scottalexander

Today I replaced the:

- coolant expansion tank
- mickey mouse hose
- hose assembly that runs across the top of the radiator

When it came time to bleed the system, the water pump would not turn on.

Since I have manually bled the system a few times in years past I knew something was wrong. I did the ole' turn on ignition, gas pedal to floor for 10 seconds and nothing happened.

The water pump would not turn on after 4 attempts and I was just kicking a dead horse.

I booted INPA and electronically turned on the water pump and then had INPA bleed the system.

For those of you that have not used INPA to bleed the system, you can see that INPA uses an 18 stage process and you can see the duration of each process. All 12 minutes of it.

Now the question.

What happened during the expansion tank replacement where the water pump would not turn on by itself and bleed they system in the conventional way?

seanjordan20

The only thing i can think of is the level sensor. Was it plugged back in or is it bad

scottalexander

Yes, I did plug in the new level sensor when installing the new tank.

After I ran the INPA bleed process, I know the new level sensor was working because the dash board gave me the "low coolant" level picture.

I then went out and topped up the new expansion tank.

While we are on the topic of the expansion tank sensor, you just gave me an idea.

Is it possible when I disconnected the harness from old expansion tank, that did something to the system?

Note, I did not disconnect the battery before I disconnected the harness on the old expansion tank level sensor.

Did that screw up the water pump from bleeding?

seanjordan20

I wouldn't think it has something to do with it. Disconnecting the battery is a safety measure we use when dealing with electrical devices but no power should be going to the sensor until the car is actually on. If it gave you a low message then it's fine.

Could it be that it was actually working and you didn't here it. I know when I first start bleeding I have to open the hood to hear it when it begins. If it worked through INPA it definitely should work doing it manually. Did you try doing it again manually after the process finished via INPA? I would try it again to see.

jtbgonesailing

Did you set heat to max, on both sides and blower to min on IHKA?

scottalexander

You say, could it be that it was actually working and you didn't here it.

The car was on ramps. I was under the car looking at the water pump. It was about 10 inches from my head (I'm old, but not deaf yet).

When I used INPA to bleed the system I got under the car again and that water pump was running at high speed.

Yes, the heat was set on red 4 bars and on the IHKA set to max on both sides.

The only thing I can think of that would not allow me to use the conventional method of bleeding is when I removed the old expansion tank coolant sensor.

Since I didn't disconnect the battery when I removed it, I was thinking that I might have blown a fuse.

However, when I was able to use INPA to bleed the system and INPA was operating the water pump, I didn't bother checking any of the fuses after that point.

I don't know what the answer is, but in a way I'm glad I booted INPA to bleed the system because I got to see the 18 stages of the bleeding process from start to finish. I never would have guessed the INPA bleeding process was that sophisticated.

This leads me to believe using INPA's brake bleeding process might also be superior to conventional brake bleeding.

brassman96

I had the same problem and then remembered that to really turn on the ignition one must push the start button with your foot off of the brake. Then the pump would turn on and bleed the system.
Just putting the key fob into the slot is not enough.