Coolant Level Sensor woes

[americanjebus]

Ok background. I was driving back from a 350 mile trip with ~ 100 miles left. I go to overtake a motor home and having an a340e it down shifts and i go from 2, to 5k rpm almost instantly, pressure builds up and 90 degree coolant hose underneath the power steering reservoir just explodes. All coolant gone I notice my bird cage turn on so I pull over and fix it with spare hose. Re fill with water and drive home.

Problem. After this coolant loss the coolant light will not go away no matter how full the overflow is. I got home and flushed the entire system, pulled the coolant reservoir out of the car and washed it out thoroughly. I filled the little tank with clear water to see if the little floater would come up to top or not. Nothing just sits at the bottom still. Are the floaters supposed to go to the top or just not make contact with the bottom?

How can the little floater in the tank just suddenly lose its buoyancy? It had some light brown crud on it so i washed that out carefully but wtf. If i just buy the floating sensor i'll probably destroy the reservoir changing it out.

This happen to anyone?, the fukin bird light is really getting annoying and I dont want to drive the car not knowing how much coolant I have.

 

[WhtMa71]

Mine was stuck to the bottom since the guy i bought it from had it sitting forever with not water in the tank. I had to gently pry it up with a screw driver and now it floats fine.

 

[americanjebus]

Well mine is all clean, I can turn the tank upside down and it'll move around, I spent some time shaking the tank up and down with the floater bouncing back and forth to knock off any grime but the SOAB still doesnt float.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Cracked floater? :dunno: You could take it out and inspect it for leaks/cracks. All else fails, maybe replace it with a ping pong ball.

 

[suprabad]

Get a new tank assembly and save yourself from screwing around with it.

I think they're around $70.00. I'm sure there are plenty of guys with parts cars who would sell you a working one.

 

[Kckazdude]

I have one that I am working on that is doing the same thing. Floater moves fine but will not float when water is added. Owner of the car will order one next month or so before he drives it.