Hi all,

Noticed that ever since the weather went cold my coolant level has been doing funny things. When I come out to start the car on a morning, if the overnight temp has not been too low it's all fine. But if it's been freezing overnight and I start the car, after a few seconds of running it beeps and the coolant light comes on the dash. A check under the bonnet shows the level has dropped to halfway between the max and min lines. Topping it up with coolant and restarting the engine sorts it out but when I get to my destination and check it again the level has gone slightly over the max line.

It would appear that really cold nights are somehow affecting my coolant levels. I can't see a leak anywhere, there are no puddles under the car and the carpets are dry.

Any ideas what's going on?

Thanks,

Chris.

Plop - just found this.....

http://briskoda.net/fabia-i/fabia-vrs-temp-warning-light-buzzer/103088/

Seems I need to replace the coolant bottle. Sigh....

The spurious level alarm thing is quite common, but I think you may have something different. I had to replace the expansion tank cap on SWMBO's car because of just this issue, which seemed to fix it. I think the O ring had withered, and didn't fill the gap properly when it was cold, leading to a small amount of evaporative loss.

HTH...

Gotcha . Ok, I'll get the tank and cap replaced to be sure. Am I right in thinking they're only about £10 and that the sensor is built in? Also I'll need to try and capture the coolant that comes out as I don't want to lose it all - it's not very old. I take it you can drain the tank properly?

There's a "tap" like nossle under the radiator and to the left, you can reach it by just bending down and reaching under the bumper... that's if, unlike me, your car hasn't been lowered... lol. Unscrew the expansion tank top, and turn the tap under the radiator 45-90 degrees and the coolant will drain out, just put a washing up bowl or big jug under it and then re-use the coolanty afterwards... oh, and make sure your engine is cool otherwise you will get a scald... lol.

-Duggie.

Gotcha . Ok, I'll get the tank and cap replaced to be sure. Am I right in thinking they're only about £10 and that the sensor is built in? Also I'll need to try and capture the coolant that comes out as I don't want to lose it all - it's not very old. I take it you can drain the tank properly?

I don't mean the entire tank - just the cap! Although if you think the sensor's duff, you WILL need a new tank, and should follow Duggie's instructions!

Thanks guys - I think the sensor is a little duff as the level needs to be above max for it not to moan. I'll change the tank and the cap me thinks. Just wondering if I'll need new clips and stuff too. Vagcat looks like this....

Fabia 2004

I the same mate! I think you can only buy it as a tank with cap!:( Thou easy to change! Not to expensive! As said before the sensor playing up!

HAHA, I've just checked mine and it's doing the same thing... really high after a drive, really low when cold... no sensor warnings though...

In which case it would appear to be 'fairly' normal, just the sensor freaking out. Still needs a new bottle as a result.

Job for the weekend me thinks. Bet I'll have to order the part in....