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Low coolant sensor


sleepy34

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My low coolant light is on in the dash. Coolant level is fine . Does sensor need to be changed ? If so how and where is it located?? 1994 cutlass 3.4l. tks.

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these seem to fail a lot, so i wouldn't be surprised if it is dead, might get lucky and find an unplugged connector though. some have luck with cleaning them as well, but i would just replace it if i pulled one off.

 

you'll find it on the passenger side of the radiator, a little under the filler neck, probably be a box shape.

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It's on the right (passenger) side of the radiator on the "Tank" portion of it. I'd put more money on a corroded pin or wire that wiggled apart. It should be a yellow wire with a black tracer and a ground. The sensor presses into a grommet of sorts, and they used the same on many GM cars from our era so buying a new one if it's bad would be silly, there's a bunch of them at every wrecking yard.

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On my 96 Regal unplugging the coolant level sensor makes the low coolant dash light go out.

 

The sensor has a single copper sensing post that looks like it is plated with nickel.

When the sensor is covered with coolant it sees a ground path through the coolant and keeps the low coolant light off. When the coolant drops below the copper post it loses its ground path and causes the low coolant light to come on.

When the coolant gets old and corrosive it eats the plating off the copper post and the copper post becomes coated with green corrosion and the low coolant light turns on.

If you put a new sensor in without replacing the old corrosive coolant the new sensor wont last long before the protective plating is eaten of the copper and the post turns green again.

.

These sensors also have a high electronic failure rate with or without the corroded copper post so if you go to the salvage yard pick up several.

I can test a sensor by plugging it in and connecting a jumper wire from the copper post on the sensor to chassis ground and turning the ignition switch to run. So far 50% of the salvage yard sensors have tested bad.

 

The sensor has a wire retainer clip that holds it in the radiator. You need to unhook the wire clip from the sensor and remove it before removing the sensor.

Be careful prying the sensor out of the side of the radiator or you will crack the plastic radiator.

The sensor has two rubber o-rings around the neck that plugs into the radiator. The two o-rings need to be lubed with spark plug boot grease or white grease before attempting to push it into the radiator hole.

 

Good luck.

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