Huh.

[camwyn]

Popped the hood on my car today. Couldn't get the overflow tank on the radiator open, but I could make out the level of the fluid through the side. It's not full up all the way but it's well over half full. I couldn't find the top to the radiator itself, but I have it on good authority that if there is appreciable fluid in the overflow tank, then there is fluid aplenty in the radiator - hence the name 'overflow tank'. Since the last time the light came on the temperature was in the bottom 1/4 of the needle's range, I'm guessing - only guessing - that I am dealing more with a faulty sensor than a genuine radiator problem. I shall drive home tonight and see if the light comes on again. If it does, to Jiffy Lube we go. If it does not, then on Monday I will drive to work via a different route and see if the light comes on at all. For now I shall wait.

On another note, God bless the United States Postal Service! I got to my PO box today - I couldn't yesterday, between the meeting in the morning and the DMV stuff in the afternoon - and lo and behold, my three latest Netflix arrivals were there. That's Postman Fights Back, Hong Kong 1941, and The Heroic Trio. And so was the collection of Feng Shui books I won on eBay. w00t!!!

Oh, hush. Both Blackadder Back and Forth and The Emperor's New Groove are in my queue for the next set of movies. I'm perfectly capable of watching and enjoying European and American stuff, thanks.

Comments

[temporal-tech.livejournal.com]

i had some sort of temperature gauge go out on my car. the overfill bin would overflow, and the radiator would be dry. apparently the gauge allows the fluid to pass through, and with it broken, it wasn't doing its job. just a thought, and to tell you to take it in anyway. :)

Re:

[camwyn]

Huh. Well, like I said, I need a tuneup soon anyway... I'll have someone have a look at it. Did your light blink on and off when this happened, or come on and stay on, or not come on at all, or what?

[temporal-tech.livejournal.com]

The way it worked was the light wouldn't come on until I'd been driving it for awhile. Then, if I let it sit for 8 hours while I was at work, it was fine for awhile when I started it up again. Unfortunately, an emergancy trip out of town caused it to start overheating half way between here and there, since it wasn't getting the "sit" time.

This car only had dummy lights, so I never was able to check the level of temperature, just stop and hope that I wasn't doing any serious damage.

Re:

[camwyn]

My car had the light blink on - and I do mean blink, it flashed on and off for about twenty seconds - about 20-25 minutes into my drive to the office. The drive home, same length of time, did not feature any such blinking. The light came on at the same spot on the route into work this morning, but blinked off again, and has not appeared at any other time - even at the inspection station. A friend of mine has expressed a belief that the radiator neck may be cracked, which should be picked up at a tune-up.

*eyes vacation money*

Oy. Well, I'll drive it as little as possible until I can afford the tune-up.

more free info than you asked for.

[temporal-tech.livejournal.com]

blinking? now that *is* odd.

if there's some sort of a crack in the radiator causing it, you can buy radiator sealant that will close it back up. have you noticed any green liquid under your car? if not, you're probably not leaking. and, if you're not leaking, it may just be a faulty gauge.

you might check to see if you can see radiator fluid in the car's radiator. there should be a cap in the very front of the car saying something to the effect of "do not open when hot, contents under pressure". take its advice, and open it from a cold stand still. you usually have to push and twist, cause they're a pain to open. but, just looking in you should be able to see green fluid. if not, then you're losing the fluid somewhere.

Re: more free info than you asked for.

[camwyn]

We got the overflow tank open. Dad says it's pretty nearly full, but the fluid doesn't look all that greenish at the moment. He says I should keep driving the car, get it tuned up next week, and let him know if the light comes on again. I didn't see anything that looked like a radiator cap, to be honest, and I'm not sure Dad did either... we'll see tomorrow, I guess.