how do you get to the sensor to unplug it/

 

I just experienced a very similar occurrence. I have NOT even disconnected the connector yet though. All I did was unclip it from the bottle. Drove 11 miles to work this morning 5-8K RPM never saw the light. I think maybe the contacts in that connector are fouled. Battery fumes corroding it?

 

On driving Home it was warmer out, and the light returned. On arriving home I took a long artist's brush and stirred and swished the bottle contents near the sensor. Took it out and drove to a 2209 foot summit at between 6K-8K... never saw the light on.
Came in to work today, never saw the light on. Will continue testing and report back.
My contacts theory was wrong. Since the light only comes on with reed switch closure, the contacts could be faulty, and you would still never see the light on.

 

My light was coming on and off for a couple of weeks level looks fine and then finally it just stayed on all the time,,,level still looks fine,,I unplugged the sensor from the coolant bottle but keep checking my levels still everything looks fine,,but....I'm hearing a noise when I first start the car sounds like a belt making a screeching noise but then goes away anyone know what this noise is??

 

It would always be a BAD IDEA to disconnect the coolant level sensor. Even if you check the level every time before you drive the car, **** happens, and a blown engine is more expensive than fixing the coolant level sensor issue.


I have put several hundred miles on the car since I swished, and stirred the coolant bottle contents near the sensor. NO LIGHT coming on at any RPM!


My new theory is that the flow through the coolant bottle is higher at high RPM, and pushes down the float, it sticks in contaminated coolant left on the shaft of the float, until the flow of coolant is reduced, and then it pops back up. Will report back if it sticks again!

 

Yeah I mean how did we ever do it on millions of cars over the years without a coolant level sensor, oil level sensor, etc? Or do you wait for the oil level sensor light to come on too before you add oil?

FWIW I have a visual site on my reservoir for engine coolant and for turbo coolant and I have survived.

 

Not sure if you are aware but this is an option as well!

 

Would you agree overheating a rotary engine is more likely to result in more damage than a piston engine?

 

No I wouldn't, plenty of piston engines suffer from overheating issues due to poor design and plenty of Renesis guys that track their cars have exceeded the factory temp limit many times and didn't suffer any immediate damage. I had my belt break during a 300 mile trip thru the canyons in 100F weather and the temp gauge pegged until I could pull off the road. That engine lasted another 40,000 miles.

It all depends on what degree the engine was overheated too. And for me, my faulty coolant seal (30,000 mile reman) was due to being damaged upon assembly at the Mazda reman plant. Plenty builders have see that same issue before.

But none of that matters because there is no reason you should not be able to check your coolant when you are checking your oil. And a gauge isn't going to save you when a hose fails or the nipple cracks on the top of the radiator. When that happens you will know right away. Preventive maintenance is key.

 

I still wouldn't do it.
Risk is still not worth it considering it can be fixed for about $150.

 

For people the don't look after there cars ........... I think definitely . For those of us that are under the bonnet on a regular basis , actually physically checking the level regularly is IMO less risk than relying on a sensor.

 

My point has been that veteran members shouldn't advise new members to defeat this coolant warning light or any warning light.
I thinks it's bad advice.
It keeps coming up, and people keep saying it's no big deal.

I give up.

 

Yeah, well I drive a turbo RX-8, I like to live dangerously

 

I would say that if someone is such a noob that they need to rely on a light to tell them that their coolant is low, then that same person replacing the coolant tank would be a much more serious risk since 9 times out of 10 they will end up braking the nipple on the radiator and then have to replace the radiator, coolant, hoses, etc.

 

My sole argument is not 'relying' on the light, but having it operable should a piece of debris or some other major failure occur while driving.
Particularly at highway speed when usual overheating symptoms wouldn't be so obvious.
It's a warning light, not a "Hey idiot, you haven't checked your coolant in a year" light.

 

Eh, if your cooling systems fails at speed you are going to know about almost immediately. If you had a slight crack or something like that, then the light may help. But usually the smell of coolant will tip you off as well. But yeah having the light is fine, I just agree that it's important. I was more interested in replacing my stock reservoir just because I hated the look of the that yellow eye sore.

 

Try a digital or even a analog gauge and by pass the stock idiot light . I am under my hood a lot but i still installed a digital gauge. I agree the idiot light is just that and it offered me little confidence , hence the digital gauge and a double core aluminum radiator.

 

Can anyone explain why I cannot see images like this one that I really want to look at ?

 

Brother! Your car look nutin like my car. What you do?? Thats awesome!

 

That's 9krpmrx8's setup.

 

sure is different. beats my stock look any day!!!

 

My older Mazda didn't have such a sensor or light at all. When I check the oil level, I rather take a quick 3 second look at the bottle instead of staring at that red light permanently, so I disconnected it.

Besides that, when will we finally get cars which can say "*ping, ping* Low oil level" or "ping ping, coolant temperature too high". Guess not in the near future. We already have OBD2 apps, it just takes an author of an app to implement this which is nothing but an IF THIS THEN THAT function.

 

Still.

 

I didn't read the entire thread so if this is duplicated - sorry. I saw a Youtube video of a guy who took his coolant tank put some (no kidding) dish washing soap and hot water into it and just shook it for a while. The float worked fine after that. There is also a Video from a guy who hates that ugly yellow color that the tanks all turn to and he did a variety of things with Bleach and rice (The rice scratched off the "crust" Anyway it seems like too much effort to me but I admit the results were close to looking new when he was done. The amount of time he took was... Pretty loony I thought. I do think I'll give that dish washing soap hot water thing a try.

 

Sounds interesting, thanks for the tip.