hi temp warning light-false warning?

[B-Hive]

Hi

I as just wondering if anyone has experienced a false warning from the first high temperature warning light.?

Mine's a petrol 1.9 and the warning light started flashing yesterday as i was nearing home. So i turned the second cooling fan on as a precaution and in 5 minutes was home. Stopped the motor possibly expecting to see steam..but nothing!!..

I waited a few minutes before carefully releasing the radiator cap to find no coolant loss and not even any undue heat and pressure.

I know I need to put in a proper gauge, but just thought I'd check in here to see if the temperature warning senders can be prone to giving a false indication?

[smiffy1071]

I did once get the red warning light of death come on just after startup on my TZD, after I changed the heater hose.

I knew it couldn't possibly be right, because not only was the car stone cold, but also I have a full working 16v instrument set... i.e water temp gauge!

I think it was just down to the sender switch getting wet, as when the engine did get warm, and all the water evaporated, the problem cured itself!

[crb]

When I got my diesel Meteor in December the orange light of death was on permanently - it even stayed on when I disconnected the sensor.

I disconnected and cleaned all the contacts at the earthing point near the battery and a few of the connectors in the engine bay as they were all gunked up with dirt and hey presto no light.

The only worry now is - if the light comes back on is it a false alarm or is the engine cooked

I have bought a Pug 205 gti instrument binnacle and will rob the temp guage from that.

I have got a spare binnacle with white dials (a bit yellowish now though) which I was going to experiment with but would be happy to sell on to a deserving cause for what I paid plus postage.

Cheers Colin

[Way2go]

My theory from when this occurred is that the waterways in the head can get a little furred/gunged in the viscinity of the sensor causing the water to linger a little longer. I dropped the coolant, refilled with water and Wynn's, ran for a couple of days, flushed and refilled with coolant and it's never happened again.

Cooling system problems, such as leaks and insufficient cooling due to fouling of the system, are the primary cause of vehicle break down. To prevent these problems Wynn’s recommends radiator treatments.

Linky: http://www.wynns.uk.com/Product.aspx?p= ... P_PRO_COOL

[Defender110]

It's not uncommon for this to happen on one of the sensors.