lanceuppercut

iTrader: (1)

got into the car this morning to take it to the bodyshop and get my wing fixed and i noticed the temp guage was off the scale (well it was in the cold part of the scale so hadn't even reached the scale) and the check engine light was on.

filled up the coolant with the stuff from my shell garage, 50/50 mix and running the engine for a few minutes, the temp gauge is sitting in normal thresholds, however the check engine light is still on..

i dont know if its is an actual leak or not but there is a deposit of water (of some sort) near where the coolant is, underneath the battery tray.

it has been absolutely bucketing down with rain in london the past few days so i don't know if its rainwater or i have a leak. i last drove the car a week ago and didn't notice any problems.

should i take it to a garage or any ideas as to what the problem could be bearing in mind i'm not very car minded..

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Taste the water: if it's just mucky, it's rainwater.

If it's sweet, it's probably coolant. (Tip of the tongue tasate, don't go swigging it! LOL)

When you rtefilled, where did you? Metal cap, or overflow?

And did you do it VERY slowly?

If it's been short of water that could set off the CEL, do a test to see what codes come up.

lanceuppercut

iTrader: (1)

i refilled at the overflow and slowly, let it run for a bit and when i opened the overflow, the liquid was now a murky looking liquid and to the top?

taste test says sweet but it has stopped dripping now, so maybe its the old coolant that leaked. granted i spilt a tiny bit but definately not as much as had been leaking out the bottom and the standing water/liquid doesn't account for the amount i would have spilled.

the metal cap was already full with liquid, so much so when i opened it, liquid came out.

if i take it to a garage and get them to check the codes and if it was the coolant leaking, what am i looking at for them to be doing/replacing?

petethemeat

iTrader: (6)

how much did you fill up with ? (will give an idea of how low the coolant was before)

My first thought is that the coolant is not related to the CEL light. Like alcazar said get the codes read and take it from there, there are many many possibilities of what could cause the CEL.

Have you changed anything / had any issues recently that could have possibly caused a CEL? (not related to the coolant)

lanceuppercut

iTrader: (1)

about 1L? it was pretty much empty from what i could see.

i haven't changed anything or noticed any issues the last time i drove it (last week)

petethemeat

iTrader: (6)

1Ltr isnt much given that the system holds around 7Ltrs.

Get the CELs read and take it from there. See this other thread if you are interested in doing it yourself

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...ol-to-get.html

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

If itwas full under the metal cap, (btw: that is the correct place to refill), you may have san airlock. Try running it from cold to hot at idle with the metal cap off. Watch for bubbles and either mop up or refill as necessary.

lanceuppercut

iTrader: (1)

*****

just got back from the garage, drove there like miss daisy, as not to aggravate any potential damage. spoke to the receptionist who advised me to move the car off the street and onto their premesis, got in started the engine.. and no check engine light!

drove it all the way to the bodyshop as i was originally supposed to do and no CEL! damn car making me look stupid!

i will monitor the coolant level over the next week or so, unless its raining as the garage couldn't book me in until weds at the earliest anyway.

thanks for all the advice/suggestions though.

petethemeat

iTrader: (6)

best type of fix when it fixes itself

lanceuppercut

iTrader: (1)

one thing I don't quite get, if I was out of coolant it would need about 7l and I would have needed to fill up from the metal cap instead of the tank located near the battery and also the temp gauge wasnt shooting up into the overheating area, rather the opposite was happening, it wasn't getting up to temperature but then after filling up the temp needle moved to the middle right away, was only after a trip to the garage did the CEL go out.

one thing I've noticed is that now after topping up via the coolant tank, the heater actually works instantly when turned up to hot, whereas before it would take a good few minutes to get any heat into the cabin.

do those symptoms still sound like a coolant leak? I can't explain the sweet tasting leak but that really might have been the bit I spilled when filling up as there was standing liquid of some sort, but then that begs the question of why is there standing water there if its not the coolant leak!!