Another Coolant Alarm Issue

[Fassi]

If you are changing the screws after all this time you have a problem in the cooling system.....are you using red long life coolant.?

Yes it is the Red coolant. What sort of problems with the cooling system would you suggest then? It's recently been given a clean bill of health by ADS

I use the red coolant and my alarm works perfectly. Maybe you could use some of your 20 years experience to do a wee bit of fault-finding

[haydn callow]

Couldn't agree more......but before posting negative on here it would be nice if we were contacted first to try and sort things out....then if you find us lacking in anyway we have no problems with whatever you say or post. We take our reputation very seriously, to say something like " it's been nothing but hassel for more than a year' without give no us a chance to sort it out, is a bit unfair.. At the end of the day we will ALWAYS REPLACE OR REFUND if anyone is unhappy....no ifs,no buts....we do prefer to sort problems as a unprotected Bongo can prove very expensive to repair should anyone of 30 odd hoses let go.
If there is a problem with your coolant, it's not to expensive to flush and refill with blue. That may well sort the coolant alarm side of things..
An alarm you are unhappy with is worse than no alarm at all as you may ignore it when it's really telling you something.

[haydn callow]

Pretty sure the temp alarm sensor is squashed/damaged......we can fit a new one.

[helen&tony]

Hi
I could only say that nobody has ever had anything other than exemplary attention from Haydn. The alarm can't in any way be faulted, and it's the only reliable piece of kit I've seen on a car in the 50 years of my working on my own vehicles....first started after going to a garage and being quoted stuff knows over the odds for a simple task...........the old school "here comes a girlie, lets charge enough for a good night out...she won't know"....and with a bit of practice, a car is one of the simplest things to play with.....BUT it's also one of the easiest things to make a mess of.
The alarm Haydn sells is fool proof in itself, but with the guarantee offered , you won't find anything as good anywhere....
Say what you like about coolant, the Japanese service the cooling system on the Bongo every 2 years (or so I've read...)....and if that's true, a 5 year coolant is a waste, because the component parts will need replacing every couple of years, plus it ensures that the owner ignores the cooling for 5 years....BIG mistake....if you ignore a supposedly reliable system, then it becomes unreliable! We replace the coolant every 2-3 years....especially as we can get temperatures of minus 30 C....and up to plus 48 in summer
Lastly, do the newer alarms show "hot", because I haven't seen the newer ones...mine is just the standard original ?
Cheers
Helen

[haydn callow]

Yes, some of the newer temp alarms when they go over the set max temp give the message....
HOT ENGINE

[helen&tony]

Hi
Ah, thanks, Haydn....
Cheers
Helen

[Northern Bongolow]

which circuit is the live taken from that powers the alarm, voltage either over or under possibly could affect the alarms initial response.
i fitted many moons ago a mason alarm to both mine and my wifes bongo with the same coolant etc, the mason would not work right on mine but was fine on my wifes bongo, it took me 2 years, and several exchange unit from mr mason to find out that the alternator was charging occasionally high/low.
i would do the usual start from the basics, check the engine earth and the gearbox earth is good and clean, maybe run a new good earth from the rad to the battery neg terminal, maybe even put an accurate volt meter on the ignition supply that controls the alarm, you may just be surprised at what you find. all it maybe is a glow plug going to earth.

red coolant or not is not the answer, the decision by some garages to supply only blue coolant is maybe made on the grounds of repeat business, michelin could make tyres that last forever but they dont. if you could fit something to your bongo that lasted twice as long, why wouldnt you, the sometimes initial bedding in bleeps are there but in the grand scheme of things are they worth it?. we all start off with a list of things to do, if you get through that you go on to planned maintenance, most peeps rarely stick to it thinking its running great so leave it alone,

[John_H]

Hi All, I've been reading lots about coolant alarms and I'd like some advice as I can't find the answer on here.
As a new Bongo owner(I've probably only driven 200 miles since buying it last August) this year I intend to take it into Europe for some weeks.
It's a 2 litre petrol that has an age of November 2005 (it's on a DVLA 55 plate)
I've just had a service at L.A.Cars Braintree (very good!) and part of that was a 'water flush and new anti freeze'.
I'd like someone knowledgeable to advise me if I should get a coolant/temp alarm for my Bongo, or, as it's a 2 litre petrol, would this be necessary

[Bob]

The 2 ltr is less prone to head issues than the diesel, but for the price of it I'd at least fit a LCA.

[Simon Jones]

Definitely get a low coolant alarm. Your Bongo is one of the last models so still relatively young, but all pipe work (rubber & steel) is prone to deterioration or damage in normal use. Plenty of folk on here have taken their coolant filler cap off to check the level & then forgotten to replace it so a LCA can help prevent problems developing before further damage occurs.

[helen&tony]

Hi
DON'T go anywhere without a low coolant alarm...our Jeep even has one as original equipment!...The Haydn one is the one to go for...buy cheap and that's what you get!
The 2.0 litre doesn't have the same problems coolant bleeding!
Cheers
Helen

[John_H]

Thanks to all for the advice on getting a low coolant alarm. I used to have one on my Land Rover some years ago which I remember was a fairly simple device to make and install into the header tank. I wonder if I've still got the design for it?. I see a commercial one mentioned a lot on here but it does seem to be a considerable amount of cash ...

[haydn callow]

Before you start cutting into the header tank...remember it is pressurised.....floats are a no no.

[John_H]

Before you start cutting into the header tank...remember it is pressurised.....floats are a no no.

Hmmm I didn't think the system on the 2 litre petrol models was pressurised - I hope not 'cos I took a look in the header tank today

[haydn callow]

Why would that be a problem?