Club 80-90 Forums

temperature gauge lights up red after a couple of miles to say that the engine is overheating even though there is coolant in the expansion tank and the refill tank.could this problem also be linked to the auto transmission jamming in drive after a certain amount of miles if the coolant isn't cooling the transmission?

I doubt it.. if its only after a few miles..

poor earth, poor connections, faulty temp sender, faulty level sender... the flasshing light can mean high temps (not after a few miles unless big engine problem and the coolant is being thrown out) or low coolant level.. Its common for a dirty/poor connection to cause false readings.. vheck and clean up connections...

A haynes manual will help a lot when diagnosing problems...

Hi there,
this is my first post and I have an identical problem. We replaced the engine in the summer and now can't go more than a couple of miles without the tenp light flashing.Our mechanic assures us that the engine is not overheating, but it is still disconcerting - what if it does overheat? how will I know? he reckoned that it was a faulty temp gauge an suggested fitting a replacement. I was hoping for more info from anyone else who has had the same problem.
let me know if you get a fix on it,
Cheers
RR

It could be airlocking. put your hand on the radiator if its cold and the engine is hot you have air in the system.

or there again is the needle up above its normal level? if the guage is not up and the light is flashing I'd believe the guage. If both... think about pulling over.

Hi - dont want to hijack your thread but something similar happened to me recently. I was out for a run and the temp gauge went up to the top, light started to flash - so I pulled over. Took the cap off the tank and coolant came flooding out. So i put it back on and as a I drove away the light went off and the gauge went back down to the middle. The coolant was recently changed - could this just be air in the system?

Cheers
Robin.