1995 Saturn SC1 Flashing radiator and temp lights

[quote:66dbc599ee="chesterfieldmiss"]Engine Cooling problem
1995 Saturn SC1 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 113000 miles

I have a 1995 Saturn SC1 that has both the radiator and temp lights flash after the car runs for a moment. I had rats chew thru the wires to the coolant temp sensor and the sensor that controls the temp gauge. I have repaired those now and the check engine light went off but now these lights flash and the gauge in the car doesnt work. What am I doing wrong and will this malfunction affect an emission test?[/quote:66dbc599ee]
First of all thank you very much for your donation.So is your low coolant light flashing?If your temp gauge in the car is reading all the way cold then you need to recheck your wire's for damage.The yellow and the black wire's go to the bottom coolant temp sensor.The top gauge sensor on the engine is dark green.I also emailed to your personal email how to get your computer trouble code's please get those to me and let me know the number's.Yes this could effect your smog.

The light that is a radiator with a down arrow and the light that looks sort of like a thermometer are flashing. The check engine light is not on at all since the harness was replaced. The harness that Saturn sold me didnt have a dark green wire. It had a black and white one I believe. What is the name of the sensor that the harness for the gauge plugs in to? I had replaced it with one called a coolant temp sensor before I knew it was actually the lower sensor that controlled it so I may have the wrong sensor for the upper one that controls the gauge.
I want to say the gauge worked before I replaced that sensor but the lights still flashed but I cant remember clearly.
Since the check engine light isnt on would I still be able to pull the codes?

I see you didn't have any code's the bottom sensor with two wire's control's the engine coolant fan and tells the engine computer what temp the coolant is.The top sensor with the one green wire going to it only run's the temp gauge.Do you still have the temp sensor you took out of the top hole if so put it back in.As far as the low coolant light goes if your coolant level is filled to the bottle's seam then make sure your back up fuse is good in your under hood fuse box.Then unplug the coolant level sensor connector on the bottom of the bottle and jump across the two terminal's of the coolant level connector and see if the low coolant light goes out.Also inspect that green wire to the top temp sensor for the gauge for damage.

I dont have that sensor, it came apart when I took it out. The wires have been wrapped with electrical tape and covered with that plastic tubing to protect them so there shouldnt be damage but I'll check. Is it possible that Saturn gave me the wrong replacement harness because those wires werent green and there were 2 wires on that harness when it should have only been one green one.

Do you know what the name of the sensor for the gauge is? Is it the same as the lower sensor with 2 wires connected to it?

The coolant is full, so I will try checking those sensors and see if it stops the blinking.

Also, the engine fan does kick on so something is telling it its hot...I dont know if that helps any or not.

[quote:ede5e01ec5="chesterfieldmiss"]I dont have that sensor, it came apart when I took it out. The wires have been wrapped with electrical tape and covered with that plastic tubing to protect them so there shouldnt be damage but I'll check. Is it possible that Saturn gave me the wrong replacement harness because those wires werent green and there were 2 wires on that harness when it should have only been one green one.

Do you know what the name of the sensor for the gauge is? Is it the same as the lower sensor with 2 wires connected to it?

The coolant is full, so I will try checking those sensors and see if it stops the blinking.

Also, the engine fan does kick on so something is telling it its hot...I dont know if that helps any or not.[/quote:ede5e01ec5]
If saturn gave you the two wire connector for the top sensor then you have the wrong connector for it.They should have given you the single wire one you got the one for bottom sensor the coolant temp.The top sensor i would just call the gauge sending unit.Saturn used to have a parts diagram on the computer you could point out what you needed.You need to get the correct connector for starter's.As far as the sensor goes i would say the top one is different because the top one's had a brass tip while the bottom one's had a plastic one untill they change the bottom ones tip to brass.Also the top sensor had a gray end where the connector went on and the bottom one had a brown end where the connector went on.I would start with getting the correct top sensor connector in there.Also checking to see that you have the corrector sensor in the top hole as well.Once we get the temp gauge working then we can see if the fan come's on at the correct mark on the gauge.Also check that low coolant level sensor like i said.Let me know what you find.

Hello,

I got the correct sensor from Saturn so now the gauge works and there is no check engine light on, however both the low coolant light and the temp light still flash. Now that the gauge works I noticed that the fan does not kick on until the gauge gets almost to the last white line before the red and the "H" showing its overheated. The fan will then kick on and the temp immediately goes back down to the first white line until the fan goes off again and the process starts all over.

It almost seems as if maybe there is some sensor not working right to tell the fan to kick on sooner or stay on longer. Perhaps thats the reason for the flashing lights but I have no clue where to start.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Shannon

You have the temp gauge working now the fan doesn't come on in that car until at least 3/4 on the gauge some time's the tip of the red if the gauge is worn.Now let's deal with the low coolant light next.First thing i want you to do is check and make sure the back up light fuse is good in the under hood fuse box.That's the fuse for that circuit.If it is good then i want you to unplug the coolant level sensor on the bottom of the coolant bottle then jump the connector on the harness across the two terminal's and leave the jumper in.Then start the car and see if the light goes out if it does then you have a bad coolant level sensor.Let me know what you find.