16v overheating?

[mutant]

This morning on my way to work the water temp light started flashing at me, there was no buzzer though.  I pulled over at a garage and bought some coolant, filled it up, then carried on, and the light was no longer on.  Problem is, I was talking to a mate earlier and he said i filled up the wrong tank (i filled up the one in front of the battery with the blue fluid in...).  I've never had to fill up coolant before, so i was just going at it blind anyway.  The little ball shaped water reservoir was full however when i checked that (hence why i put it in the tank with hardly any fluid in).

As I've put the fluid in the wrong tank, A. is this gunna bugger anything up, and B. why was my warning light coming on for overheating?  The needle was at the bottom of the gauge, then as the light came on it started rising, i managed to get to the petrol station when the needle was about halfway on the gauge.

Any thoughts?  This hasnt happened to me before 

[turbodub]

Have just re-read your post. Middle of the gauge is normal operating temp or so people say (mine runs a bit cooler than this), if it goes above this then I would begin to worry. One thing I would check is that the water pump drivebelt is still there and fitted properly.

Sounds like you filled up the screenwash reservoir.

[mutant]

Yes, i did fill up the screenwash reservoir by mistake.  Will this cause any problems besides not cleaning my windows properly?

Mine normally runs with temp just past the halfway mark.  But this morning the warning light came on.  Why would it do this when the water level was fine?

[Agreeable Slick]

The coolant will break down the rubber on the wipers, so it's best to get that out as soon as poss.

could have come on for a number of reasons, thermostat has gone, dodgy temp sender. If you feel the water hose at the bottom of the engine when it is up to temp then it should be hot, (thermostat opens at about 86 degrees) if it isn't then you either have an air lock or need a new thermostat, easy and cheap fixes. Same with the sensor. I think it is located ontop of the oil cooler, could be wrong, as i am not completely familiar with a 8v engine lay out for sensors.

[mutant]

I think it is located ontop of the oil cooler, could be wrong, as i am not completely familiar with a 8v engine lay out for sensors.

Its a 16v...so is it on top of the oil cooler?

[Uruk Hai]

If you put anti freeze in the windscreen washer bottle I would drain it out and flush the bottle out then put fresh water or screenwash in it. As for the warning light flashing I think thats a fluid level warning so may not mean the cars running hot, you may have a faulty level sensor in the header tank and my 16V allways ran with the temp gauge just past the middle and it wasn't a problem. You can buy a thermostat that opens at a lower temp if it bothers you, C & R enterprises sell um.

[mutant]

Last time i had a car that overheated, the head gasket went soon after.  I have no money, so am trying to prevent this happening again.  I couldnt really care less how hot it runs, so long as it aint about to blow and cost me a load more money i dont have.  How can i tell whether or not the sensor is faulty?  And if its a fluid level warning, what does this mean (as the expansion tank is holding the right level of water)?

Cheers, and sorry for me being mechanically retarded 

[Uruk Hai]

Is the warning light on all the time or does it go on and off ? (I'm guessing the header tanks topped up to the correct level) You can check the sensor by taking the plug off and I think the light should come on, then connect the two pins on the plug with a piece of wire and the light should go out. If it works O.K when you test it then it could be the sensor's had it, if its no different when you test it then its time to investigate further.

P.S. Am I rite in thinking that the sensor on the valver's is the one that screws into the top and middle of
       the header tank ?

[NewStu]

The light you see flashing is a coolant level light which is there to tell you when your coolant is low. If your level is fine then i would not worry about it. Mine does it all the time and so far ive changed the sensor and the whole tank for a new round one with a built in sensor. It still does it so im guessing its a fault with either the wiring or the clocks. For now im just going to ignore it.

[mutant]

Is the warning light on all the time or does it go on and off ? (I'm guessing the header tanks topped up to the correct level)

It's happened once, which was this morning.  I had a slight accident the other week (only damaged my already smashed bumper, and it was nothing serious), im wondering if this is just coincidence.

Whats worrying me is that before the light came on the temp was right at the bottom (its only a 10 mile drive to work and i wasnt beating it), and when the light came on the needle rose to just past halfway in under a minute.  The level in the header tank is fine, although i should state that ive only ever topped this up with water, not with coolant (root of the problem?).  Fan still kicks in when it gets hot.  Wondering why the buzzer didnt come on along with the light though?