Very cold days sets off oil light

[Mitchy]

Many have replaced it for it to come back at a later date.
If you are still in warranty get it replaced, if not then its worth trying the other tricks.

Personally never read a thread where it has come back after an expansion tank replace. This is the dealers fix for the problem also. Ive had trouble free now over the last 3 winters

For the sake of £12, i'd say it was worth it Early morning beeps got right on my nerves

 

[daveyonthemove]

well i may be guilty of a bad search due to the fact i searched the wrong area, but if you re-read my first post (the one you originally had a smart answer for) you'd see that i'm not able to get to a dealers very easily, so i was merely seeking info on the problem and what may sort it.
A couple of posts after yours gave the info i needed and i have sorted it for now. The problem may return, it may not, but with the info i was given i able to identify that its not an big issue that needs immediate attention.
I'm not prepared to spend £12 on a part that my warranty will cover, so when i get a few days off it will be booked in. For now i'll carry on as i am.

 

[UncleFester]

Hmm, wonder why my amber oil can has never illuminated.

Maybe the bulb is blown, maybe the Tdi has a different sensor or maybe it's just weird ....... i would be slightly concerned about a system that goes straight from OK to RED with no warning in between.

I wonder is there a VAGCOM warning light cycle facility where you can cycle each warning light to verify operation?

 

[jonjay]

I had an oil warning light driving north the other weekend, oil was only just on the bottom of the stick - add some more oil and light out so the question is, is it a low oil warning light or a low oil pressure light as depending where it read the information from, low oil levels could cause low oil pressure if there was insufficient oil to pump around the engine?

EXACTLY the same happened to me hence i thought it was an oil problem. When i check the oil it was congealed on the bottom of the stick. Left the engine running (warmed up) then drove and got AMD to check it out as I thought it cant be the oil as it was fine a month a go. They said the congealed theory and that condensation when very cold gets on some sensor hence the beeps.

As for the VAGCOM i had it done that day and nothing came up...

 

[daveyonthemove]

I've vagcom'ed mine with the RED coolant light flashing, but it never gave any codes
All sorted now though.

 

[traumapat]

Maybe the bulb is blown, maybe the Tdi has a different sensor or maybe it's just weird ....... i would be slightly concerned about a system that goes straight from OK to RED with no warning in between.

I wonder is there a VAGCOM warning light cycle facility where you can cycle each warning light to verify operation?

i think the pre ignition lights on the dash are a test it show all warning lamps illuminate.

my handbook mentions a flashing red or solid red oil lamp and 3 beeps above 1.5k as a warning. dosnt mention amber but this is a 01 petrol.

 

[andycupra]

Red definitely indicates low level situation, however many people also get the red light for the 'prong/expansion tank fix' where the level is fine. However when i had this problem mine was amber flashing, not red flashing

When the red light flashes and you get 3 beeps this is the coolant low level issue. That is, the sensor is reading that the coolant level is low. However due to the issues seen with the coolant sensor this reading may be incorrect.

Personally never read a thread where it has come back after an expansion tank replace. This is the dealers fix for the problem also. Ive had trouble free now over the last 3 winters

For the sake of £12, i'd say it was worth it Early morning beeps got right on my nerves

Well i can only assume this is because they have lost the will to write about it.
I will state now, that in my personal experience replacing the coolant expansion tank and sensor fixed the problem temporarily. I came back 12 months later or should that be
But it would seem that not all cars are effected by this issue, therefore replacing it may mean you are one of the lucky ones where it works ok!

 

[jonjay]

When the red light flashes and you get 3 beeps this is the coolant low level issue. That is, the sensor is reading that the coolant level is low. However due to the issues seen with the coolant sensor this reading may be incorrect.

Thats exactly what i think it is then...

 

[Timmyboy]

Ok, ignore this.

 

[dajackos]

Water level Beep

I have the same prob on cold days, beeps 3 times and red light on display. Turn car off and back on and light goes and no beep. I will try fiddling with connectors b 4 i scrape the prongs and see if it sorts it. I thought it could be down to a higher electrical resistance in cold weather giving false reading for coolant level sensor.

 

[andycupra]

I have the same prob on cold days, beeps 3 times and red light on display. Turn car off and back on and light goes and no beep. I will try fiddling with connectors b 4 i scrape the prongs and see if it sorts it. I thought it could be down to a higher electrical resistance in cold weather giving false reading for coolant level sensor.

that would be great! if posible try taking sensor lead off and replace it and test.
then next would be simple wiggling the prongs (no scraping..)

lets hope the weather stays cold to be a consistent check

 

[scarface]

Thought I'd spare you the search, only because I had the same problem and fixed it last weekend - a week of freezing temperatures, car iced each morning and NO BEEP

More than likely the metal prongs which do the sensing in the coolant bottle are covered in crap - very quick solution is to take the top off the expansion tank (where you'd usually fill it up), get a long flat bladed screwdriver - take a look inside and you'll see (if it's similar to a LC anyway) 2 metal rods which go from the eletrical connector bit outside, through the case and into the coolant - give them a good scrape up and down the length of each prong and you're good to go.

Worked for me anyway, and countless others.

that is quality! i had the prob with the temp light this morn!

 

[Timmyboy]

Yup - as soon as the temperature drops you'll see a load of these beep threads springing up

 

[TheWizard]

Useful thread thanks! I have this problem as well. Though decided the best approach was to ignore it

It went away this summer, but I will give the prongs a scrape this weekend before the winter sets in!