New Battery and Low Coolant Light??

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Feb 18, 2011

#1

• Feb 18, 2011

• #1

I just purchased an optima battery and immediately after installing it noticed my low coolant light come on... Coolant level is fine though! Has anybody else had this happen or have any idea why this may be? I don't exactly see how the two would be correlated

 

GDawg

Founding Member

Mar 22, 2002

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Nevada

Feb 19, 2011

#2

• Feb 19, 2011

• #2

Check your coolant level sensor. It's probably just a coincidence.

 

nyuk98gt

15 Year Member

Oct 10, 2000

1,427

6

79

Chesterfield, MO

Feb 19, 2011

#3

• Feb 19, 2011

• #3

Twete,

As GDawg said, jiggle the float in the tank. It is common that it will get stuck and give a false low-level indication. Check to see that the electrical plug is plugged into the coolant level assembly - it could have been knocked during the battery swap. If you haven't changed your coolant for a while, it may be a good idea to do it. In the short term, you could just drain the reservoir, flush with a garden hose, drain, and refill with fresh coolant. This will remove any solids in the tank. This is a temporary solution since the reservoir volume will eventually get swapped with the coolant in the system. The partial flush will reduce suspended solids so they won't cause the float to stick so often.

HTH,

Chris

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

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7

Kirkland, WA

Feb 19, 2011

#4

• Feb 19, 2011

• #4

Ok cool, thanks for the info guys. I went for a very long drive today and after everything was all warmed up light eventually clicked off, I'm wondering if pressure within the overall cooling system has anything to do with it.

 

trombonedemon

Well-Known Member

Jun 25, 2009

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U.S.A, U.S.A., U.S.A.!

Feb 19, 2011

#5

• Feb 19, 2011

• #5

Twete said:

Ok cool, thanks for the info guys. I went for a very long drive today and after everything was all warmed up light eventually clicked off, I'm wondering if pressure within the overall cooling system has anything to do with it.

Click to expand...

If your coolant bottle light keeps giving you false signals, put a paper clip in the female part, that will ground the sensor and trick the car in thinking that magnet is not there. Wrap in electrical tape.

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Feb 20, 2011

#6

• Feb 20, 2011

• #6

trombonedemon said:

If your coolant bottle light keeps giving you false signals, put a paper clip in the female part, that will ground the sensor and trick the car in thinking that magnet is not there. Wrap in electrical tape.

Click to expand...

I think I might give that a try, is there any downside to this method? Is it essentially shorting out the sensor? Will it continue to function in the future?

 

screamin gt

5 Year Member

Apr 9, 2007

393

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central CT

Feb 20, 2011

#7

• Feb 20, 2011

• #7

I also read that you can just unplug the sensor to get rid of the light. But I never tried since I dont have an issue with mine. that could have been from an LT1 forum though. I get confused sometimes.

 

mrvax

Stay thirsty my friends

Founding Member

Nov 29, 1999

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Feb 20, 2011

#8

• Feb 20, 2011

• #8

I wouldn't want to short or unplug that particular sensor. I'd want to know if my coolant level was low right away.

 

Twete

Member

Aug 29, 2010

61

0

7

Kirkland, WA

Feb 20, 2011

#9

• Feb 20, 2011

• #9

mrvax said:

I wouldn't want to short or unplug that particular sensor. I'd want to know if my coolant level was low right away.

Click to expand...

Thats kinda my thoughts as well, I'll play around with it and try flushing the coolant to see if that solves the problem.

 

Night Shifter

Well-Known Member

Dec 24, 2005

1,710

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59

Daytona

Feb 21, 2011

#10

• Feb 21, 2011

• #10

after just swapping my rad i got the low coolant light as well and my float keeps getting stuck off an on cause in the light to come on..i just unplugged the sensor and there is no light...its a quick fix to a bad sensor

 

mransr

Founding Member

Nov 3, 2000

1,188

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98

Riverside, SoCal

Feb 21, 2011

#11

• Feb 21, 2011

• #11

and the only way to get a new sensor is get the whole freakin' tank

 

M

mikeyd111879

New Member

Feb 18, 2004

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1

Feb 26, 2011

#12

• Feb 26, 2011

• #12

mine is unplugged after a coolant tank upgrade that doesnt have a sensor on it, i have no low coolant light, so id agree with above that unplugging will turn it off too. i check my levels frequently.
btw: were you parked on a hill when you changed battery,,, i park on a steap driveway, when i start my car i get low everything light, oil , coolant ( when i had sensor) then after pulling it up the driveway they'd go off.