Coolant Problem Multivan T5 2005 - faulty sensor?? Water pump failure??

[minniemousey]

Hi there,

Until recently, we have always parked the van outside. Having cleared out the garage we have now started to park it in there. Since we have done so, every morning when we start up, the "check coolant" warning comes up after a couple of seconds. Upon checking, the levels are within normal, there is a bit of black sludge around the level markers and everything looks normal and no signs of leaks. We turn the engine off and wait for a minute. When we turn it on again, it's fine and continues to be fine throughout the day until the next morning.

Having read through a few posts about coolant problems on here already, none seem to shed any light. Can anyone help please? Is it the beginning of the dreaded water pump failure???

Cheers!

[Transporter]

Did you put any extra coolant in the reservoir, did you top it up?

[minniemousey]

No because it is still close to the max line.

[Transporter]

Then, it's probably just faulty sensor.

How many km in total on the van and do you know the history of that van?

[Sunny43.5]

My T5 does the same thing water warning light comes on turn it off restart and it goes off sometimes a restart twice is needed but as described it perfect till next morning again . I,m so over it I dont give a toss anymore just another annoying piece of sensor tech that goes haywire occassionaly . Like the engine light that comes on depending on what fuel is used seems fuel stations RON levels are all over the shop so the cantankerous sensor lights up almost as if to say look at me look at me , as before I dont give a toss and just ignore it , if I was a lemming I would be at the dealers for a nice wallet reducing exercise .

[Umai Naa!!]

Black sludge, you say?

Could be a faulty engine oil cooler. The core splits internally, causing the oil and coolant to blend. Once oil is mixed with the coolant, it can give the level sensor a false reading.

Also, check your engine oil level. If it's way high, and looks like there's coolant contamination, you may be up for a water pump as well.

It's a common problem on vans built before mid-'06, but still a pain in the backside all the same.

[BrianJ]

Black sludge, you say?

Could be a faulty engine oil cooler. The core splits internally, causing the oil and coolant to blend. Once oil is mixed with the coolant, it can give the level sensor a false reading.

Yes, there is a free recall on this fault, I had my 2006 checked and it wasn't needed on my model. I would get it checked immediately because if it splits completely you will have one hell of a mess which is difficult to get cleaned up.

Brian

[minniemousey]

Thanks for all the replies. Going to check the oil tomorrow. Fingers crossed.....

[minniemousey]

Right. So this morning found a black globule of oil in the coolant.... Bugger. Off to the mechanic tomorrow to "diagnose" the problem! I'm kinda hoping it is the engine cooler and not the head gasket.

Incidentally, called the local VW dealership just to give myself a good laugh over how much it might cost and was told that there was an outstanding recall for the harness for the cooling fan. Is anyone else aware of this? They also said that there wasn't a free recall for the cooler but a "campaign" here in Australia and that my van "is so far out of warranty that it wouldn't apply"! Just wondering how long ago you had yours checked BrianJ?

Sunny, I wonder if your van is up to the same tricks as mine??! I'll keep you posted...

[BrianJ]

About 3 years ago I asked Austral Motors Brisbane to check my chassis number against the computer and the computer said NO! I had always thought the radiator oil core failure was a recall, it certainly should have been. If I was you I would try to find the VW recall number and present it to them.

At the last work I had done at Austral to replace my blinker and lights stalks, without notice they performed the field revision to replace the radiator fan harness. Apparently this prevents the fans staying on and flattening the battery. My blinker stalks had to be replaced due to an intermittant internal failure that caused the cruise control to drop out when the arm was moved and costed $500 fitted.

Brian

[Umai Naa!!]

A warranty repair and a campaign are two very different things.

The oil cooler was never a campaign, but there was a technical bulletin on it. Some terminology confusion there.

The fan relay re-wiring campaign is a pretty recent one that came out about 12 months ago. It affects just about all T5s sold here (but not the current T5GP).

[Sunny43.5]

I] have checked my van which has the same sympton but nothing unusual no increase in oil level [its down ] note to self add some on weekend after all the van has 189000 kays so some oil consumption is expected each month . So there is no oil sludge in water container so the assumption would be a faulty sender as a restart clears the warning light and sound .

[BrianJ]

From what I have read, it appears to me to be the AUTO gearbox oil cooler that sits in the bottom of the radiator that splits, so there would be no mixing of water into the engine oil, that occurs when the water pump leaks into the sump. Also, because the oil flow from the gearbox is higher pressure than the radiator water, the oil goes into the water jacket, not the other way around.

Brian

[Umai Naa!!]

It's usually the engine oil cooler, which is attached to the front side of the block.

[BrianJ]

It's usually the engine oil cooler, which is attached to the front side of the block.

I may have misunderstood the source of the oil from what I read, but the oil pressure would still be the highest.

Brian