1. Home
  2. Saturn Cars Forum
  3. 96 SL1 sucking in all anitfreeze and battery light coming on

96 SL1 sucking in all anitfreeze and battery light coming on

I have a 1996 Saturn SL1. The car keeps sucking in all the antifreeze and the battery light keeps coming on. I have replaced the thermostat and my brother came over and was messing around under the hood and checking some fuses and harnesses and fix the problem for a little while but now it has come back. One thing I know for sure is the radiator fan doesnt work, but when my bro did what he did(which he dont know) the fan wasnt working still, but the anti freeze was staying normal and no lights were on. Can anyone help???? Thanks

Reply to
Champion2k2007
Loading thread data ...

SOHC, check oil for coolant contamination. Pressure test cooling system.

Fan comes on at roughly the 3/4 mark. How have you not over heated it.

Clean battery connections, test alternator at autozone or something...

Reply to
BläBlä

i drive with the heat on all the time. there is no anit freeze in the oil tank and no leaks.

Reply to
Champion2k2007

Check the fan itself. Disconnect it and run power directly to it using jumper wires to ensure it does work. Some cars have a thermal switch near the thermostat or at the bottom of the radiator that triggers the fan relay (make sure you have the right one). Unplug the thermal switch and jumper the two wires in the connector. If the thermal switch connector has only one wire, then ground it to test. If the fan runs then the switch is bad. If the fan still does not run then the fan relay could be faulty. To troubleshoot it further you will need a wiring schematic.

Reply to
Gyzmologist

Explain please exactly what "sucking in all the antifreeze" means?

If the fan does not run, then it is more likely you are overheating and the coolant is going out the overflow tube from the reservoir. It would then suction back the remaining coolant into the engine block while it cooled, and yes, it could have too little left to stay at the full cold line.

Find the source of the fan not running first. The fan is turned on by the CPU based on voltage received from the Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS), which is a known weak point in the Saturn engine. The CPU then activates the fan relay which turns on the fan. A little diagnostic work should tell you the source of this problem.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.