Is it safe to drive with the coolant light on if the temperature gauge is in the safety zone ?

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car is a 1.9 cdti 120 bhp Vauxhall vectra Exclusiv.

I drove about 10 minutes for about 3 minutes to get my car home it is leaking from one of the four bolts on the front coolant pipe on 1.9 cdti 129 bhp engine . This happened after I replaced the pipe so might need new gasket or seal the gasket down again .
I topped the water up as I was setting off and I left the cap off , the temperature gauge was right at the bottom ( takes about 10 miles on these engine for the temp gauge to move ) but during the journey home the temperature didn't move it stayed in the safety zone but the coolant light was on .

The coolant bottle was obvioulsy empty by the time I got home and the bottom of the bottle looked a bit bubbly/frothy.

Thanks
 
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Not really, seems you got away with it this time, but prolonged running of an engine without adequate cooling can cause all sorts of problems.

I'm not gonna mention anything about your specific car, I'm sure others will.
 
Not really, seems you got away with it this time, but prolonged running of an engine without adequate cooling can cause all sorts of problems.

I'm not gonna mention anything about your specific car, I'm sure others will.

Thanks for that information. So basically even if the cooling light is on, so long as the car is not showing as overheating i.e. the temp gaue not being in the red or danger zone then do dmanage will occur ? thanks
 
Thanks for that information. So basically even if the cooling light is on, so long as the car is not showing as overheating i.e. the temp gaue not being in the red or danger zone then do dmanage will occur ? thanks

Well, it sort of depends on how fast the leak is / how far away from home / your destination is. Once the coolant is below a certain level the engine will rapidly overheat.
 
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Well, it sort of depends on how fast the leak is / how far away from home / your destination is. Once the coolant is below a certain level the engine will rapidly overheat.

That's what I'm asking, if the temperature gauge stays in the safe zone it's ok to drive it even if the low coolant light is on ?

Ty
 
The light should go out once the coolant bottle is filled - check that it does this.
By the time the temperature gauge reads low, the coolant is probably gone.....keep it topped up at all times.
You risk head gasket failure here - aluminium cylinder heads take no prisoners!
John :)
 
Allow me to add to this one.....
If the coolant level drops, usually the heater stops working first - easy enough to spot in November!
The temperature gauge - if fitted- relies on the sensor being immersed in coolant. If there’s no coolant the gauge drops to cold, and it could be too late by then to save the cylinder head gasket.
John :)
 
The cap allows the system to pressurise raising the boiling point so you need the cap on.
 
Allow me to add to this one.....
If the coolant level drops, usually the heater stops working first - easy enough to spot in November!
The temperature gauge - if fitted- relies on the sensor being immersed in coolant. If there’s no coolant the gauge drops to cold, and it could be too late by then to save the cylinder head gasket.
John :)

Hi John..

The gasket on th
Allow me to add to this one.....
If the coolant level drops, usually the heater stops working first - easy enough to spot in November!
The temperature gauge - if fitted- relies on the sensor being immersed in coolant. If there’s no coolant the gauge drops to cold, and it could be too late by then to save the cylinder head gasket.
John :)

Hi John...


I had to dirve it 3 miles or so to finally get it home this morning. Took about 10 minutes. It was leaking from the small pipe gasket which I later sorted by sealing it down.

It was leaking as soon as I put water in it so I got straight in the car and went straight home in it always checking the temperature gauge which showed cold all the time.
these cars take about 10 miles for the temperature gauge to move even a little bit.

When I got home and sealed the pipe gasket and put everything together I ran the car at idle for about 15 minutes heaters on full and the cap off the radiator and the level barely dropped.
I then took it for a 20 minute drive tonight and just as I was nearing home the coolant light came on and I checked and the bottle was empty. IS this anything to be concerned about ro possibly just air lock ?

thanks




1
 
I then took it for a 20 minute drive tonight and just as I was nearing home the coolant light came on and I checked and the bottle was empty. IS this anything to be concerned about ro possibly just air lock ?
Why would an air lock cause a loss of water?

Sounds like you have leak somewhere... it's likely a hose or the cylinder head gasket.
 
Why would an air lock cause a loss of water?

Sounds like you have leak somewhere... it's likely a hose or the cylinder head gasket.

because they say with air leak to put heaters on hot and ''top up '' the coolant accordingly while bleeding the system
 
because they say with air leak to put heaters on hot and ''top up '' the coolant accordingly while bleeding the system
Yes to expel the trapped air not water. The point is to replace the trapped air with water.... not to remove water.
 
Yes to expel the trapped air not water. The point is to replace the trapped air with water.... not to remove water.

when I drove my car home this morning the 3 miles although it was leaking water it was still showed cold on the thermostat gauge so I assume it didnt overheat ? is this correct ?
 
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