[grahamb]

Woke up on Saturday morning and went to wash my car. It had been sitting since the previous Sunday. The car wouldn't start. Battery was dead. The car is about 16 months old with about 13,500 miles. This is at least the 10th time it has had to be jumped. Other times were after sitting for 5 days or so straight, or when having the power on, but not the engine, for as little as 10-15 minutes. It went to a dealer once for this and they could find nothing wrong. So, roadside assistance jumps the car and I go to the car wash...

All is well till later that night.

Drove the car for about 40 miles with no problems. Then notice a weird smell...think it is something outside of the car. After a few minutes I look down at the Temp gage and it was pegging H. Crap. Pull over and see the steam coming out. I pop the hood and, while there is steam, there was no other fluid coming out of the car. Slowly took the coolant cap off (that was exciting) to let it cool down and let the car sit for 20-30 minutes. Turned it back on, temp was in the middle...so I tried to limp it back to a friends house a few miles away. Made a quick stop at a gas station to buy more coolant, just in case, and when I got back to my car it was back at H. Wound up leaving it at the gas station for the night. The next day went back to the car and there was a very small amount of fluid under the car...not even sure if it was mine, since it was parked in a gas station, where all the cars there are busted. The coolant was a little low, but certainly not a ton. Probably more from the overheating steam and spitting a bit when I opened the coolant. I also checked the oil, just in case, and the level was fine.

So today it was towed back to the dealer. I'm pissed about both the overheating and the battery...but I understand that the fan or a pump or a belt may have broken and caused the car to overheat. I think I'm more pissed about the battery. I'm just worried that they'll say "couldn't find anything wrong with it", like the last service place did, in which case I'll have to expend more energy/time yelling at them, etc, etc..

I guess this was more of a rant/vent then me asking for input...thanks for reading!
I'll keep you posted.

 

[grahamb]

Got a call yesterday afternoon that went like this...

them - your car is fixed.
me - what'd you do?
them - replaced the cooling fan control module
me - what about the battery
them - we checked it and it was fully charged and we couldn't find a drain on it
me - i've had to jump it about 10 - 15 times since I got it...something is wrong with it.
them - alright...I'll let them know and I'll get back to you.


I didn't hear back from them yesterday. I knew they were going to say that about the battery!

Could that cooling fan control module also be the same thing that kept the fan running for a minute or two after I shut the car off?

 

[airpower220]

Invest in an Optima Red Top, learn more about it Here

 

[grahamb]

I shouldn't have to buy a new battery for a car that's just over a year old and still under warranty...it's not like I have a modified audio system, or something else sucking power.

I heard back from them yesterday...again they can't find anything wrong with the car. This is ridiculous! They won't keep it on their lot for 6 days to test it either...which is about how long it's taken for this to happen. I go away for 10 days at the end of October...so when I get back it will probably be dead. I'm just going to tow it straight there then...no jump, just put it dead on the back of the tow truck. I'm sure there are some simple tests that they can do to determine 90% of electrical problems - does the battery have a full charge? Does the alternator work? Is there anything drawing power? - but in this case, they've tested those things and not found anything. They need to start getting creative.

Not only can they not find anything wrong with it, but they were kind of being assholes about it. As a last resort I tried to get in touch with my salesman...he no longer works there. One of the guys in the sales dept actually said, "Well, when you come in to pick it up we could work out a trade-in and get you in a new car." I asked him to stop saying silly things.

 

[Stretch]

The faulty fan control module was causing your fan to run while the car was off. That's why you were getting a dead battery.

I wonder if you're engine overheated and the block is now cracked (or the gasket). The fan control module would be responsible for a car overheating that was sitting still, but not one that is moving.

 

[grahamb]

Originally posted by Stretch@Sep 28 2005, 09:17 AM
The faulty fan control module was causing your fan to run while the car was off.  That's why you were getting a dead battery.

I wonder if you're engine overheated and the block is now cracked (or the gasket).  The fan control module would be responsible for a car overheating that was sitting still, but not one that is moving.

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With the faulty fan control module - I know that the fan can continue to run once the car is shut off, but if the car is off is it possible for the fan to turn on?

When it may have begun to overheat was when I was sitting at idle outside a friend's house...so that may make sense. Then after it cooled back down when I was driving it was fine, then when i ran into the gas station (car running, people in it) it overheated again.

thanks!

 

[Modcon]

Originally posted by grahamb@Sep 28 2005, 02:09 PM
With the faulty fan control module - I know that the fan can continue to run once the car is shut off, but if the car is off is it possible for the fan to turn on?

