water gauge flashing red... helllllp :-)

[jogibbo]

i left st malo on saturday 11am and was driving for 5 hours at 110KPH..no problemo...

got up next morning and EVERYthing was iced up, i started the engine to get it warmed up and scraped the ice off the van and then set off, anyhows 20 minutes on the motorway and the red light above the clock (temperature gauge) starts flashing so i pull over and take the back off and take a look at the engine and its all hot and steamy... i wait 20 minutes to let it cool down and then take the top off the water tank (the orange one with the black top and little tube attached to it)... and its like 3/4 full?...so i leave it and set off back on the motorway.. this time im taking it easy.. like 90KPH
anyhow after an hour it starts again .. so i pull over and this time i put more water in , upto the top... and this seemed to have cured it.. no red light ... i stop in Biarritz overnight and next day after 3 hours of driving the red light starts flashing again this time the gauge is moving towards the empty mark.. so i think.. im not taking any chances and i head to a garage....
when i get there i step out of the van and to my amazement there is steam and hissing noice coming from the engine plus water is gushing out from underneath... with a purple tinge to it!
any thoughts on this?? x x

[Pepperami]

It does sound suspiciously like the water pump.

[Mocki]

ok, not sure how much you know, so ill assume nothing.
Also it would help if we knew which engine you have


the flashing red light has two functions,
1.overtemp - will flash when the engine temp is dangerously high - the temp gauge will be at the top(hot) end also
2. Low coolant level - when the coolant level is too low in the header tank the light will flash.

sounds to me like you had option 2 the first time.

The header tank is the one in the engine bay only accessed by taking the hatch lid off- and should be full to the brim always. The top up tank is behind the numberplate hatch, and should be full to the max level when cold.The header tank expells coolant into the top up tank when the engine temp is hot, the coolant expands and moves into the top up tank, and when the engine cools the coolant contracts, and the header tank sucks the coolant back from the top up tank.

If you had not enough coolant and the light warned you of low coolant, and you didnt top it up, you may well have a airlock in the system, causing the temp gauge ( and the heater) to fluctuate between normal , hot and cool and air bubbles will make it boil at a lower temp than it should.

sounds to me that you had low coolant ( for what ever reason) and then a airlock, causing it to overheat.

it needs topping up and bleeding.
See the wiki at the top of the page for details

[toolsntat]

Sorry for jumping in here but does this happen when running or when ignition turned on pre-starting

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2. Low coolant level - when the coolant level is too low in the header tank the light will flash.
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As just run mine up to temp and it flashed before starting!!

[1664]

It flashes when you turn the ignition on but should go out once you've started the engine

[R0B]

you say you have a black cap on your expansion bottle.this could well be knacked.try replacing it.also check the water level sensor thats screwed into the bottle as these can crack with age.both will allow water to escape under pressure....