add coolant warning light

[brundish24]

hi having a few problems.

when i bort my fd it had two ast caps (the ones with the spring) one was on the filler neck and one on the ast tank as i didnt know much about fds at the time i fort it was normal then two to three weeks later the add coolant light came on when i started it up turned it off then had a look under the bonnet i sore a tank on the far left with said coolant so i looked at it and on the dipstick it was over full then i look on this site to find any thing thats when i found out that there sould be one cap with a spring on the ast tank and one springless on the filler neck so i got one from my local mazda dealer fitted them correctly and it still happened so i added some diss-stilled water into the filler neck untill the ast was full i had to keep doing this every 2-3 days so i took it to my mates shop who said it needs bleeding so he done that for me and that fixed it for about two weeks now what has been happening lately is it only comes on when its cold when i start its fine then i drive half a mile down the road the it comes on so pull over quickly and turn it off wait a minute and start it up and it fine for the rest of the day thats been happening for about two weeks now but just tonight it came on as soon as i started it up turned it off and tryed again and the same thing happened so i added some diss-stilled water agian the same way as before and it was fine does it need bleeding agian or is it more i havent noticed any leeks under the when it not running the car is standed as far as i know apart from the exhaust its a automatic 1995 it has the bose stereo and sunroof and i just looked at the coolant level and it still over full please help as i dont think bleeding it every two weeks is normal nor is putting water in every 2-3 days also from cold sould the ast tank be full as mine is dry when cold.

sorry for the long story as i trying to add all the details

regards  mark

[allstaruk]

No worries,

First thing to do as it sounds like you\'ve gone down the sensible or checking all the hoses and bleeding it is to get someone to pressure test the coolant system.

I think personally I would check every singel hose, take of both AST and filler neck caps and clean them to make sure they are sealing, fill it up properly and bleed it do this from the back of the throttle body, take it for a spin you\'ll prob need to top it up again then see what happens.

If this doesn\'t cure it I\'d get it pressure checked.
A

[Crazy Eddie]

I would also check your AST cap as it almost sounds as if the coolant is going into the overflow resevoir (by drivers side headlight) but not pulling it back after.

[MillSpeed]

I second that, make sure the return valve on the underside of the AST cap is opening freely.

[brundish24]

hi thanks for the replys but does anyone think this mite have anything to do with it

[brundish24]

sorry cant post attachments is there a way i can

[strange_days_uk]

click onto "Go Advanced" button underneath the text box

should be able to upload attachments then

[MillSpeed]

Not if you\'re a non member I don\'t think. Have you got a photobucket account or suchlike? You can link to a picture by posting its URL inbetween

[brundish24]

i will try all the things at the weekend as its dark when i get home from work i will post here to let everone know how it went thanks for your help

[brundish24]

i think i need a new hose with is from the overflow ast tank the one just under the cap before i take it off what size and how long does it need to be also does it need to be a certain type of hose and where does it connet to as i found it not conneted to anything.:xconfused :confused:

[brundish24]

:chat here are the pics i was on about as you can see the hose from the ast tank has been played with would this be the problem:god

[teabagger]

Unless it\'s restricting the flow back to the AST tank, which looking at those photos it doesn\'t look to be as there is no pinching.

You could check that pipe isn\'t blocked by disconnecting it from the expansion tank (the one in the wheel arch) and from the AST and blowing through it as the pipe can get trapped. You\'d need to remove the light above expansion tank which is easy.

Champagne test the car to see if the your getting gasses leaking in from a dodgy water seal.

Other than that, pressure test it to make sure you\'ve not got an unseated hose somewhere. You could also get the coolant tested for hydrocarbons to make give another indication of whether your water seals are o.k or not.

Also, when filling the system disconnect the coolant pipe that connects to the throttle body and raise the now disconnected end of the pipe above the filler neck. This should help you get a bit more coolant into the system.

[nikp]

That looks well dodgy. I\'d get a replacement pipe if i were you. It goes from the AST overflow to the expansion tank.

[brundish24]

hi replaced the hose with a new one and attached it to the coolant tank on the far left near the head light she seems to be ok at the moe no leaks thanks for the help:cheers