Recently, I've been getting the 'STOP' warning flashing with the water icon lit up on my 307. And on the display above the radio it also says coolant level is low and needs filling up. Thing is, it's wrong as there's always enough coolant and the gauge never goes to overheating. When I've gone to top it up, I can see plenty of water. So I pour some more water in right to the top and the messages disappear. Topped it up again this morning right to the top, the message disappeared but this time, it came back. So whatever controls the messages is playing up or being oversensitive. I'm going to take the car to an auto electrician but any idea what might cause this?
My dashboard is lying
- Thread starter Merlin5
- Start date
Hmm, so it could be the sensor, coolant tank, wiring on tank or an airlock. I'll have to get it checked out professionally, I wouldn't have a clue.
I guess so yeah, but I topped it up till it's almost overflowing.
I guess so yeah, but I topped it up till it's almost overflowing.
I'll do that but to be honest, it's been showing these messages even after the car has been serviced where the water is at the correct level.
What is the correct stuff? I mean, my mechanic always puts anti freeze in when he does my service during cold times of year. Do you mean buying special coolant?
So I might need this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-P...M&hash=item4ac467af28&clk_rvr_id=477593677130
Or even the whole thing? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-P...M&hash=item4ac467af28&clk_rvr_id=477593677130
I don't know, I had to get to work after filling it up and didn't check what the water level was when the message returned. I'll check it tomorrow. But when the message comes on and before I top it up, water is always visible at a level which shouldn't set off the warnings imo.
I think it's a small leak and not the sensor. I hadn't taken note before today of the min and max level arrows, I just filled it to the top, which I won't do anymore. Today, about an hour ago, the water level was below the minimum as seen in the pics (taken before I topped it up again today). I topped it up again an hour ago, but only to the maximum arrow. Well tbh, it's hard to tell where the maximum is when looking inside the bottle as I can't see an outline of the min or max lines that are on the outside of the bottle. So I filled it to just cover the plastic stem shaped like an X. Would you say that's about the correct level? The warning message disappeared so far. Half an hour later I checked the water level again without switching the engine on and it looked like it had slightly reduced below the top of the X. It's never drained enough to overheat the car but obviously I need to get it fixed. Hope it's a cheap fix like a hose or the bottle and not the radiator. Unless radiators can be patched up easily?
Yeah I'll get it pressure tested this week.
Had a BIG scare earlier this evening, but fortunately now, all is ok.
Someone on the peugeot forums suggested the possibility of head gasket failure, and that the usual sign of that is water in the oil, making a "mayonnaise type substance on the oil cap and dipstick" as he put it. I'd driven 6 miles to someone today and the 6 miles back. When home, I checked the dipstick based on what he said. But didn't expect this..> no oil! Let the car cool down for half an hour to see if oil would return to the sump and checked it again. Still no oil!
Not a single spec of it. I thought wtf, my mechanic had serviced the car and changed the oil on the 29th april, not 2 weeks ago, and he's been servicing it for years with no issues. So I thought oh great, coolant leak and now oil leak, maybe it is the head gasket. Looked at the road by my car and saw this lovely blue and green oil slick.
http://i.imgur.com/WCmFFAF.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ivv7u4g.jpg
No dodgy engine sounds and no oil warning light so I checked it just in the nick of time.
Called the AA who discovered it was just the oil filter was leaking. I guess my mechanic let me down a bit this time. So he tightened it up, said it had stopped leaking and he drove us to a BP garage to buy oil. Bought a 4L bottle of Magnatec 10w-40 part synthetic for diesel and used up half of it. Checked for leaks again and it was fine. Phew! Seems like I drove the car to within an inch of the engine's life, and had I not checked, there's little doubt I would have blown the engine up tomorrow as I have to take my mum somewhere.
Topped up the water again while AA man was there and he told me to fill it a fait bit higher than that X stem in the middle. So far, no warning messages, but no doubt it'll return. I'm just so glad I checked the oil though. Also, by the colour of the oil on the road, the AA man is confident water hasn't gotten into the engine.
