Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Reflow ovens for circuit boards... once components are placed on the PCB (which has solder paste on it) they go into an oven to reflow the solder.
I repair the surface mount machines and correct the programs.

Nubo

Lol. 2010 cars send a Twitter when coolant is low, and you have to subscribe to your car's Twitter feed.

ASH8

Well, Just did the Test on my S2, removed the Senors Electrical Connection Plug, started car and NO CEL, drove around for a while and still NO CEL.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

I am a little hesitate to use CLR to clean mine but i am replacing all the hoses and the radiator this weekend and I want to clean up my dirty bottle, does anyone know if white vinegar or something will really work to cleans it up?

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Nope. No one knows.

Its a complete mystery.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Haha , ****. I missed that

Go Steelers

Pardon the newbie questions....is there a DIY for removing the coolant bottle? And where is this sensor I would need to unplug?

And for those of you who have purchased a new bottle, how much was it?

Mazurfer

Oh let's see.
The bottle isn't as cheap as I would've like. I will go and look and get back with you and post it here. I think Paul or Sheldon at Mazmart(a vendor here) might still have his sale going, but I can't seem to find that thread. Here's his website. http://www.mazmart.com/ItemDetail.aspx?id=531

If you are standing at the front of the vehicle in front of the bottle, then you will see the plug on the left side of the bottle. The wire runs down the side of the bottle and the sensor itself actually comes up through the bottom of the bottle. If you unplug that connector, 1/2 the connector, the wires and the sensor will all come out with the bottle.

When standing at the front of the bottle again, you see those two nuts that hold it against the frame in front of the bottle. That's really all there is to it. Those two nuts and maybe disconnecting one or two hoses. I think I would try the sugested method by MM, that is take it out, plug up the holes, use white vinegar and let it sit overnight, then flush it out really good and re-install.


Okay, I don't have a real clear picture of that portion of my engine bay, but I circled the connector in green, and follow the red crappy arrows for the location of the nuts. The bolts are on the frame, so all you need to do is take the nuts off. Might be easier if you pull the battery and perhaps the battery tray, but don't think you have to do so.

Go Steelers

Fantastic. That was the connector I thought, but I wasn't 100% positive. I'll definately try the remove and clean method before I spend $170 for a new bottle.

emailists

I have been getting the radiator warning light on and off frequently over the last few months, and ignored it since I knew it was probably faulty and had coolant replaced less than a year ago.

Now my engine temp gauge is running very hot after warm up, (close to top of gauge) the engine bay has a slight burning smell, and the fan stays on a long time after shut off. The engine temp gauge seems to stay on dead cold for a few minutes longer than usual. Any thoughts before taking it to a shop? I'm out of warranty (2004 MT)

Go Steelers

For any of you that have used the distilled vinegar cleaning method, has this lasted over time? I'm just wondering if I'm putting a temporary band-aid by cleaning it up, or will this be a "permanent" fix?

Phiend

Thanks. Just started to have issues with my coolant sensor (2006 Shinka). Intermittent CEL, so last week I topped off the coolant with some Prestone....far above the max line....fully expecting it to drain off with expansion and heat. That seemed to happen today, 7 days later. I stopped at a convenience store on the way to work and when I got back in, noticed glycol on the pavement...and the CEL came on. Never went off until I parked, in a spot that sloped down....noticed the CEL had gone out. So it's borderline at the point where the glycol is clearing the sensor. I'll check the bottle out tonight and see how gunky the entire sensor really is. This Post and Forum are great! Thanks.

Mazurfer

Emailists,


Get it somewhere. That temp gauge shouldn't really move very far from halfway. Maybe two or three clicks higher than that and that's it. If you have coolant at the proper level and you are running that hot, I would think water pump and/or thermostat. Oh........and I don't think I would be driving it.

Phiend

My temp gauge is fine. Rock solid at the center, normal. It's the stupid idiot light that says I'm low on coolant that's the problem. The reason I drained off glycol is because I "topped" off the coolant up to the cap, which means well over the overflow hose. So I expected it to eventually drain off. The coolant level is fine, the temp is fine (which means the thermostat is working fine) and no overheating. (yeah, jinx, jinx, jinx) No, I'm sure it is the coolant bottle sensor, which is why I posted in this thread. Thanks.

