Osmosis

I have put just over 1K on my Audi. Today on my way to work I heard a loud BEEP 3 times. My car was not overheating and through the torque program, my coolant temp was 99deg C yet my dummy light showed 59deg C. My coolant is just at the minimum level & it has always read right were it was at on the overflow bottle. I have searched and found that some have just needed to add a little coolant to fix the problem as the level was a tad low to start with. I'm concerned that I may be loosing coolant. Any thoughts? When I first purchased the audi, the car was overheating and the thermostat & overflow bottle were replaced. The car runs fantastic, but now I have this loud BEEP every so often.


My 2000 Audi A6 2.7t has a few simple codes. The combi valves are throwing codes and the Oxygen sensors, both R and L bank o2 sensor 1 are showing high resistance. I plan on replacing the o2 sensors and cleaning the combi valves soon.

thall6594

Any visible leaks? Is there smoke or a sweet smell on startup?

Osmosis

Sorry, I forgot that info. No visible leaks but once in a while I do smell coolant but no visible leaks and the coolant level on the overflow tank has always been right at the minimum coolant level. I plan to add 6oz of cool and and keep an eye on it. I'm gonna look.for leaks next week....close inspection. I did look and found nothing.

jseklund

Have you checked the connector at the bottom of the tank? If there is plenty of coolant in the reservoir, and you are getting that light, then it is a sensor issue. You may still have a leak, but the coolant has to get pretty low in my experience before that light comes on. I am assuming it is the FLASHING red coolant light.

The sensor is in the bottom of the reservoir. The plug could have come off. If it is on, it may be worth disconnecting it and peeling back the rubber boot and inspecting the wiring as closely as possible for any brakes. You can also take a paper clip or wire between the two connectors and see if the light goes away (it should be on once it is disconnected) and the car started.

If the wiring is fine, and you have coolant in the reservoir, your sensor is probably bad and it is time for a new reservoir.

Osmosis

The only warning light I got was the one in the information center in the center of the two large gauges (SPEED and RPM) where we get the yellow OK light. It displayed a yellow coolant overflow type picture and a loud BEEP. I just got some G12 coolant and put 6 oz in there so I'll be keeping an eye on things. My coolant level was exactly at the minimum level on the overflow bottle.

BTW, thank you for your help!

CRuby

The wiring & the connector for the coolant level sensor, located at the bottom of the coolant reservoir, was brittle & cracked on my car. The connector was broken by prior owners & would periodically just fall off the sensor, triggering the low coolant warning. You can remove the 3 screws that support the reservoir, & unplug the connector below. No need to drain any coolant to do this. Check your connector & wires for cracking or missing pieces. Be gentle on the plastic connector when removing...don't want to break it. If you don't already know it, there are tricks to removing these connectors. Push connector on slightly 1st, then push on clip release & pull off.

Osmosis

Can I just pull the connector off to remedy the dinging? ,the coolant overflow and sensors replaced 2 months ago. I'm not loosing coolant, not overheating and no smells or any smoke out the exhaust

Osmosis

I suspect it's a malfunction of the dummy light. I have no leaks or other symptoms. I added a little coolant just incase it was low...it was not

Not exactly sure what your saying here; You can also take a paper clip or wire between the two connectors and see if the light goes away (it should be on once it is disconnected) and the car started.

Put a wire/paper clip between the connector and where the connector attaches to? OR jump from one side of the connector to the other side of the connector?

Thank you

Osmosis

OK, I just pulled the plug to the overflow tank and I put a test light to the connector.

With Key on Engine Off I have no power to either connection. Is there a fuse to this switch? Is so..Where???

Also, I busted the plastic tube that goes to the drivers side conbi valve What should I use to replace the frail plastic tubing that connects to the combi valve? My car is throwing the code that says the combi valve is not working anyway. I did a quick fix with some rubber hose and electrical tape so its sealed for now -

IS there any way I can get my car from Beeping

I also pulled the plug from the overflow tank. When I did that, the info center started to warn me that the car was overheating.
Then I jumped the plug with a wire. The overheating warning stopped, but I still had the yellow overflow tank warning light on. HOW do I rid myself of this BEEP???
Thanks again for the help

Osmosis

OK, jumping the plug with a wire keeps the yellow overflow warning light on, but the beep is STILL THERE, just not as frequent as before I pulled the plug and jumped the connector.

NOW, how do I troubble shoot this problem so it's gone?