Crafty, read the first post.

 

You need one of those new Airport Image Screeners (the ones that see everything) to check the radiator level.

The Cold level and the Hot Level marks are very low on the right side of the resevoir when looking at the engine from the front. You need a flashlight and to see them.

 

I've just looked at the overflow tank...so it is ok if that is almost empty? It is a pita to see if there is anything in there



Goose

 

Yes.

 

I used a black marker to mark the coolant level/engine cool, when I first bought the car new. That's my easy reference mark

 

If recovery tank is almost empty you might want to see what the level is when the engine is warm...if it's totally empty when warm not enough coolant in the radiator..not good

 

Yes. Almost empty overflow when cold is OK. Completely empty, or still extremely low when warm is not.

 

I will check tonight after my 50 mile commute home...how high should it be in the overflow after it is warm?



Goose

 

My memory may be betraying me here, but isn't there a cold and a hot level mark on the overflow reservoir?

I remember checking mine last summer and found that it was too low when cold (not empty, but close), so I added some dexcool mixture.

Straight out of the manual:

"See Engine Compartment Overview on page 298
for more information on location.
The vehicle must be on a level surface when
checking the coolant level.
When the engine is cold, the coolant level should
be at the COLD FILL line or a little higher. The
COLD FILL line is near the bottom of the tank and
sticks out from the rear of the tank."

There you go.

Yves

 

When cold you should add pre-mix 50/50 Dexcool to the reservoir to bring it to the cold fill line referenced in DreamHHR's post above, if it is not already there. Then, also while cold, you should fill at the "radiator cap" (which is actually on the hose) until it meets the bottom of the filler neck.

My coolant temps in commuting run 190 - 196 on the DIC. Have never seen it climb past 212 at stoplights. Fan Hysteresis must be set around 212 in the ECM programming, that term denoting the temp at which the electric cooling fan for the radiator kicks on. Often there are two fan speeds hi and lo, and usually a 2nd hysteresis temp programmed to kick the fan to hi if the temp continues to rise and while fan is on lo. Finally, there is usually a vehicle speed threshold programmed in that shuts the radiator fan off once the vehicle is travelling forward above a certain speed. That is all general info, who knows what the specifics are on the HHR.