9n3 help please coolant light keeps comming on

v896 · Post by **v896** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:58 am

hello all

I recently having problems with my 9n3 coolant light keeps coming on saying its too low. i've topped it up with water every month seems fine then goes low again back to the minimum level and the coolant tank all foamy on top now when i open it to top it up there seems to be no sign of leaks in the engine bay or underneath can anyone help please?

drennan · Post by **drennan** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:34 pm

Head gaskettttt lol

v896 · Post by **v896** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:48 pm

really oh man to be honest it only started to foam after I added bottled water of evian from the petrol station if its the head gasket how much would it be?

K.I.T.T. · Post by **K.I.T.T.** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:57 pm

Could be air in the system. I'd try undoing the coolant reservoir cap and start the car and leave it for a few minutes, then top off if necessary. Could also be a duff sensor.

Ash

v896 · Post by **v896** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:37 pm

thank alot for the advice will try that tomorrow if that doesn't work i'm gonna have to find a garage i can trust in west london suburbs that doesn't wanna rip me off any recommendations of good garages would be welcome

K.I.T.T. · Post by **K.I.T.T.** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:03 pm

Where abouts in West London? Random question, especially as I can't recommend any garages there, but I was in Uxbridge for a year at uni. for what it's worth, I'd recommend trying a Bosch Service Centre: http://www.boschcarservice.co.uk/ The one I use is brilliant.

Ash

v896 · Post by **v896** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 7:12 pm

oh ok i live bout 10 mins from uxbridge which garage did you use?

g__humm · Post by **g__humm** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:22 pm

Mine done this turned out to be rad leak

v896 · Post by **v896** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:43 am

really mine only done 38,000 miles? is this common ?

Ben90 · Post by **Ben90** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:43 pm

v896 wrote:really oh man to be honest it only started to foam after I added bottled water of evian from the petrol station

Was the free water from petrol station machines not good enough?

v896 · Post by **v896** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:21 pm

Ben90 wrote:
v896 wrote:really oh man to be honest it only started to foam after I added bottled water of evian from the petrol station
Was the free water from petrol station machines not good enough?

If you bothered to read the manual of your car it says use distilled water in the an emergency when the coolant light flashes

Ben90 · Post by **Ben90** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:31 pm

v896 wrote:If you bothered to read the manual of your car it says use distilled water in the an emergency when the coolant light flashes

Evian isn't distilled water, it has a similar mineral content than tap water. Admittedly it has better minerals for the human body, but it's the same stuff to your engine.

Despite your snotty comment, froth in the tank sounds like either air or oil. If it's air the temperature gauge will give erratic readings while driving, as said above running the engine with the cap off should clear it.

Was your water pump changed lately? sometimes grease from the new pump makes its way into the coolant fluid and causes the froth. I'd get it flushed (using real distilled water) and check for improvement.

Failing that it would most likely be a gasket, exchange of froth-causing oil paired with water loss. Your exhaust might emit white smoke if the leak is bad. If you're still not sure, run a compression test. You're looking for one/two cylinders that are lower than the others.

v896 · Post by **v896** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:04 pm

Please accept my apologies "i'm sorry" for the previous comment it was out of line i really appreciate the advice just given hopefully should get sorted i dropped it off at a mechanic yesterday for a pressure test the temperature doesn't come up quickly stays at zero then overheats which causes the form once i've driven the car think might be the water pump or the fan or temperature senor or a minor leak. i'm praying its not the gasket if it is £500 easy still i'm prepared for the worst i'm post up pic's once i get my GTI back looks really pretty after i got he cup edition bumpers put on last week

Ben90 · Post by **Ben90** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:14 pm

No worries mate. Apologies if my first comment was seen as provoking aggression, it was just a joke/forum banter

Yeah the erratic temp does sound like an air problem, then the sudden overheating has probably caused some kind of burst or leak hence the water loss. You would have had to have given her some serious abuse for a head gasket on a no-doubt well-maintained enthusiasts GTi to go before 40k.

K.I.T.T. · Post by **K.I.T.T.** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:12 pm

Define overheating / warming up slowly. What does the garage mean by this? Are they going by the coolant temperature gauge in the cluster? That gauge is more of an indicator as to whether the car is up to operating temperature (and indicating whether it may be overheating). It'll indicate 90 degrees C when the coolant temperature is anywhere between ~75 and 107 degrees C.

I'm not sure how quickly it'll warm up if left to idle (fellow petrol owners can advise), if this is what the garage has been doing. Does your radiator fan work correctly? Start the car and turn the AC on (coldest) and see if the radiator fan spins up within 30 seconds.

Also, you may have a faulty thermostat.

Ash

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