Had a BIG scare earlier this evening, but fortunately now, all is ok.
Someone on the peugeot forums suggested the possibility of head gasket failure, and that the usual sign of that is water in the oil, making a "mayonnaise type substance on the oil cap and dipstick" as he put it. I'd driven 6 miles to someone today and the 6 miles back. When home, I checked the dipstick based on what he said. But didn't expect this..> no oil! Let the car cool down for half an hour to see if oil would return to the sump and checked it again. Still no oil!
Not a single spec of it. I thought wtf, my mechanic had serviced the car and changed the oil on the 29th april, not 2 weeks ago, and he's been servicing it for years with no issues. So I thought oh great, coolant leak and now oil leak, maybe it is the head gasket. Looked at the road by my car and saw this lovely blue and green oil slick.http://i.imgur.com/WCmFFAF.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ivv7u4g.jpg
No dodgy engine sounds and no oil warning light so I checked it just in the nick of time.
Called the AA who discovered it was just the oil filter was leaking. I guess my mechanic let me down a bit this time. So he tightened it up, said it had stopped leaking and he drove us to a BP garage to buy oil. Bought a 4L bottle of Magnatec 10w-40 part synthetic for diesel and used up half of it. Checked for leaks again and it was fine. Phew! Seems like I drove the car to within an inch of the engine's life, and had I not checked, there's little doubt I would have blown the engine up tomorrow as I have to take my mum somewhere.
Topped up the water again while AA man was there and he told me to fill it a fait bit higher than that X stem in the middle. So far, no warning messages, but no doubt it'll return. I'm just so glad I checked the oil though. Also, by the colour of the oil on the road, the AA man is confident water hasn't gotten into the engine.
I suppose that's possible. Hope not though.
Far as I can tell, I think I did 12 miles after the oil had leaked. When I checked the dipstick there was no visible oil, although it was a bit greasy to the touch to suggest a thin film of oil barely covering. I don't know, do engines have any sort of tolerance level to no oil for short journeys before doing damage? Shouldn't the oil light have come on?
Interesting point you made. Today I checked the dipstick and the oil is maxed on it, in fact, even slightly more than max. This is from using just half of the 4L can. The sump capacity of my car has to be over 4L. If the sump was completely empty, it would have used up the whole can, no? So even though the dipstick showed nothing yesterday and there was oil on the road, there must have been the best part of 2L oil still in the sump or swimming round the engine, surely? When the AA man checked for leaks, he said it was leaking from the oil filter and the leaking stopped when he tightened it, so that means the engine was presumably not bone dry. What else would explain only 2L of oil filling my car up full? That, and the oil light not coming on, I'm going to make the assumption that there was enough oil in the car when I drove it.
Not on a slope, no. I asked my mechanic why nothing showed on the dipstick and he said there would have been oil still in the sump, around 2 litres, but below the level of the dipstick. He also said that sometimes oil filters 'settle' after hand tightening and then need retightning.
I honestly don't know. He's been doing it for many years and has serviced my cars for years with no problems. Whether this 'settling' or loosening of the oil filter occurs or whether he's just trying to cover his arse, no idea. Are you a mechanic btw, biohazard? You seem very sure that both the AA man and my mechanic know far less than you. You might be right, so I'm asking.
Well the AA man worked in garages as a mechanic for 7 years. Had the oil been contaminated, it would be a creamy colour, so I think (but could be wrong) that it would have shown that even on the road. But it looked perfectly normal. As I say, I could be wrong.
I honestly don't know about the oil filter and level of oil in the sump, but since he's been doing this bread and butter work for years (servicing cars) and never messed up my cars before, I can only assume he knows what he's talking about.
I honestly don't know about the oil filter and level of oil in the sump, but since he's been doing this bread and butter work for years (servicing cars) and never messed up my cars before, I can only assume he knows what he's talking about.
