zmarko

Greetings guys/gals. About a month or so ago, I made a post about going through a lot of coolant. Well, the ammount of coolant being used has reduced, but I'm still getting the "warning light & tone". It happens mostly after the car has been sitting for awhile (over 45 mins). As soon as I start the car up, the light comes on and that annoying "alarm" chimes. This will last until the car warms up a great deal, or if the outside temp is warm enough...it will chime only for a few mins. There have been random times after the car has been running for a good while, that if I'm on backing up a driveway and then come to a stop on that incline (fron of car facing downhill) the light and chime will start again, but only until I move the car.

Ok, my guess is that it's the thermostat either stuck closed/open or maybe even partially one way or another and isn't letting enough coolant in. Or maybe bad hosing? Any other ideas? I've just not had enough time to get deep into the car with the holidays and such just passing. Thanks in advance for all your help.

StinkyFatPig

well if your running out of coolant you must be losing it somewhere, have you looked for cracked hoses or drips.. or you could be burning it.. do you puff lots of white smoke when you start it up or during your drive?

and as for the buzzer.. it will probably stop once ytou fix the leak.

zmarko

Heh heh. Yeah, I realize the buzzer will go away once I find what's wrong with it. But as of now, the coolant isn't being consumed anywhere close to as much as it was a few months back. The car doesn't smoke anymore than usual. A little smoke upon startup, but that is (most likely) due to the cold weather. And once the car is at normal operating temps, it doesn't smoke at all. The car never overheats, and has normal temps. I've checked hoses, and none of them are cracked or leaking. There are no leaks(puddles/stains on the ground) when I park either at home or at work. I think I'll start with new hoses and a new thermostat and see if that helps any. If you have any other ideas, i'm open for them. Thanks for the reply.

StinkyFatPig

well your thermostat wouldnt be the cause of lose of coolant.. if your thermostat was gone you would be over heating..

try leaving you car running for 10 mins then move it and check for puddles under the car.. possibly the leak only happends while the car is running..

good luck with it.

'Vert in Vegas

I would put your radiator cap at the top of the suspect list. When your car is parked, and cooling down, the cap is supposed to allow coolant to be "sucked" back in from the overflow tank. Or the overflow hose from radiator to tank may be loose or cracked.
Also, It sound like you may not have adequately bled the air from your system. Park the car on a slope, with the nose uphill. With the radiator cap off let it warm up, and occasionally use the throttle to increse RPM. As air bubbbles occur add more coolant. Allow 5 minutes for this process after the car warms up.
If you still are having a problem then you have a leak.
I had a really hard to find leak at my heater hose. The hose was soft under one of the clamps, and when the car was cooling down it drew air into the system. The amount of coolant lost was very small, and there were no drips to the ground.