Smoke Coming From Back Of Engine And Battery Light On!

[r32matt]

Hey,

So i was driving home last nite and all of a sudden my battery light came on! Which I thought wasnt good! I knew I wouldnt have much battery power left so I drove staright home. On the way though my engine started smoking! I think it was oil burning but not to sure. I pulled over and the smoke was coming from the back of the motor... No where near the Alternator! And I could also hear a bubbling noise, like the oil or water was boiling... Does anyone know what this means?

Thanks!

[Blitz]

Smoke or steam? Was any coolant/fluid leaking under the car?

[Kane_R32]

Was the temp guages in RED?

Not too sure if water pump belt runs alternator belt but if belt snapped, then it would explain the battery light (no charge) and smoke/boiling noise (cooked head from no water movement).

Could be wrong though.

[r32matt]

Was the temp guages in RED?

Not too sure if water pump belt runs alternator belt but if belt snapped, then it would explain the battery light (no charge) and smoke/boiling noise (cooked head from no water movement).

Could be wrong though.

Yeah that could be it..... Hopefully its just a belt!!! That would be sweet! I could smell a oil burning though... well I think it was a oil burning.... Is there any seals at the back of the motor that could of broke? Just weird that both happened at the same time. I guess the belt thing makes sense! That the engine got hot and the battery got flat. Would this casue maybe a water seal at the back of the engine to break and then casuing steam maybe? The Temp gauge seemed to be ok still, maybe its not working properly..... I couldnt see anything under the car becasue it was so dark but when i drove it home the oil pressure did look a little low... hopefully it wasnt!

Edited July 25, 2007 by r32matt

[Blitz]

It could be a split heater hose, that would cause a couple of your symptoms but first things first, have a good look inside your engine bay, check your belts and look for anything else out of the ordinary.

[msnismo]

Doesn't sound good.. sounds like mentioned above...

Alternator spat it... water pump, fan etc all dead in the water...

Check your water for oil and your oil for water... if the oil cap looks milky underneath or oil froth in the radiator say goodbye to your head gasket. Sounds like it possibly blew out the back of the head...

Although could be as simple as a split hose and that caused the belts to slip resulting in no charge.. or electrical faults from water maybe....???

How far did you drive once the alternator light came on??? Was it instantly on and glowing or was it dim and became brighter as if it was receiving some charge until finally none at all???? Have you checked to see if any belts are missing etc - if it was a heater hose and there was coolant in your car (should be) the green gunk will be as obvious as hell... lots of little hoses under the standard plenum that you can't see............

*edit* I always assume the worse... If I don't with my car, it always ends up being that way

[r32matt]

Doesn't sound good.. sounds like mentioned above...

Alternator spat it... water pump, fan etc all dead in the water...

Check your water for oil and your oil for water... if the oil cap looks milky underneath or oil froth in the radiator say goodbye to your head gasket. Sounds like it possibly blew out the back of the head...

Although could be as simple as a split hose and that caused the belts to slip resulting in no charge.. or electrical faults from water maybe....???

How far did you drive once the alternator light came on??? Was it instantly on and glowing or was it dim and became brighter as if it was receiving some charge until finally none at all???? Have you checked to see if any belts are missing etc - if it was a heater hose and there was coolant in your car (should be) the green gunk will be as obvious as hell... lots of little hoses under the standard plenum that you can't see............

*edit* I always assume the worse... If I don't with my car, it always ends up being that way

Yeah im really Worried!!! Sounds like to me like the car over heated casue the water wasnt pumping around!!! Grrr, so yeah alternator and battery i dont care about, just worried about where the steam was coming from then? Basically i drove for about 15mins after the battery light came on...... It was flashing on and off, never stayed on..... When steam starting coming out the back of the motor i stopped the car, waited for it to stop and then drove it home. Another 5mins.... Is there a seal at the back of the engine that could of broke casuing the steam? Gonna check out my car in about 30mins.....

[msnismo]

Could be coincidental... could be a loose earth on the alternator causing the warning light to flash.... or could be the alternator starting to crap itself..???

I'd check to see if you can track where the water was coming from first ... where the steam rose from does not necessarily mean that's where the leak started... check the hoses on the firewall and around in the intake plenum first.... you should be able to see tell tale marks of where the water has tracked from.............. the hoses under the plenum are a bish to get to and are usually the ones to let go first... if you have to take the plenum off (ie its one of the hoses under there that has split) ... replace em all so you don't end up doing it all again somewhere in the near future...

Although if the temp guage got hot... not sure if it did??? Still just check the oil cap and radiator for signs of mixed fluids.....

[Cubes]

I saw a car today driving that was smoking from the engine bay.

Got closer; smelt like rubber. Then BANG out flies a belt.

I'd suggest similiar; the alt has seized, belt has smoked up, possibly let go and as a result the car overheats.

Following that possibly seat was leaving your overflow bottle; My old rb20det overheated once after a 'radiator specialist' cleaned the radiator and forgot to bleed the heater core at the firewall; the overflow bottle was pumping out the water and steam was fogging up the outside of the drivers side front window.

Those of you who have had their rb overheat due to not having the system bled correctly knows how damn quick the needle shoots to the H.