Phiend

Oops. Sorry about that Mazurfer! I see you were responding to Emailists post, not mine! TAKE HEED Emailists! He's right. Shouldn't be driving that if you're getting high temps. I've seen a few rotaries go from overheating (all RX-7's), but once that's done, it's new engine time. That 2004 you have can run for years and years if you keep it clean and cool.

Phiend

I think the O.P. said "white vinegar", not distilled. WTH is distilled vinegar anyway? Probably NOT a permanent fix. The crud buildup is caused by particulates picked up in the water jacket through normal flow of the coolant over time. This is normal. Ethylene Glycol (Anti-freeze) is prone to breakdown and also contains chemicals to bond to the crud to keep the coolant system clean and flowing as engineered. The crud buildup is normal as well. You'll see this in LOTS of other non-rotary cars. (nothing really unusual about the coolant system in an 8) What is faulty is the design of the coolant level sensor and where the crud buildup is occurring, making it a recurring problem, over time. Best to just be aware of it and that you will occasionally have to remove the bottle and flush out the crud periodically. If you do a backflush from the radiator input hose, up through the water jacket and through the water pump (gotta make sure the thermostat is open when you do this) you may reduce the likelihood of crud buildup or increase the time between bottle cleanings. Nevertheless, nothing to worry about, IMHO.

Mazurfer

No problem, I should have been more clear who I was responding at. I went back and edited it to make it more clear!

I think he will see it now.

Anyway Phiend, now...........let me give you a hint..........if you don't know already.
There is a full line on the bottle, it's just hard to see and is on the left side(I think). Also, if you get overflow out of the overflow tube, it drips down on the power steering connectors and eventually you will have no power steering until you clean those connectors. Solution........I and many others have extended that overflow hose all the way down past the connectors and mine actually sticks out of one of those rectangular slots in the under tray!

Go Steelers

Distilled vinegar = White vinegar.

Actually, most companies call the product "Distilled White Vinegar" http://www.heinzvinegar.com/products...e-vinegar.aspx

Phiend

Good to know! Working on the Coolant bottle this weekend, so I'll make the overflow mod at the same time! Thanks!

Phiend

Thanks!

Mazurfer

^....................will save you trouble later, that's for sure. Since you may have the bottle out, there is no better time to extend that hose. Just make sure you run it where the fan blades won't get it!

WhiteDealershipRice

From what I gather from the thread, the best hipothesis I can come up with is that the "gunk" accumulation on the magnetic float is weighing it down to the point that it starts sinking when the coolant gets really hot (therefore you get the intermittent light when you run the car at med-high RPMs) until the accumulation becomes bad enough that the float sinks permanently.

Ccleaning it should solve it temporarily (until the float gets contamined again)

That is unless the float is actually absorbing the contamination... then the cleaning process would only work a couple of times until the float absorbs too much of the contaminants.

I think it is just the first scenario though, and Frequent coolant changes, and bottle cleanings should be able to stave off having to replace the bottle.

I'm beginning to get the intermittent light, so I'll clean it in the next couple of months. Is there a "How to" for the overflow hose extension? (or should it be pretty self explanatoryonce I take the bottle out?)
Nothing fancy, I'm just looking for what kind of hose I should get, how to conect it to th eexisting one (or replace the current one) and the routing people have found to work with this.

Mazurfer

I think the float does lose buoyancy over time. Not sure if this is from absorption or just repeated heating.
Crud build up doesn't help either.

On your other subject/question:

I just had some left over hose from doing a catch can install. It was just about the right size.
Took off the old hose and stuck the new one on with a clamp(although probably didn't really even need the clamp).
I wouldn't extent the old one, not worth it......just get some hose of about the same inside diameter and replace the existing hose.
With the bottle out, you will see that you can just run it down the outside of the fan shroud. The whole idea is just to get it away from dripping on the PS connectors, so you want to get it below that. I had enough, so I just stuck it through the under tray slot and then cut it off. It sticks below the tray by about 1/2 inch.

Go Steelers

OK, I took the bottle off over the weekend and soaked it in "distilled white vinegar". I put it all back together (damn, it was a real PITA to get the clamp back on the lower hose!!) and drove about 30 miles without the coolant level light coming on. I'll keep my fingers crossed that this solves the problem...at least for a while.

Mazurfer

Good.................please make sure you report back and let me(us) know how long it lasts.
Did ya get a lot of crud out of it?