Involving some coolant issues; so I'm a block from my house and as i'm pulling up to the stop light my buzzer goes off and i look at the idiot lights and see it says ADD COOLANT. I turned my car off and i look at the temp gauge and it reads normal. I then pulled over and popped the hood, I checked my coolant resivour and it was full. I wondered for a second and closed everything up and started her right back up and nothing everything was fine. Should i be worried about this or is it just some kinda bug becuase of the cold?

its an S4 and i was driving lightly for 30 mins or so

 

Probably just an airpocket

 

Check the electrical connection and condition of the level warning sensor on the top of the radiator.

If it looks OK, then bleed the air from the system as follows:

With:
- 1 gallon of ethylene glycol (green) coolant
- 1 gallon of distilled water
- 1 clean empty gallon water container
- 1 permanent marker
- 1 or 2 low-profile pan(s) to catch coolant
- 1 screwdriver that perfectly fits the easily-stripped radiator air bleeder plug

1. Mix the coolant and water in the empty container in the ratio specified in the service manual for the temperature range of your region. Use the marker to write the mix ratio on the container.
2. Place the pan(s) on the ground to catch coolant as it spills from the coolant filler cap and radiator air bleeder plug.
3. Follow the coolant "replacement" instructions in the service manual, but do not open the engine and radiator drain plugs. If you think the coolant needs replacement, then you can go ahead and follow the entire replacement procedure, although you will need more coolant and water than listed above.

 

Well i'm still learning about my car and about everything so lets just say i'm new to all this how do i check the connections/condition of the level warning sensor?

And is there anyother way to bleed the air from the system? Sometime around september i got my entire cooling system flushed. When i bought the car the coolant was black(if it was even coolant) and when i went to get an oil change the guy said that it probably wasnt changed since 1988 so i thought it would be a good idea since winter was coming fast. So id rather not change the coolant AGAIN

 

Page 42 in link below.

http://www.teamfc3s.org/main/factory...CAL_SYSTEM.pdf

Edit: Also check the voltage of the wire connecting to the sensor with the key to the on position and the voltage reading should be close to .5 volt.

 

Make sure the connector is completely connected, check the wire for frays or breaks in the plastic insulation, check if the wire is badly worn or torn where it meets the sensor plug (a common problem if installed incorrectly), see if coolant is leaking out through cracks in the sensor plug, etc. It's generally just common sense. You can see the above post for information on checking the electrical system, but a bad wire connection is more likely since the problem is intermittent.

No, that is the only way, and it is quite possible that your mechanic didn't know this. You don't need to actually replace the coolant, which is why I specified not to remove the drain plugs. However, you will still need some coolant and water because some of the fluid will spill from the system during the bleeding procedure and you will need to replace it.

If you think this maintenance is beyond your skill, then just print out the appropriate pages of the manual and ask your mechanic to bleed the system and/or check the coolant level sensor. The problem is most likely one of these two items if there is no loss of coolant over time.

 

thanks for the link, its been bookmarked. But as i said earlier i'm a bit new to this, looks like i'm going to go buy an ohmometer and voltomter

 

When working on the car you would be lost without one. A multimeter will allow you to measure voltage, ohms and other aspects as well so just buy one unit (multimeter) as opposed to two items.

 

thanks for the help ill begin these checks when i get a multimeter

 

thanks for the help. ill try this when before i go for my next drive/isnt FREEZING outside

 

Before you drive yourself crazy, presure test the coolant system. My 7 did the same thing, it turned out to be a bad $8 rad cap.