'03 Liberty Sport - Coolant Leak - Engine won't stay on

[sebastien7]

Hi,

My wife said the battery light came on then heard a pop spraying coolant everywhere while she was idling in front of friend's house.

Took the battery to get tested and it was dead (only 8 months old). Put new battery in and turned ignition - within seconds engine shut down. Also, coolant leaking pretty bad bottom corner of passenger side of radiator. Don't see any leakage around the hose area - more at the very bottom corner of radiator but can't tell for sure without removing radiator.

Is the engine not staying on related to the massive leakage? I just changed radiator about 2 months ago are so. Any ideas? Hate to have to remove the radiator again if its some sort of connection issue.

Appreciate any advice!

 

[dude1116]

Hi,

My wife said the battery light came on then heard a pop spraying coolant everywhere while she was idling in front of friend's house.

Took the battery to get tested and it was dead (only 8 months old). Put new battery in and turned ignition - within seconds engine shut down. Also, coolant leaking pretty bad bottom corner of passenger side of radiator. Don't see any leakage around the hose area - more at the very bottom corner of radiator but can't tell for sure without removing radiator.

Is the engine not staying on related to the massive leakage? I just changed radiator about 2 months ago are so. Any ideas? Hate to have to remove the radiator again if its some sort of connection issue.

Appreciate any advice!

Any coolant in the oil?

 

[sebastien7]

No didn't think to check. What's the easiest way to do it?

 

[Billwill]

Do you have the SKIM anti-theft fitted?

If the PCM is not happy with the code from the chip in the key it lets you start the engine and runs for a few seconds...in this case the "key" symbol light flashes on the cluster.

If this happens try a spare key.

Water spraying around the electrics such as the injectors can also cause problems.

The battery light comes on when the alternator is not charging or, on early models, there is a battery temperature sensor under the battery that can also cause this light to light up but does not stop the engine running.

The thick cable coming from the alternator to the positive side of the battery has a "fusable" link inside the lead which can blow like a fuse....you need to pull this lead off and measure its continuity. If the PCM senses no charge from the alternator it will shut down the engine...maybe this is why your battery failed in the first place!

 

[sebastien7]

Well I changed the radiator. The passenger side had a huge crack along the edge running up from the bottom corner. Must have been defective since it was only 3 months old (bought from OReillys). Turned the ignition and still shuts off after a few seconds. It will run when giving it gas but as soon as I release the gas pedal it shuts off again. I'll check the fusable link as suggested. Any other ideas?

 

[Porkchop]

No codes our have you checked.

 

[sebastien7]

no codes/check engine light not on.

I cleaned the Idle Air Control Air Passage Inlet and IAC plunger but engine still shut off. I then checked battery connection - positive side had a little gunk on bottom of connector but not much. Then checked electrical connection to alternator from battery and there was quite a bit of gunk in the connector (whitish in color) think its old coolant that sprayed and got caught up in it? Anyways, car turned and stayed on! Anyone know what type of cleaner I can use for inside of electrical connections? I wiped and picked away some of the gunk but there was still some in the crevices.

Now get this, started putting in the coolant and was in the process of burping system when I see it spilling out near the top front side. Apparently I had mixed the screws up and the one I put in to reattach another part was too long (wrong screw) and drilled a hole into the new radiator that was behind it! sooo frustrating! Now I have to figure out how to patch that hole. I don't think Oreillys will take it back sine it was my own doing.

Any suggestions on sealant or cement to patch it?