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Low coolant light

Taz Magister

Taz Magister

New member
every now and then the low coolant light would come on in my 2002. most of the time it comes on when im driving at 65 or faster sometimes around 55 if im at that speed for awhile but my temp is still good and for awhile i figured oh it might just be low and i would add a little and the light would go away for a week or two. The lights been poping on and off again latly and I havent toped it off again yet i looked at it and it looked reasonable and I dont see any leaks anywhere my dad said park it in the garage or on top of some cardboard and look closely didnt notice anything while in the garage but it was kind of low when it was in the garage so maybe there wasnt enough in there for it to leak out. I was worried for awhile and mentioned to my dad that its been known to leak through the gasket into the engine in these cars and he said it would be fouling my plugs and i would know and not to worry about it. could it just be a bad sensor or somethen?
 


I read:

My low coolant light was on, I checked the level. It was low, therefore I added some and it has become low since them.

Is this right? If so, a sensor isn't going to give a false reading to you looking in the radiator.

What year, model and engine do you have?
 
If you're coolant is mysteriously going low, and you don't notice leaking, then it may be going inside. If it's a 2002 then it may need a LIM gasket. But ss Bill said, give us the info on your car.

Notice any sweet antifreeze smell under the hood? Ah, nothing like the sweet smell of antifreeze in the morning!
 
its a 2002 gt with 67k miles on it up untill I bought the car it was maintained for everything at the dealer the thing is spotless under the hood and I clean under there pretty often Ive never noticed any antifrezze smell I think what im going to do is park it in the garage and fill it back up then see if its leaking my driveway is gravel so I could miss it if its leaking idk and yes when I say low I don't mean like empty i mean a little below the line. One thing i do know is even though the dealer had been maintaining it its whole life and did another complete tune up when they sold it to me none of the recalls have been fixed.... makes me wonder if the mechanics their even care...
 
1. Yes, your engine ingesting coolant WILL hurt it sooner or later. By the time it eats enough antifreeze to be fouling the plugs it will probably be too late. What you can't see is it washing the oil off of your main and rod bearings. Have fun with that rod knock when you spin a bearing.

The only time I can see coolant fouling a plug out is when a head gasket lets go and large amounts of coolant are getting directly into the combustion chamber. These engines seem to usually get it into the oil, not the cylinders. Check your oil dipstick and see if it's milky looking. If so you are getting coolant in the oil somewhere.

2. Sounds like either LIM gaskets, UIM has cracked, or leaking coolant elbows. This is of course assuming that all of your hoses check out good and the rad. does not leak. Maybe have the cooling system pressure tested and see what you find.

3. Just because the dealer maintained the car all its life does not mean that all recalls will be done prior to selling. The recall notices are mailed to the current registered owner of the vehicle and it is up to them to call a dealer and schedule an appointment for the recall to be done. I'm the 2nd owner of my 00 GPGT and have received 3 recall notices from GM regarding the oil leak issue with the front valve cover where they will replace my spark plug guide and call it done. Never bothered to do it because I replaced my cover gaskets and grommets. Guess what- no more oil leak.

It's good that you are aware of the problem, now comes the fun part of "where is it?".
 
alright guys so heres even more info for you on the way home today along with the low coolant light going on and off several times it through a code so i got my reader and checked it out P0128 Coolant Temp Below Thermostat Regulating Temp.
What in the world does that mean my coolant is too cold wtf? how is that possible?

I also pulled my car into the garge and filled the coolant back up so i can check for leaks again while I was doing that i went to check the oil and found THIS! WHAT EVER IT IS IDK YOU TELL ME.
taz-magester-albums-random-picks-my-rides-picture5244-1215101547.jpg
 


That looks like coolant in the oil. When oil gets moisture in it, it can also do that but I've never seen it to that degree being just plain ambient moisture.

Pull the dipstick and see if you have the same slude/slime on it as well.

How does the coolant look in the rad? Pop the cap off and look there as well.

