Temp light

[Tweetdriver63]

I could use a little help.

My car (2001 base/MT) had been parked in a parking garage for the last four days. When I got it today, as soon as I started it up, the red warning light at the top of the temp gauge scale came on—blinking at about a 1-2 second rate.

The manual says nothing about blinking vs steady, and only that it comes on when the coolant temperature is too high. The weird thing is that the coolant temperature was basically ancient temp when it came on, and as you can see in the picture I took after 15-20 minutes of driving, that temp never got high at all.

You’ll also see the CEL on in the pic. I stopped at an Advance Auto Parts store and had them check for codes. The code they saw was P1341–Camshaft adjustment, bank 1. When I got home, I checked again with my Durametric. I got that code and three others—P0300 Porsche fault code 62, misfire damaging to cat converter, P0305 Porsche fault code 67, cylinder 5 misfire damaging to cat converter, and P0410, Porsche fault code 80, secondary air injection system cylinder (1-3).

I cleared those codes to see if they come back.

Any ideas about that temp light??

[DSRJerry]

The manual says that the light blinks when the coolant level is too low.

[Starter986]

I can't see anything. Can you enlarge the pic?




/S

[Tweetdriver63]

Originally Posted by DSRJerry

The manual says that the light blinks when the coolant level is too low.

When I was stopped at the auto parts store to get the codes read, I loosened the cap to let off the pressure, then I took off the cap. The coolant was all the way to the top of the tank.

I’ll go out in a few minutes and see where it is now that everything is cold.

[Tweetdriver63]

Originally Posted by Starter986

I can't see anything. Can you enlarge the pic?

I have no idea why the pic is so large, and I can’t figure out how to reduce it. I’m on another forum that looks exactly like this one, but doesn’t work the same way at all where images are concerned. On that one, when you edit a post, you can click on the image and drag a corner to resize it.

[Rob175]

Let the system cool overnight and then check the tank in the rear. It could be the tank is leaking like on my 21 year old tank was before it was replaced.
Pull out the trunk liner/carpet and anything else that blocks your access/view of the metal trunk floor.
(in my case there was a couple of small "pools' of anti-freeze collecting there).
Many of the aging tanks develop "spider cracks". leak a little coolant into the trunk, and expand from the pressure in the tank when hot.
It can be difficult to detect if there is little or no "pooling" of coolant in the trunk, but can still cause the systems temp to rise.

Suggest you wrap some paper towel around the tank sides and bottom and go for a drive to heat up the system.
After a good drive and fully hot, check the paper town for moisture/coolant stains.
If not totally dry you may need to replace the plastic tank, like I did.
Also, it could be the thermostat is bad, and/or the radiator is blocked with leaves or debris.
(I vacuum out the twin radiators as best I can with "reach" tools especially in the fall and leaves are falling.

So, check the tank for spider cracks, clean the radiators of any debris, and finally consider a new Thermostat.
......or a final thought....it's possible you have air in the system that needs to be purged.

[997_986]

so if it's flashing and it's safe to assume that the level is OK/no leaks etc., then I would change the inexpensive sensor and do nothing else: 996 641 503 00
It is (of course) located at the bottom of the expansion tank and has nothing to do with the temperatur sensor.

[JFP in PA]

Here is the long explaination from the service manual on the flashing coolant light.

"Four functions of the coolant warning light:
1. Engine coolant level too low -- light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz)
2. Engine compartment temperature too high -- light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz) (engine compartment blower might be faulty)
3. Engine coolant temperature too high -- light is lit; pointer on the right
4. Temperature sensor at water outlet faulty -- light flashes rapidly (1 Hz) ; pointer on the right

Note: The temperature warning in point three is indicated if the conditions "engine coolant temperature too high" and "engine coolant level too low" are present simultaneously."