Died While Driving... Help?
#1
Died While Driving... Help?
Hi All,
I thought I'd ask the community here for opinions on what the heck may have happened to my car. I'll try to describe the scenario in which the failure occurred, to the best of my knowledge:
Driving at highway speeds (70-80 mph)
The failure occurred under heavy acceleration: Suddenly the car "lurched" as if the DSC kicked in (but I know that wasn't the case) and instantaneously the batt. and CEL lights came on. The power steering went out.
The engine was still running but extremely sluggishly and could not produce any boost, so I proceed to move to the right shoulder of the roadway.
As I am pulling over (~20 seconds after the failure occurred), the Temp. warning light came on in addition to the already illuminated idiot lights.
The car was emitting lots of steam when I reached the shoulder, and there was no coolant in the reservoir. I couldn't tell where the coolant leak was, and there was no coolant puddle under my car, but the rear of the car had been sprayed with coolant from the turbulence behind the car at highway speeds.
The battery compartment in the boot had STANDING WATER in it. (this is the most confusing part to me because it could possibly be completely unrelated.)
The only code thrown was an o2 sensor. (The tow truck guy tried to tell me that the only thing wrong was the failed o2 sensor and I was probably running low on coolant already and it coincidentally overheated, so all I had to do was "add more coolant and [I] could drive it all night long.") thanks for your 2 cents buddy.
GOOD SYMPTOMS:
• Engine starts
• Engine revs normally while under vacuum
• No horrible noises when engine is running
• Holds coolant
• No Fluid leaks are apparent
• No metal shavings (or other debris) in the oil
BAD SYMPTOMS:
• No boost
• No SC whine of any kind
• Stalls as soon as cylinder pressure hits 0 in/hg (going from vac. to press.)
• CEL (o2 sensor code)
• Batt. light
• Temp. light (after 1-2 min of idling)
• No power steering
• Water in batt. compartment (?)
I'm pretty perplexed as to what the heck went wrong, and I won't be able to get it to a shop until friday or saturday. So i figured I'd pick you guys' expert knowledge for a bit.
I'd be happy to investigate any hunches you guys/girls have.
I thought I'd ask the community here for opinions on what the heck may have happened to my car. I'll try to describe the scenario in which the failure occurred, to the best of my knowledge:
Driving at highway speeds (70-80 mph)
The failure occurred under heavy acceleration: Suddenly the car "lurched" as if the DSC kicked in (but I know that wasn't the case) and instantaneously the batt. and CEL lights came on. The power steering went out.
The engine was still running but extremely sluggishly and could not produce any boost, so I proceed to move to the right shoulder of the roadway.
As I am pulling over (~20 seconds after the failure occurred), the Temp. warning light came on in addition to the already illuminated idiot lights.
The car was emitting lots of steam when I reached the shoulder, and there was no coolant in the reservoir. I couldn't tell where the coolant leak was, and there was no coolant puddle under my car, but the rear of the car had been sprayed with coolant from the turbulence behind the car at highway speeds.
The battery compartment in the boot had STANDING WATER in it. (this is the most confusing part to me because it could possibly be completely unrelated.)
The only code thrown was an o2 sensor. (The tow truck guy tried to tell me that the only thing wrong was the failed o2 sensor and I was probably running low on coolant already and it coincidentally overheated, so all I had to do was "add more coolant and [I] could drive it all night long.") thanks for your 2 cents buddy.
GOOD SYMPTOMS:
• Engine starts
• Engine revs normally while under vacuum
• No horrible noises when engine is running
• Holds coolant
• No Fluid leaks are apparent
• No metal shavings (or other debris) in the oil
BAD SYMPTOMS:
• No boost
• No SC whine of any kind
• Stalls as soon as cylinder pressure hits 0 in/hg (going from vac. to press.)
• CEL (o2 sensor code)
• Batt. light
• Temp. light (after 1-2 min of idling)
• No power steering
• Water in batt. compartment (?)
I'm pretty perplexed as to what the heck went wrong, and I won't be able to get it to a shop until friday or saturday. So i figured I'd pick you guys' expert knowledge for a bit.
I'd be happy to investigate any hunches you guys/girls have.
#2
Just a hunch, but it sounds like the super charger isn't being driven. This would make sense since the water pump is driven off the SC, so the car would overheat quickly if the SC isn't being driven. Since your battery light is also on, your are probably not spinning the alternator either. First thing I would check would be your tensioner and belt since the belt drives the alternator, SC and water pump (through the SC). I would also check for a failed SC pulley or harmonic balancer because if either of those failed you would loose belt tension which would cause these problems. Good Luck!
#3
Thanks! I'll check it out when I get home tonight.
I thought the problem lay heavily on the SC, though I had not considered the belt as nothing struck me as odd when looking in the engine bay initially.
Would the SC not being driven cause the engine to stall at 0 press/vac?
The only thing I can think of is under enough throttle to normally warrant boost, the a/f mix is now way too rich, causing the engine to stall.. And I suppose the extremely rich mixture could throw the o2 sensor code??
I thought the problem lay heavily on the SC, though I had not considered the belt as nothing struck me as odd when looking in the engine bay initially.
Would the SC not being driven cause the engine to stall at 0 press/vac?
The only thing I can think of is under enough throttle to normally warrant boost, the a/f mix is now way too rich, causing the engine to stall.. And I suppose the extremely rich mixture could throw the o2 sensor code??
#4
While at idle the engine is running with the bypass valve open (a lot of air is by passing the the SC). Vacuum holds that valve open. Once you hit zero vacuum the valve shuts and all then all the air going into the combustion chambers has to go through the SC, if its not turning then the amount of air going to the combustion chambers is great reduced causing the car to stall and you have a rich condition which would probably throw a O2 fault.
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