when i start the car the add coolant alarm goes off. but when i look at the power FC the water temp. is ok. the alarm only goes off when i start the car or when i am at a stop light. the coolant buzzer turns off while im driving but comes back on when i stop.

 

you probably have an air pocket in your system. You need to sort of burp it and top it off. One trick i do is, squeeze the coolant hoses a few times with the coolant cap on then check the level. If you need to add, then add and repeat.

Adam

 

thats because the water pump chruns when u drive and water is being pumped over the low coolant sensor.

 

Ranger,

The "coolant alarm" is not related to temperature. The "coolant alarm" is for "low coolant level". The sensor is in the thermostat housing. With the car cool, open up the cap on the filler neck and check the level of the coolant. If it's not near the top, that would be why your sensor is going off.

If it is low, finding out why it's low is another process. BTW, when I had that problem, it was failed coolant seals.

 

i added water to the coolant resvoir. i think it might be a leak because it never fills up and i always see water coming from the bottom of the car. i cant get an accurate reading from the resvior. i take out the resvior dip stick, wipe it down with a cloth, stick the dip stick back in, pull it out, but i cant see an accurate level of the water. is anyone in houston that can help me out here?

 

That's not where you add water/coolant. Here is where you add it:

 

Can someone show me the location of the water pump please?

 

see that green circle in the pic above? its straight below it near the pulleys attached to the front of the engine.

follow the hose at the bottom of the radiator.

 

its right under the stock x-over pipe, its the pulley directly below it. and below and to the left of the alternator.

 

beat me to it. the problem is just as Mahjik says, the water temp sensor is seeing a low level at the thermostat housing. You might have an air bubble, it might be more serious. Just drive it, stop let it cool, add more water at the thermostat housing filler, drive it. repeat steps until it stops and hope that is the only problem.

 

i just drove the car for about ten mins..how long should i wait till i can open up that cap on the pic above from majhik

 

wait until the car is totally cooled down, if not get ready for a nice warming antifreeze shower

 

If you are seeing water pouring out of the overflow tank after you have run the car then you have another problem. If it is just overflowing when you were trying to fill it then you are OK, but if it happens when hot then you need to replace your AST cap and hope that you do not have a blown coolant seal.

 

the problem was fixed.. i put water where mahjik told me to.. and it went away. thanks everyone for the quick replies....

ps.. ast removed..

 

You'll need to watch it. If the buzzer comes back in a few days, then you have a problem.

 

This thread was little scary..

Maybe we should have a faq section to let all the newbs know where everything is located. Just pics pointing at where you should add coolant, what AST is, water pump looks like, etc etc.

 

yea. that would be greatly appreciated if i knew where everything was.

 

You are not alone.. I know ton of newbs on the forum that have no clue where things are.

I'll try to get something together for you.. Also, Do you have a FSM (factory service manual)? If not, go get one on ebay or download it from internet.

 

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/shop_manual.html

Great shop manual that would tell you everything. Might be a little complicated, but if you have any questions this is the best place to ask

 

when i bought the car.. about 3 days ago. the previous owner gave it to me.. along with TSB Print outs .. and a bunch of other things

 

This is an excellant idea. Kinda like an owners manual or something. Since these cars are sooooo old they usually don't have them any more. If someone wants the pictures hostred let me know.