Hi! It has been some time since I posted anything...my baby was running perfectly. Monday morning, my car wouldn't crank, I hadn't driven it all weekend. This was the second Monday in a row this happened after sitting all weekend so we got the car a new battery. Wednesday night it was installed. Well....yesterday, i started smelling something in the cabin...sort of electrical. My husband took a look at it and couldn't find anything wrong.

This morning, about 3 miles out of my driveway, I noticed weird things starting: my radio went dead, my blinkers went dead, power steering went out, my car lost all its ability to accelerate, I got a "no trac" light on, and a "no asc" light on, and my abs light went on. The car had no driving power at all. I pulled over and called a friend. (hubby out of town). While waiting for my friend to pick me up since I was now stranded, my radio went back on so I decided to crank the car. It wouldn't crank. Any ideas? I will be having it towed home shortly.

 

I think there is no response because there are too many possibilities, but it sure sounds like there was a short somewhere bad. You will have to get codes before any help can be offered. It might be a good idea to check the battery connections first.
RJ_____________
97 XK8 86K mi

 

Was the radio the last electrical mod?
I'd start there just in case something was disturbed or has come adrift since.

 

The No TRAC, No ASC and ABS light are all elements related to a common cause; they are often found together. The radio, blinker and no crank situation is related to an electrical fault, probably the same one that is tripping the other warnings.

The "no driving power" is likely because the car has gone into Limp Home mode (you might see a Restricted Performance message come up, as well). This is a protection, not a problem, really.

To me, the loss of power steering is the most interesting part of your story, because that problem is not electrical in nature at all, but mechanical. It only goes out when the power steering pump stops turning...

One thing that ties a power steering failure to electrical issues is the serpentine belt that drives the alternator and power steering pump along with other things. Yours might be worn or slipping. (Remember the cabin smell? Hear any squeals?)

The serpentine belt is driven by the harmonic balancer which is pressed onto the crankshaft end. If it doesn't grab the shaft properly and turn at the correct speed the battery is not being charged sufficiently and as it drains down electrical things act up and ultimately power down entirely. Perhaps your balancer has been slipping and not providing a steady or sufficient charge. That could help explain your earlier battery problems. When it let loose entirely this last time you lost power steering and alternator output and simply ran the battery down to a no crank condition. After sitting a while the battery regenerated enough to run the radio but not start the car. Not to worry, this is an easy fix if it comes to that, I had mine retightened for $125 at a regular guy shop.

When you get the car back, charge the battery and see if it will start. If it does, look at the serpentine belt up front and see if it is moving. If it's not turning your problem is the harmonic balancer or some belt issue. If it is turning have someone check the alternator output to see if it is turning at the correct speed.

Regardless, you will want to give us whatever OBDII codes that have popped up. This might lead us in another direction entirely.

 

+1 on checking serpentine belt condition/operation - check serp belt tensioner assembly, including pulley for smooth operation and the same for the idler pulleys as well.

Finally, test the new battery... did they install the correct battery for your car? (check output ratings and all)

 

Thank you all so much. Very impressive.Upon further examination, the serpentine belt seems fine. It looks like the alternator. My question is this....could installing a new battery kill an alternator? Perhaps the battery we got had too high of a voltage? Is this possible? Seems odd that the problems did not arise until the new battery was installed. Thanks again for ALL your help!!!!

 

Good to hear the serpentine belt is OK or the water pump could also have slowed or even stopped turning.

The cause / effect may be the other way round - a failing alternator finished off your last battery.

Graham

 

I don't believe that the new battery had any affect on the alternator. It is more likely that the alternator was going bad, as evidenced by your Monday morning no start problem; the alternator was not keeping the old battery charged. So, the alternator was failing and died after your new battery was installed.

Spurlee's evaluation was very impressive and I believe right on the money. After reading your first post, I was certain the problem was electrical. Jags, all Jags, need good electrical power or they start doing all sorts of weird things. Whenever you see multiple different codes, it's likely to be caused by an electrical problem.

Mark

 

Can you take some voltage measurements?
Across the battery posts with ign ON, engine off
and with engine running
Same across these terminals under the bonnet here

 

Under the spare tire in the trunk at the right side is a very large fuse terminal, the main fuse for the car. Follow the battery positive cable to it. This has been known to come loose and cause intermittent no electrical power.

 

No, a battery won't kill an alternator in any normal circumstance. You didn't do anything wrong. See if you can get the alternator output checked to see if it is truly bad.

What did you do when you examined the serpentine belt? Did the engine start?

 

Good point about the water pump. When my harmonic balancer came loose the girlfriend was able to drive 7 or 8 miles to work with no overheating. Of course, we (and Moonpetal38, here) wouldn't know how hot it really got because the OEM temperature gauge is insensitive to anything but fatal temperatures.

This is the reason I installed WhiteXKR's RealGauge...

 

The car will start after a long rest. He strongly believes that it is the alternator. I hope so. He is going to have it rebuilt...(or something like that) Monday for about $30 he hopes. Will keep you posted. Hubby has been reading everyone's posts and appreciates immensely everone's suggestions and help.

 

The voltage measurements will tell you before you start pulling things apart.

 

The alternator was fried....$200 and a hubby who is wonderful and all is well in Jagland again. Thanks all, you are all so appreciated!!

 

Man, I wish I had tried having my alternator rebuilt... They wanted 900 for OEM and 450 for aftermarket so the warranty only paid for aftermarket, which at idle doesn't put out enough juice.

 

So glad you're all sorted Moonpetal and that we could help

Kudos to you for coming back and helping to close the thread as being resolved

 

Great thread. Very instructive. I still wonder though, as Spurlee questioned, how did the alternator affect the power steering?

 

Ah yes....power steering fluid was low. Must have been a fluke that it all happened at once.

 

So that one was down to operator error?