Just got back from leaving her at Pettit yesterday, got some new plugs (mine were shot.. >.>), some nicely heavy 20w50, and topping off all liquids..

Sadly my coolant light still flashes on for a second when accelerating hard and keeping it in the high RPM ranges for a little while.

Now I did a little search and it seems it's to do with the overflow tank, and it can either be replaced, or ignored, as it's a common thing to go bad.

Just seems a bit lame to me though that it's already going bad at 18k miles with exactly a year of use..

Should I just forget about it and get a temp gauge?

 

Relatively common. Having a proper coolant temp. gauge (as do I now in my Racing Beat pod) is a nice addition.

You go to Pettit just for sparkplug and oil changes? How decadent.

 

The coolant light itself is kind of lame. It just checks the level in the tank. Since the tank is translucent, it's not a big deal to look at it every now and then and see what the level is.

Ken

 

I don't see anything wrong with that, I don't have the time, tools, or knowledge to do the stuff myself, so I bring it to guys I can trust and know a lot more about the car than I do.

Would you suggest taking it to the dealership?


Yea that's what I figured, just annoying to have it go off, bleh.

I should be able to get it fixed under warranty though, no? I still have bumper to bumper and all

 

All in good fun. I would go to Pettit too if I lived so close by. But then it would probably be more for their supercharger.

 

Yea, that's coming soon, I've got my eyes on it, still gathering the money, ETA 4 months

 

Yep - as long as it's on when you bring it in, or they take your word for the behavior.

I've only had one brief incident of a false lighting. If it fails under B-to-B, I'll have Mazda replace it. If it fails afterwards, I'll just pull the plug.

The icon itself is pretty cool, though. Looks like a Rolls Royce grill. Next time someone clueless asks what it is, I think I'll tell them they're out of Grey Poupon.

Ken

 

Ah.. crap.. well that's not going to happen because they're always complete dicks to me and whenever I had to show them something and let it rev past 4,000RPMs they'd say I'm driving improperly and thus they can't take what I'm showing them as a problem.

Meh. Guess I'll live with it then.

 

For your upcoming s/c install (I officially hate you now you'll want a full complement of guages anyway.

 

Do a search. You'll find coolant bottles to be unreliable. I had mine replaced under warranty.

 

That's such BS. you should ask them why the tach goes past 4k if it's not how it's supposed to be driven...

 

I did, read the first post correctly

Meh, it's a lost cause with them. They were the same ones who blatantly refused to accept my transmission was broken after driving it for 50miles and having 3rd & 6th grind like hell, took months to get that stuff sorted.

So for a silly overflow bottle that will most likely break again, and take a month or so to get them to fix it, I think it's better I just get a proper gauge and call it a day.

 

It sounds like you need a new dealership...

 

It's the only one within 50 miles.. so I'd rather go with Pettit, plus the guys there are really cool, and the shop is just awesome to walk around in hehe..

They're also right down the street from me.

 

^+1

Though most dealerships suck the big one there is usually at least ONE with a good rep regarding service issues in any given area. You may have to drive a little out of your way but its damn worth it if its something major or, in your case, issues you cant do yourself. Just ask around in the FL section and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

You really should just hit up a tool store and buy yourself a universal tool set (pretty cheap) that will have pretty much everything you will need for simple servicing like oil changes and plug changing. I use to do it in my apt complex parking lot. Hell, if ur really pinchin pennies u can just use the lil jack that came wit the car and by a couple cheap, small jack stands. There is something very gratifying about doing your own simple maintenance, you should try it. The DIY section is the ****, check it out Just some suggestions...

 

Well, the problem isn't really tools/money, but time

 

Took her back to Pettit, gave me a bottle of Water Wetter to put in the coolant, so we'll see

 

The Water Wetter is not going to fix your Coolant Light. Furst let the car sit overnight and see where the coolant level is. Make sure its at Full or Just above. If it is below the full mark add more coolant or water or water wetter. If the coolant light still comes on after confirming the coolant level the sensor is bad. Either replace the oem coolant tank or disconnect the sensor.

 

That won't work for long. It is the sensor, and will get progressively worse over time on higher rev'ing. I just changed mine out at 22k miles as it was just pissing me off! The new tank was $130.00 from Mazmart if I recall. I took apart the old one and you can get the sensor out of the bottle, but they won't just sell a new sensor and the small harness so that's why you have to buy the whole bottle.
I have gauges and use them, but I still wanted to just get it fixed.

 

Had your exact same problem in my 2006 Shinka. Brought it in and they replaced the "Coolant subtank" under warranty. Haven't had a coolant light come on since.

 

Actually, the water wetter has taken care of it..

 

Excellent ..... but beware those folks here that feel Water Wetter is Pure Evil.

 

Then your coolant must have been low

 

It was full, they filled it to the brim, and when I picked up the car, I looked, it was full.

Even when full, it gave me the light, then I added the water wetter, and I haven't seen it again.

 

So the problem must have been that the sensor had dried out.

Ken