressure tester... I suppose it's time to break it out.
Thanks guys!
Done hi-jacking!

VibrantRedGT · May 25, 2011

Try the easy stuff first. Take coolant resevoir out and clean the snot out of it. It has a little sensor at the bottom that measure coolant level. If coroded it won't read right and will give you that warning without actually losing coolant. Take the cap off and you will see the line going down.

Low Coolant Light came on today. Pics

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