Haydn coolant alarm, how long should the test beep be

[ognob]

Fitted the low coolant alarm today, straight forward

When I turn the ignition on, the light and beeper activate for 5 seconds then Peter out. Is that the normal duration

Thanks

[Roy748]

Hello.
That is what mine does. Around 5 seconds and then fading out.

[ognob]

Hello.
That is what mine does. Around 5 seconds and then fading out.

Thankyou

Going to have to do something to reduce the volume I think. 5 secs is enough to piss the newborn baby off!

[Bob]

Seems like a long time to me.

Mine just beeps for about a second when self testing.

[teenmal]

Unless you are driving the "Space Shuttle" one second would be what you are looking for. Personally I would remove coolant to below the "Screw" to make Certain that the unit is in fact working .


Take Care.

[haydn callow]

It is working and working as it should. However there are 2 main reasons why the test beep gets over long. I should under normal conditions be about 1 to 2 seconds long.
Very cold conditions will extend it.
Over Diluted antifreeze will extend it.
Is the beep still 5 seconds when the engine is warmed up ?
You say the beep “fades” out....it should not do that. It should cut off sharply.
Let us know how it performs when the coolant is up to temp.

We test all alarms under working conditions before dispatch, we would not send one out with a extended beep. The coolant we use is 30% strength and the voltage is set at 12.6. Ambient temperature about 15C

Take Care !

[haydn callow]

To add to the above :- we can only make our alarms to work perfectly in a perfect cooling system and a perfect electrical system. If these parameters are not met then the alarm will work and warn of coolant loss but not work perfectly. When the beep extends or the alarm mummers or beeps when the indicators are used etc it is telling you that all is not perfect. At this point you can either live with it or the sensible thing to do is investigate, find out what’s wrong and fix it. These alarms do so much more than warn of coolant loss.
I.e. the alarm test beep lasts 5 secs and tails off....you investigate and discover your new Bongo has only 5% antifreeze mix, you change the coolant and put in 40% antifreeze. The alarm now has a 1 sec beep. What a great result, so much better than a “burst” engine on the first day of heavy frost.
Same with a iffy electrical system.....we just had one alarm sent back because of going off at odd times and erratic behaviour. When we got it there were so many extra wires tapped off the standard wiring. Once these were removed the alarm worked perfectly and we repackaged it and returned.
These alarms work and are extreamly reliable. Plus we deliver on a no quibble after sales service and support.

Take care !

[haydn callow]

Looking through your previous posts I note you have been asking about replacement alternators.....if yours is not 100% it could be causing fluctuations within your systems. Just a thought.
Do you get 2 test beeps ? One when you switch on ignition and another when starting engine ?

[sotal]

This is interesting as I noticed a difference in mine.

Originally mine was less than a second that it beeped on startup.

However I got a leak from the radiator, which the alarm usefully warned me about and probably saved the engine. The leak was minor but over time the level was dropping.

I had the radiator replaced but at the time it took quite a while for the new radiator to arrive so I kept adding water which effectively diluted the coolant (it was summer so I want overly concerned). The beep never changed though.

Eventually the new radiator arrived and it was changed over along with a complete change of the coolant. Ever since the new coolant was put in the beep has extended. It is now a couple of seconds. The coolant is visibly darker than before. I just put it down to being perhaps slightly different coolant. It has been like that for over a year now. It isn't as long as the 5 second quoted above but it was enough for both me and the wife to notice!)

Not going to complain though! It saved the engine!

[haydn callow]

If the new coolant is red ...suggest you remove the sensor screw from the tank and give it a good clean and replace...do this when cold and release the pressure cap and replace it before removing the screw. (To release the pressure)
Let us know if this reduces the beep time

[Roy748]

Adding to my previous comment above, I use prestone coolant in my 2.0lt petrol bongo. It's safe to mix with other coolant and I have added 4 litres to top up following a leak. It's green in colour. This may be why mine has a longer keep than others.

[haydn callow]

Yep....different coolants have different electrical resistance properties so changing will have a effect on the test beep. Red coolant can coat the screw when new and may need cleaning

[Roy748]

Following on from my previous post, I have topped up my coolant with approximately 4 ltrs of prestone coolant which mixes with existing coolant without reaction. Mine is now green in colour and the temperature is no different to that, prior my minor leak. This might explain the longer bleep duration. My bongo is the 2.0ltr petrol version.

[teenmal]

You could carry out a simple conductivity test.

Begin with a cold engine. Remove the header tank cap and start the engine. Set your digital multimeter to DC volts at 20 volts or less. When the engine reaches operating temperature, insert the positive probe directly into the coolant. Rev the engine to 2,000 rpm and place the negative probe on the negative battery terminal. If the digital meter reads .4 volts or less, your coolant is in good condition. If it’s greater than .4 volts, the electrolysis additives are exhausted.


It would also be worthwhile checking the voltage on the sensor screw.



Take Care.

[haydn callow]

What voltage would you be looking for at the sensor screw and what would be the significance??

Take Care