I found a whole bunch of threads on the light, and I got all the information I need to find out why the light was on, and I do know why it was on now but I have a different question.

I found out the light is on definitely because of the wire, I know this because I was about to do all the tests to find out if it was a coolant seal, and then to bleed the system but I decided to take a look at the sensor first, and as I took it out the wire was so rotted and old that it actuall broke right at the sensor.

So in short I know that it is going off because of wiring not because of an actual coolant problem or anything, and I have to make a 2 hour drive tonight, so I am just wondering if there is an easy way to stop the buzzing temporarily because I don't have any way to reconnect the wire to the sensor right now and don't have a whole lot of time on my hands. I also have a water temperature gauge so I will know if something actually does for some reason go wrong with the coolant and be able to watch out for overheating while it's off. Thanks a lot.

 

i think you can ground the wire to shut it off. not sure though. check the FSM.

 

I can't find anything all that helpful in there... but then again electrical stuff isn't my specialty. Could I ground it to anywhere? because the wire isn't very long and I don't have any extra wire laying around, or solder for that matter. it sucks it didn't break a little farther up the wire because where it is right at the sensor I can't even splice it and electrical tape it for now...

 

Wire needs ground. If the sensor is working correctly it gets ground from the coolant in the engine. So until you can get a new sensor ($30) you can ground it. You can ground it by just cutting off some insulation and then wrapping that around a screw or nut that you tighten down to hold it.

But do not rely on the water temp gauge for your water level. If you loose coolant, the gauge will not go up, until you have lost so much coolant the block is gone. Remember the coolant is what the sender reads... no coolant and it doesn't read anything until the block heats up.

 

basically if you ground that, check your level regularly.

 

well that won't help if you have an old heater hose... you know the one right under the oil filter and filler... the one that gets oil spilled on it all the time... and then suddenly after 10 years, it swells and pops while you are driving.

and since the water temp gauge is not at the top of the radiator... when all the coolant sprays out... well you just won't know until it is too late.

 

very true, but it will help if you have a slow leak.

 

My radiator had a pinhole leak, meaning there was no fluid leaking, but I could hear a hiss when the engine was warm due to steam escaping. I thought it was vacuum leaking but I finally found the issue. Once fixed, I didn't have my buzzer going off everytime I came to a stop.

 

way to be a negative nancy

get a new sender. $30 < new engine

 

where is this sensor

 

On top of the radiator

 

yeah I know I'm going to replace it as soon as possible, and also check the coolant every once in a while until I do. I just can't stand the noise, I didn't really have anything to properly ground it but I found out if I duck taped the wire to the radiator it shut up...

 

Just get another piece of wire,lengthen the Wire that Broke off the Sender and then take that Longer wire and find a BOLT on the car.Loosen the bolt a bit and Tuck the Wire under it.,Tighten it..Buzzin has stopped!..
this is a TEMPORARY FIX>.get a Replacement Coolant level sensor..30 bucks is Cheap,compared to a 2,000 dollar Rebuild.

 

I actually today did properly ground the wire with a eyelet crimp under a bolt, but I am definitely going to replace it I just don't have time right now since it's right at the end of this quarter of college and I have tons to do and I'm not at my home, and I only have one car.

 

I have one other question, where is the best place to get a replacement sensor?

 

My local Mazda dealer sold me the last one I needed for $25 including tax, but Mazdatrix has them for around $30 as I recall.

 

if you have an S5 (89-91) the sensor is really expensive, but it's the same with a different wiring clip, just get an S4 (86-88) one and solder on your old clip.

where they are on the mazdatrix site:
http://mazdatrix.com/b8.htm

 

I have an S4 but the radiator is a Koyo radiator does that make any difference?

 

nope, it should be the stock threads

 

I ordered one hopefully it will get here Monday or Tuesday

 

Ok I have one more question, I finally got the sensor and fixed it, but now due to a totally unrelated incident I actually do have a coolant leak. It seems fairly slow and I don't have time to look at it myself or money to get it fixed right now, although I will probably next week since this is my college finals week and I'm very busy.

Anyways I just wanted to know what is the proper procedure for filling the coolant so I can keep it filled until I can figure out the leak.