Stop Light Turned On . Causes ?

[DanteICE 72]

Why ? Isn't the bigger the better? they work on full speed .. I live in a hot country , fans at low speed will take them forever to cool this old french.

 

It's not quite like that. I might be wrong with the Israel 205, but here the fan switch has two internal switches.

 

The first switch will open up a circuit through a resistor (half speed fans) at say 50 degree celcius (not sure on the temperature, I'm just giving an example) then when the radiator reaches 80 degrees celcius it will move over to the second circuit which has no resistor (Full speed fans).

 

So what I'm saying is, your fan might not be coming on as early as it should although if it's coming on in the later high temp full speed then it shouldn't be over heating.

 

If I was you I'd fix the fan (if it's a problem) and change the thermostat, rad cap (if one is present), expansion tank cap and then drain the water coolant system using a rad flush solution and the haynes manual flushing guide which uses a hose to flush out the old water. Then replace with high quality coolant mixture which attempts to lower the cooling temps.

 

After you've bled the system check for any pipe leaks for the next few weeks, even small leaks can cause a build up in water pressure due to air getting into the system and this will cause overheating.

 

You might want to factor in changing the cam belt and water pump in the near future to be on the safe side. Just in case the pump is slightly clogged and there's a blockage in the system. This is unlikely however, but better safe than sorry.

[omri617 18]

Thank you for the great info and post ,very detailed . I got the picture and will work according to what you said.

By the way , today i found out the right side fan was working to the opposite side ! Been like that for months !! Thank God nothing happened..

[DanteICE 72]

When you say the right side working to the opposite side, what do you mean? Do you mean one fan was working and the other not or the two fans were spinning in opposite directions?

 

Geoff

[omri617 18]

The fan that is on your right hand when you are standing facing the engine bay , it was wired wrong and it blew hot air from the radiator out , instead of taking fresh air inside to the radiator.

Maybe it caused the red light to come up even when temp was still at 90.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Are the brake pad wear sensors linked to the stop light or am I thinking of a different car?! Maybe that wire is shorting / pads are work. If the pads are worn then it usually flickers. The other thing might be low brake fluid. I could be thinking of my Alfa Romeo though!

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Pretty sure they just light up the orange brake pad wear light without the stop light

[omri617 18]

There is a strange sound when I push the brake , a sound like an old metal wire being stretched ! something I can't really explain ... mm like when you hold a wooden stick and try to break it , the stretching and squeaking sound it makes just before it breaks!!

Checked the brake oil level and it's ok/

[DanteICE 72]

I'm out of ideas on that one, create a new thread for that issue and you may get more help.

[DamirGTI 327]

In 10 years of driving a 205 , i had this stop light just twice and in both cases it was the alternator going bad (more precise , bad alternator voltage regulator) .. first it was lit up a little dim , and then it was more clear until it was obvious because the battery flat out without being charged by alternator .

 

On the alternator , beneath the big positive lead which connects the starter and battery , there's an small wire which is connected on the alternator voltage regulator on one side , and another side on the stop light circuit . So this one can trigger stop lamp as well .

 

Check the said wire and check the alternator if it charges the battery properly , do the positive and negative voltage drop side tests on the alternator itself by :

 

Connect multimeter (pre-set to 20 volt) positive probe to the battery positive , and negative probe to the big positive lead on the alternator - start the engine and load the system by turning ON : lights , wipers , stereo , heating ..

For good positive site of the alternator the voltage drop must not be higher than 0.1/0.2 V , anything above is bad . Zero V reading is good .

 

Next , take the positive multimeter probe and connect it to the battery negative , and put the negative multimeter probe on the case of the alternator . Again , start the engine , load the system and see if it goes beyond 0.1/0.2 V .

 

D

Edited July 30, 2013 by DamirGTI