05 R53 113,000 miles

Last week I was getting ready to take a 800+ mile road trip. Night before I'm supposed to leave my hatch started malfunctioning. It was raining the prior 3 days and I had my hatch open while it was raining. I would start to drive and it would pop.. I close it and It would pop on its own... Did this a couple times then stopped popping altogether ... Then it would pop if I turned the lights on ... I suspected a bad battery but local mechanic said it was good .... Drive entire 800+ miles with no issues using AC pretty much the whole time ... No problems at all ... That is until today when I started my return trip ... Drove the first 100 miles with no issues in traffic, stop lights, random stops then while attempting a turn I notice power steering is gone ... Traction light and tire pressure light come on immediately...pull into a parking lot and shut off the car ... Battery is dead. Still 60 miles from my parents beach house I could potentially make it ... I pop the clutch and car starts ... Traction light and tire pressure light still on ... When I hit the brakes the abs light and battery light come on and go out ... Power steering is still gone but have same power ... Drive the 60 miles not using anything electrical ... No radio, ac , windows, lights, used brakes sparingly

Make it the 60 miles and drive straight to auto parts store... Fearing I wouldn't be able to restart so I leave it running and run in to buy a battery. While inside my car dumps all the coolant and begins overheating ... Shut it off as fast as I could ..change the battery and Fill it with coolant. Power steering is working properly again so I drive 1 mile to my parents house to start diagnosing ... Make it home

Start looking for leaks and dont see anything ... When I squeeze a coolant hose I hear air coming out of the cap of the reservoir

My questions: could the dead battery have screwed something with my coolant system?

Is the thermostat electrical and not have functioned properly? Causing pressure o build and possibly damaging the reservoir?

I've also read that one of the fans can fail and car will overheat at idle.

Is this all related or is this all a coincidence

Please help still have 600+ miles to go

 

Engine needs the fan operating at idle to keep it cool. Fans draw a lot of power... Which your car didn't have at that moment. Ideally the coolant will 'boil'e and puke before any major damage occurs. As you indicate, you may now not have a sealed system. You also may have introduced air into the system. Both these could cause problems. Could also be fine. No way to find out until you start driving again. I'd put money on it not being a big deal.

Also, you should have had the auto parts store check your alternator.

 

I had the hatch issue very similar to yours. Water was getting in through the handle, and it was rusted and grounding. It sent the hatch the unlock signal when I turned the lights on because the license plate bulbs are on the same wire loom (?).
I replaced the entire handle (about $90) for a chrome one and made sure to add sealant on the factory foam stuff.
This is also when I noticed corrosion from the inside, wanting to break through the hatch. (Eventually replaced).

 

Your electrical issues caused your thermofan to stop working. This was OK on the highway, but caused overheating while idling. The stress on the cooling system may have caused a failure somewhere in a tank, rad, line or even (hope not) the headgasket.
Replacing the battery may not solve all of the issues. Sounds like you have a fault in the hatch that is causing a battery drain. Check that out. Look for corrosion and put a multimeter between the battery and chassis to see if there is any draw while the engine is off.
You need to get all the air out of the cooling system. There is likely a how to on this site. If the air come back, then you know there is a leak somewhere.

 

So after some research and diagnosing what I believe happened is the trunk popping issue killed most of my battery before I left... I don't know how it lasted as long as it did but when it finally crapped out as clubgitmo suggested that at idle the fan was not working causing an overheat ... Luckily enough I believe since the coolant reservoir is known to have issues, once the pressure built it either cracked the reservoir or cap (fingers crossed this is the least of my problems) ... Checked the oil this morning no sign of coolant ... I drove it around today for 15 min with no overheat but still looks as if the cap is leaking slightly ... Dropped it off at a local mechanic to run a pressure test on the coolant system ... More updates to come

 

I'd be curious if your coolant tank cap seal is maybe bad. Seen this more than a few times. The pressure test is a good step. Since you replaced the battery, have any of the symptoms you described above with the p/s, warning lights and hatch acted up again? Let us know what he finds out!

 

Mechanic was unable to run pressure test Friday .... Since I changed the battery I have not had any issues with any lights coming on ... Been driving it with no overheat issues yet but have noticed a puddle under my car ... Have not been able to confirm if just the res is leaking or if there is another leak elsewhere

 

The battery is one of those troublesome items in the car when they go bad. They can cause all sorts of weird electrical gremlins. Let us know if it comes back, but it seems that it may have been your issue for the lights, etc. As for the leak, when you noticed the puddle did it look to be like it was under or near where the coolant tank/cap is? It's definitely leaking from somewhere and a pressure test will be the easiest way to track it down.

 

Ok...let's think about this....
If your battery was almost bad when you started your trip, but it was good enough to start the car, it is likely NOT the main issue...
Once the car is running, the alternator can provide all the electrical power you need....sure a bad battery, CAN CAUSE general wonkiness, but let's look deeper...
Car was fine when moving...overheated when parked...
So first thing...name sure cooling system is full, and you can hear the fan.....if no fan...it's gonna overheat....
Lack of the low speed fan will not cause overheating... Other issues like running hot, yes, or AC compressor failure...yes....
Next up...
If it was low...a bubble in the system can cause overheating.... As can a bad cap since the system will not pressurize....

One thing too look at...a common issue...
Look at the crank pulley. Hate to point it out too often...but if it is slipping, the waterpump will not run as fast, and the same for the alternator.... So if the PS pump detects low voltage, it will shut off....
So might want too look at it...lots of info around about it...
Similarly a failing SC waterpump drive gears can be OK at speed, but cause overheating at low rpm or idle...

 

Ok...next You need to move the car and see what the puddle is...
The air-conditioning can cause water drips from the condenser.... If it's plain water...you are OK..
If it something else....that will steer what you need too look at...
One tip...don't overfill the coolant expansion tank...just fill it up to about the same depth as the baffles in it...go much above that, and it will vent out the cap, and often crack the tank or cause it to slit and leak along the seam....

 

Since returning home numerous things have happened.

Coolant system was pressure tested and found to be leaking at the seams of the radiator.

alternator was tested and found to be bad which I suspect is the culprit of this whole mockery.

Both were replaced and had a new belt installed.

2 weeks later after no issues whatsoever i get in my car and start driving.

EML light CEL and battery light all come on and my car goes into limp mode. Also smell a burning smell coming from the new alternator and belt. Drive straight to mechanic and come to find out my crankshaft pulley is broke and now the brand new belt is fried

Now I'm thinking could this have been the issue all along which caused the alternator to fail because it wasn't spinning properly or did the damage from the alternator compromise the pulley. Or is this not related in any way?

 

Could definitely be related. This is why it's always a good idea to check general conditions of things whenever the car is in the shop. Sometimes a crank pulley can be predicted to break if cracks have appeared in the rubber.

Get an ATI crank pulley when you replace it.