Oh and before I forget, pull that engine cover off and then look for leaks. There are quite a few places that the cover hides that could potentially be leaking coolant and make it hard/impossible to find, especially if it's leaking onto the LIM and burning off before you can see it. I'd leave it off permanently myself, but if you like it then I'd at least leave it off until you find the source of the leak(s).
 
this was after the car was on for awhile it kind of disapears when it cools the dipstick looked normal the coolant itself looks good the radiator cap was kind of grity
 
That's coolant in the oil.

If your UIM goes ..that almost never happens because coolant spills into the intake and through the cylinders then out the exhaust.

That looks like LIM gaskets or potentially a head gasket. That's very uncommon.
 
yea, if it's UIM plenum, then your spark plugs will be so fouled. you will clean them and get ONE start from them and it'll smoke like a freight train. i spun a bearing b/c of it.

address your coolant issue asap before you have any damage! and if the coolant light still comes on just unplug it like i did :) works like a charm. just watch your temps and you're fine
 
I have a similar problem. I had the UIM replaced about 18 months ago, Coolant was doing the same odd thing. So why does the coolant light only come on at highway speed and go off if you take your foot off the gas? I topped off my overflow bottle 4 days ago and the light is still coming on when at highway speed for a few minutes back off the gas light goes off. Park and the reservoir actually about the hot line.
 


it could be the coolant level sensor. mine is broke, my light would stay on all the time AND

so i just unplugged it!! :) problem solved.
 
I guess it could be. I know I am leaking coolant, and I don't know why a bad sensor would come on at highway speeed underload after a few minutes, but go off the minute the load is removed.

And it was doing this 18 months ago when I got the UIM replaced and stopped for then next 12 months. I'll guess some weird kind of leak.
 
Taz Magester said:
alright guys so heres even more info for you on the way home today along with the low coolant light going on and off several times it through a code so i got my reader and checked it out P0128 Coolant Temp Below Thermostat Regulating Temp.
What in the world does that mean my coolant is too cold wtf? how is that possible?

I also pulled my car into the garge and filled the coolant back up so i can check for leaks again while I was doing that i went to check the oil and found THIS! WHAT EVER IT IS IDK YOU TELL ME.
taz-magester-albums-random-picks-my-rides-picture5244-1215101547.jpg
Click to expand...

you found this? what is this? lol
 
Mine came on the other day so I popped my hood and glanced around for leaks, checked the overflow and it seemed good, the the tube running to the radiator was sorta kinked so I pinched it so it would stay open and when i got back in the car the light was off. but I dont think that was the problem, every once in a while i do get a whif of antifreeze. so come spring time im going to change my LIM gasket just to be safe
 
davhamm said:
I guess it could be. I know I am leaking coolant, and I don't know why a bad sensor would come on at highway speeed underload after a few minutes, but go off the minute the load is removed.

And it was doing this 18 months ago when I got the UIM replaced and stopped for then next 12 months. I'll guess some weird kind of leak.
Click to expand...

That sensor is probably working correctly. My guess is the reason the light comes on during highway speeds is that the speed of the waterpump is increased due to your higher RPM's hence the level drops in the rad. Once you let off of the gas the pump slows down and the rad fills back up enough to turn the low coolant light out.

My 00 GPGT did this for months while I had a cracked radiator. It would leak enough for it to be low on the highway, and if I slowed down to about 50 the light would go out until I sped back up and held a steady speed. My rad was cracked at the neck where the upper hose attaches, right at the side tank. Was hard as heck to finally find, as it would only leak under pressure. I finally saw a trail of dried up antifreeze on the side tank that tipped me off.
 


hey guys Im starting to think my coolant might be leaking some where in the hvac or somthing because theres no way its going into the engine because ive toped it off so many times it would have hydro locked long ago and there really arent any signs of it in the oil does anyone know where a good amount of coolant could be hiding?
 
itll only hydro lock ifs its pouring it in while its not running. if it was your heater core you would notice coolant on the pass floor board or possibly outside the car. if you are using coolant and dont know where its going it is going into your engine. if you found coolant in your oil then theres your answer.
 
its not going into the engine because that would have raised the engine oil level and i would notice it ive put atleast a whole jug of dex cool in this thin in the past 6 months
 
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