When it may have begun to overheat was when I was sitting at idle outside a friend's house...so that may make sense.  Then after it cooled back down when I was driving it was fine, then when i ran into the gas station (car running, people in it) it overheated again.

thanks!

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Yeah - the fan control module was causing the fan to run and kill the battery. It's actually designed to run when the car is shut down to keep the engine temp down and cool it more quickly when the car is stopped.

And more than likely, when you jumped it and drove around you charged it enough to show a normal charge.

Like Stretch said - the fan control was probably also responsible for overheating.

You'll know soon enough if it's all fixed.

 

[grahamb]

Originally posted by Modcon@Sep 28 2005, 03:05 PM
Yeah - the fan control module was causing the fan to run and kill the battery. It's actually designed to run when the car is shut down to keep the engine temp down and cool it more quickly when the car is stopped.

And more than likely, when you jumped it and drove around you charged it enough to show a normal charge.

Like Stretch said - the fan control was probably also responsible for overheating.

You'll know soon enough if it's all fixed.

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Wow! I didn't realize it would be able to turn the fan back on, once the car had stopped. I would always just wait for the fan to turn off after I stopped the car, thinking that was it....but I suppose if it came back on, yup...the battery would drain.

thanks!

 

[Spanky1]

After you turn a car off, the engine temp actually goes up a little before it cools down!

 

[goodvibes]

Maybe ask the dealer to include an oil chnge in the repair since you stressed it with the overheat. I take it you were in stop and go traffic the first time that it overheated. I mean if you were rolling even at moderate speeds, the fan shouldn't have been the cause for a pegged needle.

 

[grahamb]

Well, I went to get in the car today and it was dead. I just drove it on Thursday night and today, Sunday, around 11am it was dead. I had roadside assistance take it right to the dealer without jumping it....just told him to drag it there dead.
I'll post an update tomorrow after the daeler looks at it.

 

[Lightning0206]

I had a slight problem like u but my battery just went completely dead and even with a jump from my brother it didnt work. Hope everything goes well for ya!

 

[grahamb]

Originally posted by ladyE81@Oct 9 2005, 09:08 PM
I had a slight problem like u but my battery just went completely dead and even with a jump from my brother it didnt work. Hope everything goes well for ya!

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Was your problem recurring or just once? Did they find out what cuased it?
thanks.

 

[bjk311]

My fan is acting up too and the funny thing is that recall part your talking about was already changed!!! You know that really grinds my gears!!! Well oday hopefullly it will get fixed

 

[VroomZoom6MZR]

Originally posted by ladyE81@Oct 9 2005, 10:08 PM
I had a slight problem like u but my battery just went completely dead and even with a jump from my brother it didnt work. Hope everything goes well for ya!

[snapback]529441[/snapback]​

could be a dead cell in the battery. It's like cutting a wire in half, a disconnected circuit inside the battery. Unjumpable (not a real word, I think)

 

[Lightning0206]

It only happened once. Had to go get a new battery for 60 bucks.

 

[VroomZoom6MZR]

Originally posted by ladyE81@Oct 10 2005, 03:05 PM
It only happened once. Had to go get a new battery for 60 bucks.

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If nothing was found to actually drain the battery in the first place, that is probably what happened.

 

[Lightning0206]

All I know is, I went to school that morning and everything was running smooth. When I got the the bank, thats when it just died. Good thing my brother got a degree working on cars and other stuff!

 

[M6grey0808]

I shouldn't have to buy a new battery for a car that's just over a year old and still under warranty...it's not like I have a modified audio system, or something else sucking power.

I heard back from them yesterday...again they can't find anything wrong with the car. This is ridiculous! They won't keep it on their lot for 6 days to test it either...which is about how long it's taken for this to happen. I go away for 10 days at the end of October...so when I get back it will probably be dead. I'm just going to tow it straight there then...no jump, just put it dead on the back of the tow truck. I'm sure there are some simple tests that they can do to determine 90% of electrical problems - does the battery have a full charge? Does the alternator work? Is there anything drawing power? - but in this case, they've tested those things and not found anything. They need to start getting creative.

Not only can they not find anything wrong with it, but they were kind of being assholes about it. As a last resort I tried to get in touch with my salesman...he no longer works there. One of the guys in the sales dept actually said, "Well, when you come in to pick it up we could work out a trade-in and get you in a new car." I asked him to stop saying silly things.

My battery only last me 1 year before need to change. So now i carry with me the jumpstarter power bank just incase it breakdown.