The day before yesterday while out running in town errands over the span of several hours, I kept noticing a very strong coolant odor occasionally coming from my engine (2002 Jaguar X Type 2.5L UK import). I checked for leaks on several occasions and never could locate one. My overflow level had not changed, either and was full. At some point, I noticed that my door ajar light was on and even though I opened and shut all 4 doors, engine hood, trunk, and fuel door several times, the light stayed on. Fast forward several hours later, after my car had sat for many hours without being driven, I left to head to get gas and only made it a few hundred feet when a very loud whirring noise started coming from the engine. I placed it in park, shut it off, and turned it back on and the sound persisted to happen. No CEL or warning lights of any kind came on aside from the door ajar light. I made a left onto a neighboring road to turn around and go back home when I noticed that very suddenly and abruptly, a very strong electrical burning odor had developed as well as heavy smoke coming from the front of the engine. I was able to get it safely back home. Popped the hood to investigate, but nothing fire or scotch mark wise was found. I did notice that my upper radiator hose had collapsed onto itself and my overflow coolant level had dropped quite a bit, however aside from a moderately large wet area on the lower intake on the left side, I did not locate any coolant leaks anywhere else nor did any reach the ground underneath. Engine never overheated, either. It will still turn over and run, but within 30 seconds, the electrical burning odor returns along with smoke as well as the whirring noise has remained present. Never smelled any coolant burning or observed coolant smoke. Anyone have a similar experience with their X Type and might know what my issues might entail? Alternator? Water pump?

 

This is sounding a lot like a bad alternator. First thing I would do is simply turn the car on to the RUN position and then open the hood to see if you can spot any smoke. Next, remove the serpentine belt and then start the car. See if you still get the squealing sound and/or smoke. If you don't get smoke or squealing, then it most likely is your alternator. When you remove it, I think things will become obvious to what you were experiencing.

As for your coolant, I would recommend getting a coolant system pressure tester (can be rented for free from most auto parts stores, just need to put down a deposit which you get back when you return the tool). Then I would fill the expansion tank up and press the system up to 15 psig. Odds are, what you are seeing is a cracked plastic pipe and it is sealing when the engine is turned off. Applying pressure will cause it to open up and help you find the problem. I would most likely expect to find the problem back by the alternator. because of the timing of the two things.

 

The alternator theory I do agree with and had already suspected, however there is no coolant residue or evidence that it boiled out of the expansion tank and the hoses are all dry and free of any leaks. Since both the cooling system had been experiencing issues throughout the day prior to the failures, and I had no charging system warning lights or evidence of a loss of power, is it possible that the water pump failed and coolant leaked into the alternator? I’m not sure of the placement and how close both parts are, but there is wet areas around the alternator and heavy residue on it as well.

 

I did forget to mention that I performed an alternator and battery test with an OBD2 an hour prior to the issues occurring and both checked out with correct voltage and showed they were functioning correctly.

 

Chelsnicole729, the water pump and the alternator are about in the most opposite corners of the engine bay that you can get. So, I do not see how a leak from the water pump would affect the alternator. That is why I am saying to use the coolant pressure tester. That will allow you to find your leak source for the dramatic loss of coolant without a chance of hurting the engine. From there, you can see if it is a possibility of the alternator being affected. Just seems too much of a coincidence to me. Normally problems are 1 offs. If you have 2 things fail, one thing failed and it took out a second.

As for having residue pointing to a failed alternator, not necessarily. Keep in mind that there isa limited amount of electronics inside the alternator and even looking at most modern day electronics, spotting a failed component is hard.

 

Betting on the ubiquitous "t" pipe split