Coolant light came on

[tnbclark]

Hi any help would be appreciated. I bought my intrigue 60K miles ago. I have not had any problems till now. My light came on, and my husband opened the radiator to see if what it looked like and it (the cap and hoses) were covered and clogged with what appeared to be mud/corrosion. He then started checking all the hoses right there at radiator, and they were completly blocked with this junk also. Has anyone heard of this and what is it what causes it. I bought this car used, it was a rental for 23K miles before I bought it. We cleaned what we were able to get to, hoses, cap, and holes. We have never added anything to the radiator. Thanks in advance for any help.....

[illinoiswronski]

what year car?
what enginer?
is the coolant red or green?

[tnbclark]

It is a 98, 3.8 L V6
It is was a redish color (could of been because that was the color of the corrision/mud whatever it is.. or it could of been the normal color not sure)

[gumper]

Originally Posted by tnbclark

It is a 98, 3.8 L V6
It is was a redish color (could of been because that was the color of the corrision/mud whatever it is.. or it could of been the normal color not sure)

welcome to the wonderfull world of dexcool .....
what u have is coolent that has boiled out. this is a common problem with dexcool (red coolent)
easy fix... go to any wal-mart and ask for a coolent system flush. they use a machine to clean out the old coolent and put new in. you need to use long life coolent(red). I like prestone it works well and costs less than dex. this is common so dont worry about it too much just get the coolent replaced and make sure they flush the system
gumper

[tnbclark]

Originally Posted by gumper

welcome to the wonderfull world of dexcool .....
what u have is coolent that has boiled out. this is a common problem with dexcool (red coolent)
easy fix... go to any wal-mart and ask for a coolent system flush. they use a machine to clean out the old coolent and put new in. you need to use long life coolent(red). I like prestone it works well and costs less than dex. this is common so dont worry about it too much just get the coolent replaced and make sure they flush the system
gumper

Thank you! I have another problem now... I dont know why all of the sudden my car seems to be hating me Now I have lights on my dash board that keep coming on... past 3 days, TRAC OFF, ANTI LOCK, and Service Engine Soon....... any thoughts?

[gumper]

the track off lite might be that you have hit the track button on the center console under the cup holder(if your lucky)
if your not you might have a abs sensor that is broken. for your own sanity go to a lic. shop and get the code read. its the only way you will be able to fix it
gumper.
just remember you have the best engin that gm has made in the last 25 years so dont sweat the little things. I have 140,000 mi and it runs like new. maintain it and it will last you for ever
gumper

[99Intrigue]

When this happend to my 99 Intrigue with the 3.8L I had to have the intake gasket replaced. At the same time the dealer did a power flush and cleaned the injectors, three times.
I have the same problem with the three lights coming on at the same time as you do and I have not figured out yet what causes it.
Let us know if you got your problem fixed and what was wrong.

[illinoiswronski]

Usually these three lights together point to a problem with the ABS system. The ABS light goes on to tell you that you car has disabled it's ABS system. The Trac Off light has gone on to tell you that the car has also disabled the traction control as the ABS sensors are used for the traction control feature. And the SES light has come on to tell you that you need to get the car looked at (as if the first two light would not have triggered that thought in your head).

Get the codes read out of the car and it will point you in the right direction.