2.0 HDi 90bhp. Well I noticed a patch on the road under my car this morning in line with the coolant expansion tank. It wasn't a puddle, just a bit damp and putting my finger on it, it felt like water. Drove to work, parked, came back to it a couple of hours later, checked again and saw a similar patch. I'm kind of assuming they were from my car, in which case, perhaps there's a small leak from the coolant bottle or a hose? I'm hoping so anyway, as I assume that would rule out the head gasket?
Having done some googling on loose oil filters, yeah, everyone does say they don't come loose, and that they generally get tighter over time. There was one case I read where an oil filter developed a hair line crack, leaking oil and eventually loosening the filter. But unless mine has a crack, I'm going to assume my mechanic was negligent (rare for him, at least, for my cars he's done) and simply didn't tighten it enough. Very annoying! I know he was not at full health just getting over a bad case of flu which had lasted weeks. I can only assume he made this mistake due to that, because it's unlike him, (in my experience anyway). In two minds now whether to use him again or just tell him at the next service to make sure everything is tight.
Having done some googling on loose oil filters, yeah, everyone does say they don't come loose, and that they generally get tighter over time. There was one case I read where an oil filter developed a hair line crack, leaking oil and eventually loosening the filter. But unless mine has a crack, I'm going to assume my mechanic was negligent (rare for him, at least, for my cars he's done) and simply didn't tighten it enough. Very annoying! I know he was not at full health just getting over a bad case of flu which had lasted weeks. I can only assume he made this mistake due to that, because it's unlike him, (in my experience anyway). In two minds now whether to use him again or just tell him at the next service to make sure everything is tight.
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No, just a regular heater motor. A few weeks ago, I had an auto electrician replace my heater motor as my mine had died. Could this be in any way connected, could he have disturbed something?
I bet if I went back to the auto electrician, he'd say my water leak has absolutely nothing to do with anything he did. Still, I will call him and at least mention it.
Rainy here, but I was intending to do that, yes.
Update: coolant leak now fixed. 
Since last posting here I've been topping the coolant up almost every day but it was starting to get critical. Water was leaking more rapidly than before and also a mild squeaking type noise had developed. Had my mechanic over on monday and I showed him the water dripping onto the road under the car. "Water pump" he immediately said and got on the phone to order one. But he left it late in the day to get to me, said it's a few hours work to get to the pump and couldn't do it till next monday. I've got to use the car a lot this week and weekend so I rang around some garages, all quoting me £400 or just over for about 4 hours work. My builder was at my place this week doing some work at my place and recommended me a garage at the top of my street run by romanians, he said they're good. So I rang them yesterday and said I really need it done asap. Their hourly rate was decent, £40ph + vat. They quoted me £299 and I got them down to £250. Left them my spare key last night, dropped the car outside their place this morning and took the train to work. Got back at 3.30pm, all done. I'd also asked them to replace my reverse light bulb and brake light bulb which they did and they didn't charge me for that. Very professional looking setup when I got to their reception, even sweets on the table. So I'm pretty happy.
Since last posting here I've been topping the coolant up almost every day but it was starting to get critical. Water was leaking more rapidly than before and also a mild squeaking type noise had developed. Had my mechanic over on monday and I showed him the water dripping onto the road under the car. "Water pump" he immediately said and got on the phone to order one. But he left it late in the day to get to me, said it's a few hours work to get to the pump and couldn't do it till next monday. I've got to use the car a lot this week and weekend so I rang around some garages, all quoting me £400 or just over for about 4 hours work. My builder was at my place this week doing some work at my place and recommended me a garage at the top of my street run by romanians, he said they're good. So I rang them yesterday and said I really need it done asap. Their hourly rate was decent, £40ph + vat. They quoted me £299 and I got them down to £250. Left them my spare key last night, dropped the car outside their place this morning and took the train to work. Got back at 3.30pm, all done. I'd also asked them to replace my reverse light bulb and brake light bulb which they did and they didn't charge me for that. Very professional looking setup when I got to their reception, even sweets on the table.
So I'm pretty happy.