Low coolant light

Post your comments & questions

Moderators: FAOA Administrators, FAOA Moderators

Post Reply
94hawk170
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:52 pm
Location: Burleson, tx

Low coolant light

Post by 94hawk170 » Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:17 pm

My low coolant light comes on for a little bit then goes off after awhile. I go to put more coolant in and it's good on coolant. Is their a sensor for this?
1994 firehawk #170 bright blue

User avatar
Scott Chab
Posts: 3309
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2002 3:44 pm
Location: Wilmington, Delaware

Re: Low coolant light

Post by Scott Chab » Thu Oct 06, 2011 2:37 pm

I believe the sensor is at the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side.
'94 Hawk #110
Back on the road helping me make bad decisions again

User avatar
96AZHAWK
Posts: 779
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:35 pm
Location: Mesa,AZ

Re: Low coolant light

Post by 96AZHAWK » Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:30 pm

Make sure to bleed the system for any possible air pockets. The sensor is on the passenger side, but not too far down from the fill neck. You will lose some fluid when you change it out.

94hawk170
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:52 pm
Location: Burleson, tx

Re: Low coolant light

Post by 94hawk170 » Fri Oct 07, 2011 9:38 am

Alright thanks guys
1994 firehawk #170 bright blue

hawk_r6v
Posts: 122
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2003 2:21 pm
Location: Middletown, Ohio
Contact:

Re: Low coolant light

Post by hawk_r6v » Fri Oct 07, 2011 3:29 pm

Mine went bad this year, the sensor is on the passanger side about 5" down. I didnt replace mine just unplugged it for now, this will turn the light off only thing to remember is that their will be no warning if the coolent gets low.
1995 Hawk#29
2002 GTP coupe
1990 grandam quad 4
1998 Z71 Chevy K1500

red70judge
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:06 pm

Re: Low coolant light

Post by red70judge » Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:01 pm

A common problem on these. Just unplug it and low level light stays happy (off).
Did it on my '99. No sensor on my '01 radiator. Believe they stopped this feature in the
2000-2002 birds. Cheap fix. Good luck!

Firebrian
Posts: 175
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:15 pm

Re: Low coolant light

Post by Firebrian » Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:53 pm

Just had this issue occur in April on my '99 with 14,000 miles. Initially it would come and go. But after a month or two of that it locked in. After reading a little bit on LS1 Tech about these decided to try cleaning it first. You have to drain a couple of pints of fluid to get below the level of the sensor. Since I had changed my coolant last year I was interested in how clean it was a year later. Pretty darn clean as it turned out. The Dex-Cool was still vibrant orange with no discoloration. I did a lot of research on OEM Dex-Cool vs. regular green coolant to come to the conclusion that sticking with Dex was fine. The radiator shows absolutely zero buildup after 14 years. The level sensor had no obvious buildup on it but I scraped it clean with a small screwdriver. The light is now out and hasn't come back in the last several drives. If it returns, I'll probably buy a new sensor rather than just disconnecting the plug. If your battery is loose it is possible for it knock into the sensor and dislodge it from the hole. The resulting rapid coolant leak at normal system temperature wouldn't be much fun. Having that sensor tightly installed is more important than the low level function it can provide. There's an annoying spring clip that is supposed to keep this sensor on tight. But, it's not all that sturdy. And it's going to get sprung a bit trying to get it off. Getting that clip back on was the hardest part of the job for me....lol. Hopefully, that spring clip is not the only thing keeping the sensor installed in the hole. A couple of O-rings also apply some helpful frictional force to keep it in. I wonder if anyone supplies a stout plug for this application that won't come out except with considerable force above system pressure?

You can buy new sensors for $40-$60 depending on source. Yeah, they're sort of expensive for such a cheap looking part. If it were me I'd probably go with an OEM one from your local GM dealer ($60). There are no control functions to your motor or cooling system with this sensor. It just sends a signal to the alarm on the instrument panel. These failed often enough in '99 that they did not place them in the 2000-2002's. Having one less hole in your radiator to cause a leak is always a good thing imo.

lakeratiam
Posts: 350
Joined: Sun May 22, 2011 12:54 am
Location: The Land of Oz

Re: Low coolant light

Post by lakeratiam » Sun Jul 07, 2013 11:39 pm

Hmmmmm........ Both my Hawk and unmolested Formula have had the same coolant sensor issues......I just ignore them and check the coolant level periodically............Just wondering if the radiator from a 00-02 (that doesn't have the sensor port) will fit/work in the earlier cars..........by earlier I mean pre '98 ...........anyone know for sure?
I'm EVERYWHERE Dragan! :lol:

fb_rider
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:57 pm
Location: Taylorsville, MD
Contact:

Re: Low coolant light

Post by fb_rider » Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:46 am

It takes 10 minutes to change. I changed one on my 99 and never had an issue again.
1977 Trans Am W72 SE (sold)
1999 Trans Am 30th Anniversary number 953 (sold)
2000 Trans Am Firehawk number 263 (sold)
Image

Firebrian
Posts: 175
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:15 pm

Re: Low coolant light

Post by Firebrian » Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:08 pm

fb_rider wrote:It takes 10 minutes to change. I changed one on my 99 and never had an issue again.
Yeah, that's probably right for the 2nd time you do it. First time for me took more like an hour as I didn't know what I was
dealing with on that spring clip. Some gunk from the sensor fell into my coolant pan so I had to take time to refilter that. It just seems odd to me that while radiator hoses are held in place with spring-loaded, rugged clamps, this other hole in your radiator is held in place by a pair of o-rings and a spring no stronger than a paper clip.

fb_rider
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:57 pm
Location: Taylorsville, MD
Contact:

Re: Low coolant light

Post by fb_rider » Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:01 am

Ok my first one took like 20 minutes, because I took out the battery - but it was on a Grand Prix so I didn't think that one counted :D

But I did a 3rd one for a friend's car, and it took like 5 minutes, so it all averages out :D

I do agree on the paper clip, though, but it seems to hold 8)
1977 Trans Am W72 SE (sold)
1999 Trans Am 30th Anniversary number 953 (sold)
2000 Trans Am Firehawk number 263 (sold)
Image

lily2015
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 11:24 pm
Contact:

Re: Low coolant light

Post by lily2015 » Sat Sep 21, 2013 11:35 pm

He might do not buy on their behalf. Set up all of them inside your Runescape info mortgage vendor.

TTOP350
Posts: 157
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2003 11:40 pm
Location: Raymond IL

Re: Low coolant light

Post by TTOP350 » Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:55 pm

lily2015 wrote:He might do not buy on their behalf. Set up all of them inside your Runescape info mortgage vendor.

Looks like we have a spammer.
Always looking for SLP/Firehawk parts for 3rdgen birds.
PM me.

Post Reply