QuestionMy excel over heated ( leak in top hose)so I added water with engine running and replaced radiator cap half way to reduce pressure. Drove slowly for 50 km monitoring temp guage then engine lost power slowly, temp guage still normal, check engine light came on intermittantly then limp mode in transmission seem to occur( stayed in 2nd gear) then power just faded and car stopped. engine had lost water again of course but starter would not crank, (new battery)manually rotated engine, seems ok but starter not cranking. temp guage still normal when car stopped any help would be appreciated. thankyou.
AnswerDepending on the failure, the engine rotate partially but not fully. Can you get a full two turns out of the crankshaft clockwise? If not, I expect you have significant engine damage. If so, start with checking the starting system as below.
-- Check all fuses (or if you're able to identify them, the fuses required for starter operation). This should include the inerior fuse box, the underhood fuse box, and if equipped, a small box at the positive battery cable terminal.
-- With a voltmeter, check for voltage drop across the positive and negative cables. To do this:
-- to check the positive cable, attach the leads of the voltmeter at the postive battery terminal and the lug on the starter motor.
-- to check the negative cable, attach the leads to the negative battery terminal and to the transmission case.
In each situation, attempt to crank the engine. The voltmeter reading should be less than 0.5V. If it's high (usually, in a severe situation, it'll be at least 6V), the cable in question is either attached poorly or is in need of replacement.
-- Check for proper voltage at the starter solenoid when attempting to crank. This, too, should be within 0.5V of battery voltage. If not, there's a problem somewhere in the solenoid circuit.
-- If all the above checks okay and the starter will not crank the engine, replace the starter.
