Please confirm that this car SHOULD have either Xerex or MB Coolant, and it should be the brown/orange color. Story goes like this...
My friend calls me up last night saying his car is overheating a lot. I'm new to the MB world as I bought a 76 450SL 4 months ago. I've helped him with repair work since and so naturally he comes to me before he takes it to a mechanic. So he believes his car is overheating because the light on the dash for the coolant keeps coming on. At the next stopping point, he will cut the car off and restart, light goes off and he's on his merry way. Recently he did this, but the light didn't go off. (My MB does not have this light, so if it has a meaning other than the car is running hot, please let me know). He said that the temp gauge is running up to about 80 (which I thought was great..mine is closer to 100). I asked him what it normally ran in the past and he said he thought it was a little lower than that (doesn't make sense to me...but okay). I then asked him if any repair work has been done to the cooling system...he then tells me that the radiator was replaced a couple of years ago....I then asked to make sure the coolant was the brownish red/yellow color and he said that it was green.......

So...recap.....

1. What is the proper color for the coolant on this car?
2. What does the light on the dashboard really mean, it seems redundant to have a high temp light and a gauge)
3. What is the normal operating temp for this vehicle....

Thanks!!!

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Birmingham, AL
2006 Audi A4 "Audrey"-daily driver
1976 MB 450SL "Marlene"
2000 Jetta VR6 "Julia"-traded at 220k miles
1997 Jetta 2.0Trek "Blanche"-traded at 450k miles YES 450,000 miles
1986 Prelude "Gladys"-died at 120K miles

1. Some prefer to use MB Coolant and some use Prestone, but be sure to use distilled water for the 50/50/ mix and change every 2 years. Do a search on this forum and you'll discover that most prefer to NOT use the green stuff.

2. When the light comes on it means the coolant level is low. If it is full and the light still comes on, it could be a defective Coolant Level Sensor. When the fluid goes down, the float lowers and closes the contacts and the light comes on.
*See photo below*.

3. Normal for my '93 2.3 is 80, goes up slightly during traffic stops and returns to 80 upon accelerating.

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1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible

Could be a just bit low in the coolant overflow bottle... that would trigger a light

I use one gallon of zerex, so it's less than 50-50...but it never gets colder than 20 where i live.

our cars do about 85. In the summer at traffic lights, close to 100.

that's not a big deal.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

'Brown' is not a color you should see in the coolant, no matter which type is used. MB coolant is very light yellow - appears colorless in the system. Brown means oil, from a blown head gasket, usually, and will mostly float as crud on top in the reservoir. That reservoir has a 'low level' light, which is probably what is lighting on the dash. If the hoses are 'sweating', then they are ripe for failure and should ALL be replaced too.

Steve

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'91 MB 190E 2.3
'08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5
'83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7

The light you are seeing it NOT an overheating light, it is a low coolant light. Check coolant reservoir if it is at least half full, the coolant level sensor, a float, might be bad. I would recommend using either the MB coolant or Xerex G-05 coolant available at autozone, available, advance, O'Reily's, etc. Both are very pale yellow in color. Xerex is cheaper than the MB antifreeze and is accepted as MB compatible.
80 is completely acceptable for a driving temp, even 90 to 100 is fairly normal.

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Christopher Henkel
1990 190E 2.6 - Arctic white SOLD
1986 190E-16v - Blauswartze
1993 300CE - SOLD
2003 W208 CLK 320 Cabriolet - Magma Red

Either number is normal.
80 degrees Celsius is 180 fahrenheit
100 degrees C is 212 fahrenheit.
My 190 2.3-16 runs at 80 C most of the time. During summer months or if sitting, it will go up to 100 C but return back to 80 once the car gets going again.