I'm the proud owner of a 2k Punto. Yesterday I did something foolish: I wanted to refill my windscreen washer fluid while it was dark outside and I accidently put the fluid in the wrong hole. I put 1 litre of the windscreen washer fluid in the coolant container. When I was putting the cap back on I noticed my mistake and immediately got a hose to suck out all the fluids in the coolant compartiment and refilled it with BP Isocool. Pretty dumb huh?

When I was driving today the engine overheated and I had to stop. My guess is, I didn't get out all the anti-freeze. Or perhaps Isocool is a wrong anti-coolant? (the manual mentions Paraflu) What can I do to solve this problem and how can I refresh ALL coolant fluids?

any quality anti freeze is fine.persoanlly i would drain and flush the coolant system.
dont know how screenwash would affect coolant but i doubt its a positive effect.
coolants not a big job at all

to add
remove the expansion cap
remove the lowest coolant hose
allow the fluid to drain
you can buy coolant flush's so if oyu go that route refill with water and follow the flush's instructions.
if not just run some clean water through the system.
reconnect the hose
fill with correct mix of antifreeze(either premixed or corrce proportion of water/coolant)
some of the standard hose clips pretty much need destroyed to remove so you will need a new jubilee clips
when filling locate any bleed screws to help allow air to escape.
run to temp and check for airlocks

Flush system(undo rad hose & catch it in container...dispose of carefully!)& refill with Paraflu,I did this aswell & car didn't liike it at all....let alone the horrible foamy stuff in the rad tank Well we all make mistakes...........don't we

oops sorry didn't see custards boy response,yeah do that

thats nothing.had a mate borrow his miss's new(a the time)clio and to help he topped up the screenwash.

right into the power steering resevoir!

LOL yeah seen that done before(luckily wasn't me though)great when it aint you so you can have a good laugh

Ah, thanks for your fast reply. Since I'm a nitwit as it comes to cars, I don't completely understand your "flushing manual". Some steps I don't get.

custard boy said:

if not just run some clean water through the system

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How do I do that? Just fill it with water and let it drain again?

custard boy said:

when filling locate any bleed screws to help allow air to escape.
run to temp and check for airlocks

Click to expand...

I think my English is letting me down here. What do you mean by 'bleed screws'? And what are 'airlocks'?

flushing,yup just run some water through to clean out any crap

bleed screws are screws into the coolant pipes.allow you to let air out of the pipes that can get trapped and gives you airlocks.these can block the coolant from flowing

heres another guide that may give oyu a bit more info
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_care_sat/1272246.html

custard boy said:

flushing,yup just run some water through to clean out any crap

bleed screws are screws into the coolant pipes.allow you to let air out of the pipes that can get trapped and gives you airlocks.these can block the coolant from flowing

heres another guide that may give oyu a bit more info
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_care_sat/1272246.html

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Thanks again. I hate myself right now I hope the procedure doesn't take me too long.

my dad put a bit of screenwash in my puntos radiator reservoir today, its mostly coolant and water though, should it be ok?

Chris0288 said:

my dad put a bit of screenwash in my puntos radiator reservoir today, its mostly coolant and water though, should it be ok?

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The stuff I put in was also anti-freeze mixed with water and my car overheated... so I guess you'll notice soon enough

am i reading the last 2 replies right? you are putting anti freeze in your screen wash? if so dont

custard boy said:

thats nothing.had a mate borrow his miss's new(a the time)clio and to help he topped up the screenwash.

right into the power steering resevoir!

Click to expand...

I'll bet he had the cleanest power steering reservoir in a Clio.

dave said:

am i reading the last 2 replies right? you are putting anti freeze in your screen wash? if so dont

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Alcohol works wonders....bit expensive though

dave said:

am i reading the last 2 replies right? you are putting anti freeze in your screen wash? if so dont

Click to expand...

nah, i mean the standard screen washer stuff which doesn't freeze

an update about my situation: I was told adding the screen washer fluid isn't the cause of the overheating, since it's just fluid and I only drove a few miles. It's more likely airlocks are causing the overheating. (The air in my system was caused by draining the coolant ontainer)

Could someone confirm this?

Damn, this procedure is not as easy as it sounds. I removed the plastic cover and now some sort of metal cover is obstructing the view. Am I working the wrong way around? Can't see a darn thing.

Well off to the shop getting some coolant, will keep you posted!

[EDIT]
Took it for a spin. Strange behaviour. First it heated up very quickly: almost red, all of a sudden the temp dropped to a quarter. Drove 10 miles with the temp needle sticking exactly halfway, but after 10 minutes the interior heating started failing and it got very chilly inside the car. So my engine temp is okay, but the heater isn't working...
[/EDIT]

[EDIT 2]
I let the car idle for 10 minutes resulting in a overheated engine and the heater isn't working.
[/EDIT]