1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM LOW COOLENT LIGHT ON

Just fill it up 1/4 full with coolent. Coolent expands when hot, which will fill the tank up more, so don't over fill too much. If you think your low on coolent, let the engine cool down, and open the radiator cap and fill it full from there. Filling the tank, will not add ANY coolent to the radiator untill it warms up (expands) and cools down (contracts pulling in coolent from the tank only at this moment.)

the low coolant sensor is in the surge tank most of the time if u bang on the side were the sensor is the light will go out

You do it thru the overflow-reserve tank. That is the pressure cap normally found on the radiator.

The switch in the coolant tank that turns the light on can stick due to contamination from old coolant.Replace this switch,or leave it disconnected.If your battery drains overnight,there is likely a draw,possibly trunk ot glove box light on.If the problem started when the alternator was replaced,it could be a shorted diode in the alternator.

low coolant level module is bad on right side of radiator

The first things to do are: 1. Make sure the radiator is full when the engine is cool (check the fluid in the radiator as well as the overflow tank). 2. Make sure the thermostat is working. 3. Have the lower intake manifold gasket checked. The Grand Prix SE came with a 3.1L engine (standard) and these engines are famous for lower intake manifold gasket problems.

That is normal for this heat.

Have you tried a new fuel filter? Or try putting two bottles of heat or fuel line cleaner in your tank some times when the tank gets low theres moisture or debris in the tank when it gets that low some times its good to run it completely dry and start over on a full tank. Maybe check the oxygen sensor or the catilletic convertor.

There is a coolant level sensor located in the radiator on the engine side of the radiator. It has (1) single wire connecting to the sensor. There is a very high possibility the sensor has lost its calibration. The sensor is not very expensive. Allow the engine to go cold, don't want you to get burned. You will have to drain a small amount of fluid when you change the sensor It sounds like you have verified the fluid level in the radiator and it is good.
Oh, and make sure it is connected before you change it.
Good luck and let me know.
Regards,

It sounds to me like you're low on coolant. When you checked the coolant level, did you actually open the radiator cap and make sure the radiator is full? The plastic tank you generally add coolant too is actually an 'overflow' or 'reserve' tank. There is a hose that runs from that tank to the top of the radiator so if the radiator gets low on coolant, more coolant -should- run in from the overflow tank. However in practice this does not always work. I have a Jeep that leaks coolant and experiences this exact same problem. Coolant will not run from the reserve tank into the radiator because the hose is plugged up, and whenever the radiator gets low on coolant the temp gauge will go real high and then drop, and the heater doesn't work well. This is because the cooling system of your car is supposed to be a closed system, full of coolant and no air. When coolant leaks out, the space it used to occupy is now occupied by air, which does not transfer heat well. When 'air' is passing through your cooling system, no heat can be transferred from your engine to the heater and radiator, resulting in a hot engine and no heat at the heater. Then when a pocket of water passes through the system, the temperature gauge quickly falls as the water absorbs the heat from the engine. The hot water that cools the engine is where the heater gets it's heat from as well, so when water passes through the heater core, the heater works, but when it's filled with air, it doesn't.