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Coolant Sensor gone faulty by melted plastic bag?

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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:34 AM
  #1  
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Coolant Sensor gone faulty by melted plastic bag?

Hi guys, need your opinion on my mechanics analysis?!:

I hope this is the right place to post this:

I have a 2001 Type-RB RX7 with no modifications at all.

After driving it on the motorway yesterday the COOLANT light turned on and warning alarm started playing. I noticed a noise coming from under the bonnet (Like the noise of something expanding?? like the noise a fire makes, or the noise made when having a BBQ (really I'm useless at describing sound as you can tell) and smoke rising from everywhere under the car, so I popped the bonnet and noticed white smoke rising from the back of the engine bay (not much).

I had the car towed to a mechanic, and the mechanic said a plastic bag got caught onto the catalyst/catalytic converter? (can't remember which, if there are even both of these..??) and that it melted and caused the sensor to malfunction.

Does this make any sense to any of you? Because it seems a bit strange that a melted plastic bag could've caused this?

Thanks in advance,

Pwantwan.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 11:34 AM
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i dont see how a bag on the cats would affect the coolent sensor.....or by coolent sensor do you mean exhaust overheat?
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 11:45 AM
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Well the 'COOLANT' light turned on... so I assume the coolant sensor? Would the light come on due to exhaust overheat?
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 12:08 PM
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the coolant light being: On the temperature gauge, the orange light turned on where it states 'Add coolant', but the temperature of the car was still fine.

Is it possible that the plastic bag was burning/melting on the Exhaust, causing that to overheat which may have led up into the turbos, etc, and somehow making the sensors prompt for coolant to be added? I may be losing the plot.

Cheers,

Pwantwan.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 07:18 PM
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umm, i would have to say no....have you checked your coolent level yet?
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 08:00 PM
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Watch that mechanic.

I can't think of any way a plastic bag could have anything to do with your coolant system. It must have been a coincidence.

You need to look into why it lost coolant.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:20 PM
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I cannot yet say how the two events are linked, either...

But for the hell of it, check the coolant level in the filler-neck (on the engine itself), with the engine COLD. The level sensor is in this area. How high is your coolant?
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 01:46 AM
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The "Low Coolant" sensor is installed at the top of the radiator, near the filler neck. And the "Low Coolant" light is connected ONLY with this sensor. So, if the "Low Coolant" light turned on, and the buzzer started, well, buzzing, then you have a problem with coolant or the cooling system. Check it A.S.A.P.
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