smoke from radiator

[lucifer666]

im getting coolant smelling smoke from my radiator, cant pin point where its coming from. does anyone know if theres a preassure release valve or something on the radiator that lets steam out should the preassure be too great?

or are modern systems completely closed so the only way of coolant escaping is by making a hole in the radiator or hose etc?

Also could someone check how long under idle it takes for the 1.4tsi engine to enable its fans. mine arnt coming on. indicating a broken thermostat or motors. fuses are fine.

help appreciated cheers

 

[Slimy]

All cooling systems from the last twenty years (probably more) rely on a pressurised system, the only time coolant should come out is if the pressure is too high in which case the reservoir cap dumps the extra pressure.

Generally coolant leaks should be easy to spot, the G12 coolant that VAG cars use leaves a bright stain wherever the leak is coming from.

It could just be condensation off the radiator evaporating (although the smell would be different). Is it just as the car warms up or all the time? Are you seeing the coolant level drop?

I can't help with regards to the fans, although you should remember it's very cold out there? My car (Toledo) only activates it's fans to keep the temperature in check, I'd be amazed if it actually needs to in this weather. And especially if you have your bonnet open to look I would have thought it would take even longer to get reasonably hot.

 

[lucifer666]

cheers for the reply. Yes its 100% a coolant leak, coolant level is dropping and needs to be topped up. Car is fine above 30 ish but at low speeds especially in queuing traffic i smell the coolant and then see the smoke

seems to be coming from near the intake which ends up getting sucked through and casuing a rough idle. Thtats the problem with the temp, its so cold i dont know when the fans should come on.

I preassure tested the coolant system with a device, increased preassure to 1.5 bar which over the space of 30min dropped to 1.3 bar. so its quite a slow leak.

where do i go from here?