dreameffects

Hi,
I'm a brand new member here and was wondering if anyone could help me with this problem. I'll go into detail so you'll know what happened. First off it's a 2001 Audi TT Quattro

1) Car alarm went off. Shut it off with key remote but tail lights stayed on. Car wouldn't start. Had to go into a concert and came out and the battery was completely drained. No lights, interior, exterior etc.

2) Got a jump start from a friend and car started right up.

3) Next day I was driving and I smelled a burning rubber scent. Opened the hood and a small plume of smoke was coming from the left front fan (left if you're staring at the car). Smoke dissipated after a few minutes.

4) Two days after that I was driving down the freeway and my temp gauge was in the red (it was an extremely hot day that day). I pulled over and steam was billowing out. Let the car cool down, put in coolant and drove. Again the needle reached red and I pulled over and let it cool down. Called AAA and they towed me to a mechanic's shop. They called and said they couldn't find the problem.

5) I looked around on the internet and people were saying to check the 40 amp fuse and that it could be blown. I called the mechanic's and they said "No way it can't be the fuse and we're not going to check it". I drove over there, popped the hood and the 40amp and 30amp fuse located on top of the battery were both blown. Apparently these are the two fuses that supply power to the cooling fans.

6) I replaced the 30amp (much easier to find) and finally found a 40amp at the Volkswagen dealer. I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery and put the 40amp fuse on. As soon as I reconnected the negative terminal on the battery the 40amp blew.

Does anyone know what could be causing this? The battery terminal did have corrosion on it. I cleaned it though. Could it be a bad battery? Bad fan? Ground to Short? I want to know what I'm getting into before I take it to another mechanic.

Thanks alot in advance for your help and for reading this.

dreameffects

I guess no one on here has heard of this happening. Just my luck I guess.

BAJITTO

sorry, wish i knew. im sure someone knows what is going on here. have you tried doing a history search on the forum?

dreameffects

Hi,
Thank you. I have. I've found a couple posts about a short under the battery that could cause this to happen. I've removed the battery but the plate underneath has 6 bolts and I need to go get a socket wrench to remove them. When I connected the negative terminal the other day a puff of smoke billowed out from under the battery. This leads me to believe that there may be something grounding out under there (maybe an exposed wire). If so that should be an easy fix.

dreameffects

Turns out it was a blown fan motor and relay switch. All fixed now and runs great. Total cost was $799.00