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Old 03-11-2014, 08:07 PM   #19 (permalink)
2000mc
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Mechanic View Post
Lots of cars already have a low coolant warning sensor, in many cases it is a float in the overflow bottle.
Also used to indicate low brake fluid levels in the master cylinder reservoir.

I actually thought this was a great idea but after reading the responses here you would think I am either an idiot or a thief.

Maybe it's the other way around. Maybe some here are regularly adding coolant to their systems like their car was powered by a steam engine, instead of fixing the problem.

In 40,000 miles I have never added coolant to my wifes car or to my car, or even to my17 year old truck.

Any sensor configuration would also be capable of informing the operator of any initial low coolant situation DUH! That's not even a legitimate concern unless you operate a vehicle that is constantly loosing coolant. I can smell blown head gaskets following cars down the road.
maybe some here are repairing their vehicle too regularly...if thats a thing...in the last 40k mi i guess i just havent had as good of luck, replaced a water pump a couple yrs ago, radiator about a yr ago, then 6mo or so after the radiator the petcock on the radiator inexplicably decided to back it self out a bit and start leaking. 2 of the 3 times i noticed coolant on the ground before the low coolant light was tripped (another benefit of backing into your parking spots).
the float system would work great under normal conditions, just would need some sort of fail safe. (open grill at some high temp threshold regardless of coolant level)
the float for the grill blocking system seems that it would be set higher than the low coolant sensor, leaving a narrow zone where when you start to lose coolant, but before the low coolant light was on, where the grill would remain closed.
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