coolant light

I have a 96 sunfire. Had to replace water pump. coolant is full,but the coolant light is still on. My boyfriend use the green coolant instead of the orange, this may sound stupid but could that be the problem with the light not going off?

no thats not the problem. Your problem is the level sensor has a trapped air bubble on it. Just gently tap the side of the coolant jug with a screwdriver handle and it should go out.

no thats not the problem. Your problem is the level sensor has a trapped air bubble on it. Just gently tap the side of the coolant jug with a screwdriver handle and it should go out.


That may not be the problem, but it happened on my 97 Pontiac Montana Van and I put water in it first because I was on the road.
It went off a few miles then came back on. I finally got to stop at a Wal-Mart and bought some DEX Cool, and added it half and half with water, filling it up, and the light went off and has not come back on since. When it says coolant, it means DEX Cool, not just water alone.

You MUST use DEX Coolent in this car.

Trust Me.

I have a 96 sunfire, have 300,000 KMS on it. And i don't use dex coolant at all, i use the green stuff. You have to use dexecool to get the 5 year warranty on your cooling system, but if your car is over 5 years old that warranty is gone. My GM mechanic tells me the green stuff is just fine!

if you keep having problems with the light take out the tank and shake it upside down a few times. whatever you do don't mix the green stuff with dex-cool

You MUST use DEX Coolent in this car.

Trust Me.
Your full of S*#$

I have a 96 sunfire and well I have the same problem sometimes.I always thought I was low on coolant but I never was. I shook the jug a few times and it went out then came back on.. You dont have to take the jug out to shake it either..I finally tried something else.... If you still have this problem unhook the plug from the bottom of the jug and dry it out. Sometimes water gets in mine and the sensor dont read right. hope this helps.

I have a 96 sunfire. Had to replace water pump. coolant is full,but the coolant light is still on. My boyfriend use the green coolant instead of the orange, this may sound stupid but could that be the problem with the light not going off?

My light comes on every now and then too. I've been told that's because the sensor for the coolant level is in the overflow container not the radiator. So to make it go off, my suggestion is to just check your overflow tank every now and then.

I have the same problem with my 98. Had the water pump replaced and the light comes on and off.

That's not your problem, i'm not quite sure what it is, but you have to use the dex cool (orange coolant) or else you will run into problems down the road. If the orange and green coolant get mixed in with each other it cause a reaction and your coolant can turn into a jello like substance, which will cause you trouble.

Another thing about the coolant light....I was also told my water pump was leaking and I would need a new one. I took it somewhere else, the mechanic researched the problem (after pressurizing the cooling system and finding NO leaks) and found that this is a common problem in Pontiac Sunfires. The GM bandaid...a coolant collector. Apparently it goes around the water pump area and simply collects any coolant that weeps out. And it keeps the coolant light from going on. Cost me about 75 bucks total and I rarely have the light go on anymore. When I do, I just add a little Dex-cool to the overflow tank.

Ok for the issue about using Dex coolant or normal car antifreeze, It does not matter people, In fact I find the normal car antifreeze works better (green stuff ;)

If you ask me, I have tried both the Dex (orange antifreeze) and just the regular stuff, and my car runs hotter when you use the orange stuff.

This is a F*#@&$ post. If you people would just pay attention and listen then you might learn something. If you can't figure this out then DON'T work on your car. You don't need dexcool its just extended life coolant meaning it lasts longer, not that its different. Both dexcool and "green" coolant cool the engine the same its just dexcool requires less maitenance. I better not tell you guys that ford is now using a yellow coolant you might panic. Neway there are two options there probably is air in the sensor like was first said. It's very common. Or it is possible that your collant reservoir itself is out of place, the merely clip on the side. Also if your coolant light is coming on while you are driving chances are your coolant is a little low and when you turn or accelerate the coolant sloshes causing the light to come on which can also airlock the sensor. Or again your coolant tank is out of place and is bouncing around in there. Okay i'm done my rant, sorry lol

I was just stating what I found worked best before I had a heating issue with my car. I changed out the thermostat and junked out that old Orange antifreeze, all over my garage floor that was nice ;) I then flushed with regular antifreeze and now I found it runs better then before, it is running cooler then ever before, even when I bought it new. I did purchase a special type of thermostat which locks itself open when reaches a certain temp. I was happy to see flushing the system and changing the thermostat made that big of a difference.

Don't use DEX its crap seriously