"Check Coolant" light on 1993 Ford Escort

[CZroe]

OK, my primary transportation (Kawasaki Ninja EX250J) is waiting for it's 7,500mi service, so I took my sister's Ford Escort to work the last few nights. Because it's a graveyward shift, it's cooled down at night before I leave and is nice and cold when I'm ready to return in the morning. Anyway, two nights ago, I started it and the engine seemed to chug a little bit and then idled normally. When accelerating in a higher gear from a lower speed, I could still barely feel it chugging (momentarily losing power causing a slip or shake), but I believe it went away before I got to work 12mins away.

In the morning, I started itand it did the same slow/rough "chugging" idle for several seconds and went away, just the same as before, exceot this time the "Check Coolant" light came on. I checked the radiator and reservoir and both were full, but I can't really say for sure that "full" is what the light is indicating that I should check for. 😉 There was a thick slimy green sludge on the radiator cap and it looks like it needs to be flushed, but my sister said that the whole thing was replaced a year ago. Anyway, I started it later in the day and it still did the initial "chugging" but the coolant light did not come on. The only difference I can think of was that it was already warm out and that it was temp related, because it came right back on when it was time to go to work last night (thus cool at night) and when I drove it home this morning.

My sister went out just now to see what I was talking about and reported that the light went away when she added more water anyway but, due to the time of day, I'm inclined to believe that it could be simply the ambient starting temp has risen.

If I didn't make it clear, I work so nearby that it never had the chance to get fully warmed up between home/work.

Any ideas what needs to be done? I'm sure I shuold stop driving it until we get it checked out, but each time it caught me by surprise and I didn't have an alternative.

 

[exdeath]

As long as you know there is coolant and it isn't overheating, you can safely ignore any warnings and continue driving. A light coming on doesn't change the thermal properties of the engine or water. It just means there may be a bad sensor or switch or poor connection somewhere. You might want to search for bleed valve higher up than the radiator cap and make sure there is coolant present there (squeeze on the upper hose). If not continue checking and filling daily until nothing but coolant flows from the bleed port, to ensure there are no air bubbles present in the cooling system.

Also squeeze the upper hose when it's cold and after its hot. You should hear and feel coolant readily moving around and the hose should be squishy when warm. If its very very firm while warm, it means the thermostat didn't open. Probe around the radiator with your hand after a drive and feel for cold spots. Make sure you check from the back side so you aren't feeling the AC condenser, and be careful of electric fans that can turn on any time even without a key in the ignition.

Losing power and shaking momentarily sounds like an ignition miss. Check the condition of the plug wires, cap, and rotor and make sure the area around the spark plugs and distributor is nice and dry and not contaminated with oil or moisture.

Also possible the coolant temp sensor or connection is bad. That would cause rough cold start and a nonsense coolant temp input that would trigger the light.

 

[BUTCH1]

I had a 94 'scort, it would sometimes miss like that because of one of the plug wires arcing to the head, fixed it by replacing the wires AND using dielectric (silicone grease)compound around each boot.

 

[Squisher]

I had a '94 too. Those plug wires are terrible to put on even though they're right in front of you. All you can grab with is the inside of two fingers and you're pushing from so far away from the plug. I've had better luck unsnapping a girl's bra with one hand.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: Squisher
I had a '94 too. Those plug wires are terrible to put on even though they're right in front of you. All you can grab with is the inside of two fingers and you're pushing from so far away from the plug. I've had better luck unsnapping a girl's bra with one hand.

So true, all in all the 'scort was easy to work on, at least as far as FWD anyway. I got 29/40 MPG with mine and hauled stuff in the hatchback you wouldn't believe, I once put a full sized washer in the back!..