Last night I jumped in my '02 X type and she wouldn't start. After reading some suggestions online I disconnected the battery for 5 minutes and it started right up. I noticed the battery light was on, so I decided to drive it around to recharge it. About 2 miles in, my interior lights started going dim and I was losing power steering. Gearbox fault light came on and I couldn't get it over 5-10 mph. I pulled over and I notice a cloud eminating from under my hood. It turned out to be coolant, although my temp. Gauge always remained normal. I shut the car off and had a friend come to jump me. No luck. Just as I was going to have him simply give me a lift home, I tried disconnecting/ re-connecting the battery, again. It started right up and no fault lights were on. In fact, it drove perfectly. This morning I tried it and it started fine. Drove it, fine... Ran great. So, this afternoon I ran half a mile to the store- started fine but battery light came on again. I left it running while I went in the store and when I came two minutes later, it behaved the same way it did last night. I managed to get it home but now what???? this is really the first problems I have had with this car but they are a doozy!!! I apologize for the length of this post...thank you for any help or suggestions!

 

How old is the battery???? Seems like the obvious choice....

 

dabigroo, first off, welcome to the forums. I think you will like it here. We like to pride ourselves in being a different kind of car club. Once you get used to us, I think you will find this to be true. But, we do ask a simple thing though from you, please stop by the "New Member Forum" and introduce yourself. This will give you a chance to figure out who the movers and shakers are around here. Besides, may even get a little surprise or two out of it.

As for your problem. It is sounding like you have either a battery that is starting to go (it will cause the computers in the car to act goofey and give you a lot of false readings) or the battery cables are starting to go and they are causing the system voltage in the car to move around too much and lead to erroneous computer faults. You can take the car to your local auto parts place and they can do a load test of your battery to see what is going on there. But, if they say the battery is good, then odds are you are looking at cables.

If you need help in finding any parts, let us know. A lot of the members have been down your road and we know where to find what you need.

 

It is a few years old. However, the shop did a load test on it three weeks ago and they said it was okay. But, I do realize if its going, that might not mean much. Do you recommend a good aftermarket brand that meets recommended specs? Finally, thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it!

 

Hi Thermo, I just visited the New Member Area and did a quick intro. Thanks for the reminder! Now, regarding your reply- the battery is a few years old, so I have no doubts that it could be going. However, the "light show" I witnessed was while the car was running. Dim dash lights, radio/clock screen going completely off, dim, off...etc. while the car is running, isn't the alternator running these?

 

Thermo, I tested the cables and they were fine. Had National Auto test the battery and it was toast! 27%. So, I replaced the battery. At which time I realized my old battery was the wrong size. Upon replacement, everything has been running normal. So far, so good. Thank you, very much, for your help! This forum saved me, bigtime!!!!
-Cameron
'02 X type 2.5L