Cavalier Low Fluid Light

[easride]

My Daughter has a 97 Chevy Cavalier that is not overheating but the "Low Fluid Light" stays on and does not go off...I checked the fluid level and all is well...When I look into the fluid I see that it is dark and does not look green as prestone looks...Does the Cav need special fluid in the radiator??? or will prestone do just fine....Also could the problem be the sensor, can i remove it and clean it, do i need a new one??? Help as I cannot get thru inspection in NJ with this light on....Thanx in advance for your wisdom...Allen

[andrew43420]

i know my 03 takes orange antifreeze, cant think of the name offhand but its a little more expenive than conventional antifreeze If yours has orange DONT mix the orange and green

[easride]

I think it is called Dex Cool or something...Can you use Prestone green antifreeze with this or is there a problem with the green...It says on the filler to use the Dex stuff...But what happens if I don't....Allen

[muff34]

With age of car a coolant flush would probably be a good idea. Don`t mix the two of them. when you do the flush you can take sensor out and try clean it up ,however it could likely be caput.

[easride]

Where is the sensor...I looked for it last nite but could not figure where it was...I will flush the radiator with some flush (anything suggestions better then prestone flush?) and replace the Dexcool with new...The car does have 181,000...guess she got her $$ worth on that DexCool...Any reasons why it is a dark color???Thanx for all replies....Allen

[muff34]

Dark in colour because it is old contaminated coolant . Sensor will be located in resevoir bottle ,wires going to it

[easride]

Thanx Muff34...I thought that it was old or contaminated somehow...it almost looked like mud...Thanx for the sensor location...I will drain the fluid and look in the plastic overflow/filler...did you get any help on your problem...Thanx again, Allen

[muff34]

just be sure that you get all the air bled out of system. good luck

[easride]

To bleed the air out of the system, is there a bleeder screw or do I have to run the vehicle 30 minutes to open the thermostat in order to bleed the sys...sorry so many questions...Allen

[papi62596]

I have this same type of problem. Sometimes the light just lights up then goes away. This started happening after I changed the head gasket. Mind you it doesn't happen all that much, but is still annoying. The light seems to go out once I accelerate. I checked the fluid level and all looks fine. Any help would be great.