205 - what's this light mean?

From the manual:
LOW COOLANT LEVEL WARNING LIGHT*
Illumination indicates that the coolant level is too low. Stop
immediatly, allow the engine to cool and check the coolant level.

(* according to specification)

 

A warning light is coming on and I don't know what it means! (lost the
manual).
It's like a lid with water waves under it.
My radiator is full, but this bloody warning light comes on as I go 'round
corners.
any suggestions?
many thanks

 

From the manual:

Yeah, its a solution you mix with water.
You shouldn't put just entirely water in the radiator.
It's available at any car-related shop, garages, petrol stations...

 

Thanks Ryan. Will do. Do you think the light would come on because there

It could be, however.. the sensor might be broken, or dislodged (never
worked with the sensor, so not too sure?)
Might just be a loose wire or it touches against something when turning
right which sets it off?

There may be a blockage in the hoses, not allowing the coolant to get
through? You might want to flush the system to check for blockages and
hopefully clear any.. and then fill the system with a decent coolant
solution (follow the directions on the bottle for dilution).

If that doesnt work then hopefully somebody on here with more knowledge will
correct me, or take it to a garage (preferably an independant Peugeot
specialist..)

 

There may be airlocks in the cooling system so at least in XU engines
the water (or coolant..) must be filled (after change of cooling liquid)
with so called "Peugeot top feeder" i.e an upside down plastic bottle
without bottom to fill also those parts of cooling system, which lie
higher that the cooling fill cork.
Eric

 

From the manual:

so its check the wires and connections and if it still comes on then
you need a new sensor. hmm, that could be fun.

scott

 

The water level is okay, but what's this 'coolant' - isn't that just water?
I'm feeling really thick here, please help. Is coolant different to water?

 

Yeah, its a solution you mix with water.

Thanks Ryan. Will do. Do you think the light would come on because there
isn't enough solution in, even though the water is up to level?
The light comes on mostly when the car is turning right. I assume it's some
kind of float related indicator somewhere in the tank?

 

Eera:

I have only had to use the upside down bottle on Pugs without the header
tank. My 205s have a header tank, so all that you have to do is unclip
it & suspend it higher up. Perhaps a bottle in the header tank where it
is also works, I don't know.

dixiefried:

If the light illuminates, yet the header tank has coolant to the right
level, then either there is air in the cooling system or else the sensor
is faulty.

The sensor is on the side of the radiator at the top, it can be
unscrewed to examine it. Likely failure modes would be a leak into the
float or else deposits blocking its movement. Once the sensor has been
removed some coolant will get out & air get in, so you would have to
bleed the system. But if the light is occasional & associated with
movement of the car, then to my mind it is far more likely air in the
system - so you need to bleed it anyway.

Bleeding the system means filling it with more coolant while letting any
trapped air escape. To do that you need to fill it with a little
pressure. You do that by taking out the header tank bottle & raising
it. The bottle is fixed by a thick elastic band. You may need to
remove one or two clips to free enough of the pipe the tank it is
attached by. Then either hang the tank from the raised bonnet or just
have a friend hold it up for you.

Then you need to open each of the bleed screws to let any air escape.
When the air changes to coolant then close each. There are usually two
screws, one metal one on the engine near to the thermostat housing that
you open with an Allen key, the other at a high point on a rubber hose,
that you open with your fingers. Once both screws are closed, try
squeezing the thicker rubber coolant pipes, to move any air bobbles left
around the system to a bleed point. Repeat until no air comes out of
the screws when you open them. All of this time do not let the header
tank become empty, or else you will have to start again!

When I had this problem & tried this it did not work! I was then able
to find that the problem was that the header tank was blocked with
sludge at the bottom, I cleared that, did it all again & all was well.
Yours may be simpler than that.

Good luck

 

for what I've been told, from the last 10 years or so, most cars' radiators
no longer use water but a special coolant (with different temperature
tolerance). a friend of mine filled a alfa 33 radiator with water and after
a while he had some sort of "mud" in it... if you want to keep your car for
some more time I do advice you to get the proper coolant - it's not
expensive and it's easy to put in your radiator.

cheers, Jean-Jacques

 

"Mud" ? Are you sure it wasn't oil that's been forced to mix with water?
The water could have overheated and burst a hose (because of the lack of
coolant in the solution), overheating the car and blowing the head gasket..
allowing the two to mix.

You use a coolant and water solution, unless he bought a ready-diluted
solution(?)

 

I don't think the 205 is "intelligent" enough to tell you if you've got the
right mix in your radiator - I'm sure it's just telling you that the level
of the liquid (ie. the coolant, be it water-and-something, or even neat
beer) is not right. (Or it's incorrectly telling you that, if the sensor is
broken, if you see what I mean).

From what I remember of my late 309, the chap who serviced it used to put
different strengths of solutions into the rad for summer and winter. And
the only time the light that you describe came on was when the radiator
sprung a leak once.

HTH

Jo

 

Hello,

Nope, sometimes, on old blocks which have used tap water for some time,
there is a deposite at their bottom, like mud. This likely happens when you
don't use proper coolant.