Q: Overheating, coolant loss and battery light

asked by on July 25, 2017

Husband replaced front suspension parts, when the hood was open we noticed that the coolant level in the reservoir was low, so added more to cool fill line. Drove the vehicle for 2 days with no issues. On the 3rd day, the vehicle started overheating; turned the heat on and it cooled down and was able to make it home. The fan was very loud when the car was shut off and I could hear coolant bubbling. The next morning, I added more coolant and drove it a few miles up the road, it started overheating again. Went home, coolant reservoir was empty and added more coolant. Let the car idle for 20 minutes and it did not overheat, but the radiator fan never turned on, so assumed it was a coolant issue. Drove it around 12 miles round trip and it did not over heat so assumed adding coolant fixed the issue. The car sat for 2 days , then yesterday, drove it about 6 miles up the road and the battery light came on. What would affect the coolant and electrical systems; are they related?

My car has 112000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

If coolant leaked out and got the belt or alternator wet it would cause loss of charging system. Check to see if belt or alternator got coolant on it? The loss of coolant should check the cooling system for external leaks with a pressure tester and if no external leaks then you may have an internal coolant leak at intake or heads.

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