what is the sensor in the rad for? temp? coolant level?

[34T]

and can I ignore it? Doing a 3.4 install into a fiero where the rad is about 60% the size of the Lumina rad....... so I am thinking of putting in an aluminum rad; but regardless, any non-Lumina rad won't have that sensor in the end tank (about 1/3 of the way down).

What does it do and what will happen if I leave it out? is it just a low water level warning device or a temp sensor?
TIA!!

[Juglenaut]

Level sensor.

[Anonymous]

On the 3.4 if your sensor wasn't reading any coolant, it would give a red light on the dash saying "Low Coolant." You should be able to just remove it without a problem.

[34T]

you don't think this was running thru the ECM? I don't want to do something that will eventually get it "irritated".......
sothat if it is continually sending a signal to the ECM that eventually it ends up causing - I can't imagine what - problem.
but thx for the input!

[Anonymous]

Then you could just plug it into the overflow tank at the bottom, that way it is still getting fluid....

Kind of ghetto, but it'd work.

[34T]

so it won't shut anything down or fire the ejection seat on me or anything like that if it DOES sense low coolant, just lights up the dash lite......???
OK
I'll think about whether or not I have to worry about working it in to a new rad or something.
DROPPING it into the overflow tank - now THAT would be ghetto....... !!

[Anonymous]

I didn't mean THAT ghetto, at least screw it into the tank

No all it will do is light up the lgiht, but that alone is annoying.

[jmgtp]

If the fiero radiator has no support for the water level sensor what you could do is use a resistor to 'short' the harness for that sensor and essentially trick it into reading that there is proper coolant level. I dont know if it goes to the ecm or just to the idiot light in the dash. If its just to the dash then I suppose you could just forget about it. You would have to find how many ohms a water level sensor reads with the water level filled so you could choose an appropiate resistor. I dont know if this will work for sure, but seems like it would.

[34T]

I'll have to pull out my schematics and trace the wire to see where it goes. If it only goes to an idiot light, then no big deal. If it goes thru the ECM then I tend to think that is a bigger deal. The ECM will use that info for something......... I expect.
and that is the GREAT unknown!!!!
will check.
thx

[grandprixgtp_91]

my brothers auto car had a bad coolant leak about 2 years ago, we put stop leak in it and it fixed it. the only thing is, is that it coated the coolant level sensor so it always says low coolant. it has been like that for 2 years now and it hasnt run any different. just annoying.

Jake