Using alot of water and brake pad switch flashing.

[leeuk93]

Hi Everyone,

I am having to top my water up everyday, this is becoming a pain in the arse along with buying Anti freeze. I have had a quick look to see if its leaking but cannot seem to see one. I am wanting to know what common points are where water could be leaking.

Also my brake pad sensor has started flashing usually when I hit bumps or are on a shitty road. Where about's are the sensors located as I think they are loose.


Cheers

Lee

[miniblob]

If water was leaking to the xtent you have to too it up every day, it should be very wet under there somewhere and should be pretty easy to spot!!!
Is the floor wet under the car when you run it for a while???

All you can check is hoses/water pump/expansion tank/radiator!!!

If the water isn't coming out, it could be going in the engine - which is obviously bad news!!!

How much coolant are you putting in every day???

[dirtee-herbert]

Hello!

Sorry I can't help too much with the water use age problem but for your brake pad sensor flashing on and off I'd have a look at the wires leading from the passenger side front caliper back in to the engine bay.
I've found they tend to get brittle and break along this section.

Good luck

[Brianmoooore]

We'd stand a better chance of helping with the coolant problem if you gave us an idea of what car you have!!
Pad light problem sounds like a very common fault with the instrument cluster, where the soldered joints to a 220 ohm resistor have become brittle and cracked. Bit of new solder, and it will be as good as new. All covered in the wiki.

[leeuk93]

Sorry I have a BMW 318is and The engine seems fine though :/ there is a small puddle under the car, I am going to have a proper look under the car this weekend.

[smithysmith]

Profile gasket

[Speedtouch]

Pad light problem sounds like a very common fault with the instrument cluster, where the soldered joints to a 220 ohm resistor have become brittle and cracked. Bit of new solder, and it will be as good as new. All covered in the wiki.

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... Flickering

[Brianmoooore]

Profile gasket

This is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says "water leak" and "318iS" in the same sentence, but these engines are still subject to the other common leaks, such as failed hoses, loose clips and blown heater valves, the same as any other E30s.
Doing a cold pressure test on a cooling system can be very educational, even on cars that have no known leak issues.

[smithysmith]

If there's a lot of fluid loss but little visible fluid on the floor it is likely an internal leak ie profile gasket.

[leeuk93]

It looked to be alot of the floor I found a hose that was leaking, I have sealed it and tightened the jubilee clip. It could be it had pressure In so I am going to top it back up and check over the next few days to see how it does.

The engine appears to be running fine, the oil level is staying where it should be and there is no smoke coming out of the exhaust except on a cold morning.

[leeuk93]

As the pad problem goes I have found the problem ... the sensor on the passenger side had snapped off so ordering a new one.