Flashing Low coolant alarm

[dext924]

Thanks Haydn, I will check it tomorrow when I take it back out again, but I checked the voltage on the elec temp gauge I got from you and that reads normal. Might have to dig the voltage meter out ......

[Velocette]

the LED will always be the first to alarm by a second or so co's it requires less power to light a LED than the buzzer......your symptoms do point towards low voltage.

I think with mine it is the battery recovering from the starting load while also meeting demand from all sorts of ancillary loads like indicators, brake lights, fans etc. Once it settles down it is fine. Second start of the day it hardly does it at all.

It might be that my battery isn't all that and I could be in for a shock when it gets really cold!

[dext924]

Well, not sure what it issue was, but it never happened today. I think it could have been something to do with the low battery, as now its had a run, it never happened this morning.
I was wondering if it was something to do with the temperature being very cold??

Anyway, not ideal weather, but she is doing me proud this week as a little work horse

God Bless the Bongo!!

[Velocette]

Update.

Mine is still the same although it seems to go on for longer in the winter. I can happily tune it out and ignore it but every time Mrs V is in the Bongo she hears it and goes on again on again and keeps going on again until it stops. This I can't tune out!

One day it got so bad (The going on again on again, not the bleeping), that I got out and checked the water. As soon as I released the cap it stopped. Both the bleep and the going on again on again.

So could that be a clue? Pressure affects it. Could pressure depress the water level and then expansion raise it again to stop the bleeping. Or maybe it could be froth?

[Northern Bongolow]

pressure does hold the level down to a certain extent,i would suggest your cold level is lower than it should be, and check your coolant strength, once its warmed up the coolant a little and the coolant expanded a tad all is well.

[mikeonb4c]

I'm always puzzled when I read stories of LCAs chirping for reasons other than intended. Mine was one of the first production batch to be fitted to a Bongo and (touch wood) its never behaved other than faultlessly since it was fitted 4 years ago)

Praise where praise is due

[Velocette]

pressure does hold the level down to a certain extent,i would suggest your cold level is lower than it should be, and check your coolant strength, once its warmed up the coolant a little and the coolant expanded a tad all is well.

Thanks, I usually set it to about 20mm with a dipstick, as I read elsewhere on here, I checked it the other day and it was 25mm, this hasn't changed since last summer. Coolant strenght could be very slightly down as I did top up with water one time in France when I had left the cap off by mistake. The coolant alarm did its job then which is the main thing! Praise where praise is due indeed. It only lost about a pint though. I am going to try replacing the contact screws.

[Velocette]

UPDATE

I took the screws out and cleaned them and it is now working perfectly, no chirping and the light goes off immediately.

The screws had black slime on the end which wiped off effortlessly and they were bright underneath so stainless I think. Even so they had probably reacted with the inhibitor in the coolant.

Thanks for the PMs too.

[mikeonb4c]

UPDATE

I took the screws out and cleaned them and it is now working perfectly, no chirping and the light goes off immediately.

The screws had black slime on the end which wiped off effortlessly and they were bright underneath so stainless I think. Even so they had probably reacted with the inhibitor in the coolant.

Thanks for the PMs too.

Excellent bit of info, and good news. I wonder if they are affected by different coolant mixes (I think Haydn has covered all this a long time ago but I can't remember what was said). I've never had any issues, and I use standard ethylene glycol anti-freeze (blue liquid as supplied, green when mixed 50/50 and in use, suitable for aluminium heads).

[Velocette]

UPDATE

I took the screws out and cleaned them and it is now working perfectly, no chirping and the light goes off immediately.

The screws had black slime on the end which wiped off effortlessly and they were bright underneath so stainless I think. Even so they had probably reacted with the inhibitor in the coolant.

Thanks for the PMs too.

Excellent bit of info, and good news. I wonder if they are affected by different coolant mixes (I think Haydn has covered all this a long time ago but I can't remember what was said). I've never had any issues, and I use standard ethylene glycol anti-freeze (blue liquid as supplied, green when mixed 50/50 and in use, suitable for aluminium heads).

I think someone who PMed me said that the inhibitor in the red antifreeze deposits a protective coating on certain metals so that fits as I use the red antifreeze. I just held my finger over the hole while I wiped the screw on my jeans. Would have been easier with two people!