98 Escort Check Coolant Light wont go off

the check coolant light on my 98 escort will not go off. i havent noticed any leakage, and the engine isn't running hot if i add a little extra coolant, it will turn off for a couple days and then go back on.

Reply to
HolliJay
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I believe the sensor is located in the coolant recovery tank (i.e. the place where you add coolant). It might be damaged.

Reply to
zwsdotcom

You mean the light won't stay off. The sensor for the check coolant light is located on the end of the plastic rod which is part of the fill cap on the coolant recovery tank or bottle. The tip of this rod has to be submerged in coolant to keep the light off. If you have to add coolant to the tank every few days to make the light go out, you have a leak somewhere which is lowering the fluid level in the tank below the sensor. The leak could be in the tank itself or somewhere else in the cooling system. If you can't find a leak on the ground under the car, it's probably an internal leak in the engine. In that case the coolant is going out the exhaust pipe as steam, along with the other hot gases. It's too early to say the 'h' word, but you can guess what might be causing an internal engine leak. If there was a problem with the coolant sensor or the wiring of that circuit, adding fluid to the tank shouldn't make the light go out. There's a very slight possibility that removing the cap on the tank to add fluid, might temporarily fix a problem with the sensor or wiring but I doubt it. Another long shot, the sensor needs to be cleaned. Do this with a plastic kitchen scrub pad. Don't over do it. You've probably discovered by now that the light won't go off after you add fluid 'IF' the engine is running. You have to turn off the ignition switch and restart the engine to make the light go out. This is because the engine computer has to reset the fault but it can't do it while it's running. Good luck. Hope it's not the 'h' word. ;-)

Reply to
Fordfan

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